•

The Jewish News is .. .

,Shulamit Aloni: Israel
At A Turning Point

o'hulamit Aloni: Israel is not
he Vatican.

\

t

New York — Israeli society
is at a turning point where its
fat_? is hanging in the balance.
It can descend into European-
style fascism if the present ten-
sions and divisiveness con-
tinue to fester, or it can become
a truly democratic society if
the Zionist ideals of the na-
rtion's founders are im-
• 3mented.
Knesset Member Shulamit
Aloni, leader of the Civil
,-Rights Movement (CRM), who
[ expressed this view, does not
mince words. For more than 20
years she has been in the foref-
ront of the fight for civil rights
and a free, democratic,
lipluralistic society devoid of
religious constraints and
nationalist extremism. But
pow she says, actually warns,
that Israel will not be able to
Isurvive if it is not a just and
(democratic society.
"A lot depends on whatever
happens in the Labor Party,"
Aloni asserted. "There are
'orces in Labor that pull the
arty to the extreme right and
E•oward the politics of the mob.
The Labor Party must veer
Ilway from populism and stop
Oeing apologetic . . . The Israeli
'[.1)lic
•
is ripe for that."
Aloni, who was in New York
to attend a conference at the
'United
Nations on interna-
1
tional economy, said that her
'own party is likely to increase
't,s representation in the Knes-
get in the next election from its
• - .,sent four members to six.
`We will be ready to support
hose elements in Labor that
hun the influence of the right,
he sober elements," she said.
According to Aloni, the seeds
fascism in Israel have been
owing steadily in the last Be-
de, especially since the
ikud and its leader,
nachem Begin, came to
ower in 1977. "Israeli society
s now divided between an irra-
ional, nationalistic, religious
'it, with messianic racist
ttitudes toward the Arabs,
nd an extreme, anti-Zionist
eft that blames Israel for all
ils," she explained. "In the
iddle are the Likud and
abor with the rightist ele-
ents in the Likud and the lef-
st elements in Labor pulling
*he extreme fringes."
She identified the extreme
- ght as the Kach and Tehiya
ties and the Gush Emunim
ovement, and the extreme
ft as the Hadash (Commu-

}

nity) Party and the Progress-
ive List for Peace.
Aloni sharply criticized the
role of American Jewry in in-
fluencing events in Israel. Her
criticism was especially di-
rected at the liberal and pro-
gressive elements of American
Jewry who have lost hope that
Israel can become a progress-
ive nation and say that they
are "fed up with Israel." In-
stead of taking this negative
approach, these Jews should
come forward and raise their
voices about whatever is wrong
with Israeli society, she
argued.
"American Jews should stop
viewing Israel as the Church or
the Vatican of the Jewish
people," she declared. "They
must understand that in order
to survive, Israel must be a
pluralistic society, with free-
dom of expression and freedom
of assembly and the due proc-
ess of law. If American Jews
view Israel as their Vatican,
then forget about democracy."
The outspoken Aloni was
also critical of the American
Jewish leadership. "I don't
know who elected them as
leaders of American Jews," she
said. "They are happy to come
to Israel and rub elbows with
important people. They're sup-
porting Israel, and I'm for it,
but they should raise their
voices and denounce discrimi-
nation against minorities and
religious coercion in Israel,
and support the underwriting
of a constitution and a bill of
rights in Israel."
Aloni asserted that religious
coercion in Israel is a major de-
terrence to Reform and Con-
servative American Jews who
want to come and live in Israel.
"Moreover," she said, "why
should Russian Jews want to
come to Israel? Many of them
are mixed couples who will not
be recognized as Jews by Is-
rael's Orthodox rabbis. Their
children will not be able to
marry Jews, and they will be
identified in official documents
as goyim."
A lawyer by profession,
Aloni has been using her ex-
pertise to fight the religious es-
tablishment in Israel by creat-
ing new alternatives for those
who do not want to use the reli-
gious authorities in matters
such as marriage and divorce.
"As a result of the cruelty and
extremism of the rabbinical
courts in Israel, many Israelis
have lately decided to ignore
the religious establishment,"
she said.
According to Aloni, hun-
dreds of Israelis, including her
own son Udi, have recently
married by signing "marriage
covenants under the law of
contracts." Many could be
married by the rabbinical
courts, but out of conviction
and protest against religious
coercion couples have elected
to be married by a lawyer
rather than a rabbi, she said.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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