This eek

House Divided

Israelis back "secular revolution," but the rabbis don't.

DAVID LANDAU
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

T

he battle lines between
Orthodox and secular Israelis
were drawn more sharply than
ever this week as the nation's two
chief rabbis joined Orthodox politicians in
the fight against Prime Minister Ehud
Barak's recently announced "civic agenda."
Dubbed by the press a "secular revolu-
tion," Barak announced the program earlier
this month in an effort to usher in an era
of secular reforms. He made it clear that he
would set the controversial initiative aside if
the peace talks were to progress.
An Orthodox Jewish man walks by modern drawings
The first step, ordered this week by act-
hanging over an ancient Roman street in the Jewish
ing Interior Minister Haim Ramon, calls
quarter of Jerusalem's Old City on Sept 3.
for the removal of the nationality clause
from the identity card that every Israeli
The rabbis said they originally thought Barak's plan
must carry. Removing the clause could help solve a
was designed to improve the provision of religious
long-running dispute over conversions performed in
services to local communities. But in light of Barak's
the Jewish state, since the state would no longer be
other secular reforms, they now decided that the plan
responsible for defining who is a Jew.
to abolish the ministry was politically motivated.
But these and other components of the secular
The rabbis said they were calling on Barak, Justice
revolution have been attacked by some in the
Minster Yossi Beilin and "on all the national leader-
Orthodox community as an attempt by the premier
ship to preserve the Jewish character of the state and
to wreak revenge on the religious parties that
to cease and desist from any process that contravenes
dropped out of his coalition on the eve of July's
the integral relationship between religion, state and
Camp David summit.
peoplehood."
Only Rabbi Michael Melchior, a member of the
Meanwhile, the plan to erase the nationality clause
Barak government from the small, Orthodox
from identity cards crossed a final hurdle this week,
Meimad Party, is still trying to hold the middle
when the Shin Bet domestic security service
ground. On Sunday, Rabbi Melchior announced his
announced that it would not oppose the move. In
own reform plan, which he said sought to balance
the past, security reasons have always been cited by
the conflicting demands of both sides of the reli-
those opposed to this measure.
gious-secular debate.
The identity card currently defines the bearer as
Barak said he would seriously consider the plan pro-
"Jew" by nationality, or else as Arab, Russian,
posed by Rabbi Melchior, who as minister for Israeli
American or some other non-Jewish designation.
society and world Jewish communities has tackled reli-
Several cases are pending before the High Court of
gious-secular issues for the Barak government.
Justice by people who were converted in Israel by
non-Orthodox movements and are demanding the
right to be designated as a Jew on their identity cards.
Organized Resistance

Israel's chief rabbis, however, were less inclined
toward compromise when it came to Barak's planned
reforms — especially his proposal to abolish the
Religious Affairs Ministry.
At a stormy meeting Monday with the "Orthodox
lobby" of legislators from the religious parties, the
two chief rabbis confirmed that they had supported
the idea in the past, feeling that the ministry and the
religious councils across the nation that it governs
are hotbeds of mismanagement.

9/22

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Positions Harden

The removal of the nationality clause, while mitigat-
ing this aspect of the perennial "Who is a Jew" dis-
pute, does not completely resolve it because the dis-
tinction between Jews and others will still be main-
tained in the state population registry.
But it is seen by both sides in the dispute as a sig-
nificant step toward severing the connection between

the Orthodox establishment and the laws of the state
when it comes to defining a citizen's Jewishness.
In the past, the clause's removal was embraced by
some Orthodox politicians as a way of taking the
heat out of the dispute — by eliminating what is
considered a blatant instrument of discrimination
while at the same time retaining the bureaucratic
categorization of the population.
But now, in the superheated political climate
brought on by Barak's secular revolution, compro-
mise and flexibility are in retreat as both sides hard-
en their positions.
For the Orthodox parties, the removal of the
clause is the opening shot in a battle now threaten-
ing, as they see it, to sweep across Israeli society.
"Barak and Beilin state openly that they are pro-
ceeding to implement an entire secular agenda,"
Shaul Yahalom of the National Religious Party thun-
dered at Monday's meeting of the Orthodox lobby.
He cited the premier's pledge that El Al would by
flying on Saturdays within a month, that public
transportation would likewise operate on Saturdays
and religious holidays and that civil marriages would
be instituted. Under present law, only religious mar-
riages — those sanctioned by the Orthodox estab-
lishment — are available in Israel.
Yahalom could also have mentioned Barak's prom-
ise to complete Israel's long-evolving constitution.
Draft legislation designed to enshrine certain basic
rights has run into opposition from the Orthodox
parties, which fear the laws will conflict with or even
discriminate against religious precepts.

Public Opinion

Opinion polls are providing a consistent picture:
Two-thirds of Israelis favor Barak's secular revolu-
tion, while the remaining one-third of respondents
oppose it.
Significantly, though, the same polls indicate a
great degree of skepticism regarding how much of
Barak's program will, in fact, be implemented.
Indeed, Barak himself has made it clear that if the
peace negotiations with the Palestinians overcome
their final obstacles and move toward a final peace
agreement, his domestic agenda will quickly be
shoved onto the back burner. If that happens, Barak
will likely try to woo back the Orthodox parties,
especially the politically moderate Shas Party, into
his coalition.
The public's skepticism also reflects a widespread
assessment that, if the peace talks fail, the govern-
ment's days are numbered and new elections will
take place later this year or early in 2001.
No controversial legislation affecting the relation-
ship between religion and state will move through
the Knesset if this scenario unfolds.
But Barak maintains that if the peace talks fail he
will succeed in setting up a government with the
Likud opposition that will be based, in part at least,
on his secular agenda. This agenda is plainly appeal-
ing to many Likud voters, as the polls unmistakably
show.
But Likud leader Ariel Sharon shows no signs of
being wooed. He favors a constitution, Sharon says,
but only in consultation with all sectors of the pub-
lic — including, presumably, the religious parties. ❑

