NEWS Yeshayahu Leibowitz: Slaying Sacred Cows HERB KEINON Special to the Jewish News erusalem — Hailed by some as the "closest thing Israel has to an Old Testament prophet," and denounced by others as a "traitor in need of a mental examination," Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz only rarely fails to evoke his lis- tener's passion. The world ac- cording to Leibowitz has God "completely transcendent," Golda Meir an "old, very wicked woman," Ben-Gurion a "hater of Jewish history," Jerusalem's Western Wall a "religious disco," and Gush Emunim a movement prop- agating "false messianism." For these and similar senti- ments, the eighty-three year old former Hebrew Univer- sity professor has variously been called a "heretic," "gadfly," "penetrating mind," "enfant terrible," and "the most devout Jews in the country today." One thing for certain, and on this even the professor agrees, Yeshayahu Leibowitz is an iconoclast: a breaker of idols, an attacker of cherished beliefs and institu- tions. If, as Will Durant main- tains, "philosophy begins when one learns to doubt — particularly to doubt one's cherished beliefs, dogmas and axioms," then Yeshayahu Leibowitz is a philosopher par excellence. With a Ph.D. in both bio-chemistry and medicine, and extremely well versed in Judaism, physics, genetics and philosophy, Leibowitz claims to be in- terested only in fact, not opinion or ideology. Nothing, no matter how sacred, es- capes the professor's critical mind. The Western Wall, Zionism, Divine Providence, the Holocaust, Jerusalem: all must, in Leibowitz's socratic fashion, be defined free of the preconceived notions which often blur our vision. In books and at personal ap- pearances, on the radio and through numerous newspaper and magazine articles, Pro- fessor Leibowitz has annoyed and entertained, fascinated and antagonized a never bored Israeli audience. For over two decades he has con- tinuously challenged consen- sus opinion which many Is- raelis felt somehow fell out- side the pale of public debate. Characterized by a cantan- kerous, arrogant and often supercilious presentation, Prof. Leibowitz has nothing but scorn for those who would believe that modern Jewish history proves that God is watching over His people Is- rael. For, in Leibowitz's view, the Holocaust has no theolog- ical meaning, Israel's War of Independence was not a mod- ern parting of the Red Sea, and the Six Day War does j Simple Elegance Fourteen karat gold choker with a flexible back for a perfect fir. DRAKE SUMMIT 5568 Drake Rd. W. Bloomfield 661-2655 JEWELERS INC. Tues.-Fri. 11-6 Sot. 11-3 Sun. & Mon. Closed Applegate Square • Northwestern Hwy. at Inkster Road 20 Friday, December 19, 1986 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS not prove that God actively intervenes in the affairs of man. God, in each of these \ three historical events, was where He always is in rela- tion to man: completely tran- scendent. "Anyone who sees the hand of Divine Provi- dence in history," Leibowitz declares, "is a blasphemer." Yet despite a belief that God is absent from history, Leibowitz continues to ob- serve kashrut, keep Shabbat and pray. His reason is sim- ple; "We are so commanded." In Leibowitz's unemotional theology, Judaigm is solely concerned with serving God. It is not, as many believe, concerned with morals, ethics, philosophy, folklore, literature or political and so- cial organization. Leibowitz contends that a Jew can only serve God through the scrupulous performance of His commandments as elabo- rated by man in Halachah (Jewish Law). It is Halachah, therefore, which becomes the only truely unique Jewish value or contribution. The professor's unconven- tional views are not confined to the theological realm. He is as much a political as he is a religious maverick. In the euphoric wake of the Six Day War, to those who claimed that Israel's victory would c/ provide a magic cure for all the nation's ills, Yeshayahu Leibowitz called for an im- mediate, unilateral and com- plete withdrawal from all the territories, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Again his reasoning was simple; the demographic and logistical problems in- volved in "occupation" would severly tarnish the moral and Jewish color of the State. In January 1968, while many Israelis had already taken it for granted that more terri- tory means greater security, Leibowitz declared: "Israel should forwith return every inch of territory taken in the Six Day War. The demog- raphic problems involved in incorporating over one mil- lion Arabs in the territories will, in a short while, turn Israel into a Levantine coun- try, shot through with cor- ruption and without either Jewish farmers or workers. Even those Israelis agree- ing to territorial compromise c<\ were aghast, however, at the prospect of returning East Jerusalem and her holy sites. The professor's blunt reply: ( "There is no such thing as a holy place. A kibbutz which raises pigs on its farm is as much the Lord's heritage as Jerusalem and Rachel's tomb." Leibowitz has become even more convinced, in the inter- vening 19 years, that such a withdrawal is in Israel's best interest. By no means naive, the professor realizes that ``, such a move will not ensure peace. However, in the cut-