Yom Ha-Zikaron/Yom Ha-Atzma’ut
This past day has been Yom Ha-Zikaron, Israel's Memorial Day. Like on Yom Ha-Shoah, a memorial siren brought the country to a standstill last night and again this morning. Here's a picture from Ha'aretz of traffic at 11 AM in downtown Jerusalem:
Now we’re moving into Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, Independence Day, which immediately follows Yom Ha-Zikaron. The juxtaposition of the two days drives home the message that Israel’s independence has depended on the soldiers who died defending it. We're also engaging in what Rabbi Yitz Greenberg describes as “the classic dialectical move of Jewish tradition from sadness to celebration, from mourning to joy, from death to life, in the wink of an eye.” We tend to fast or mourn shortly before days of great celebration (e.g. before Purim, Pesach, Sukkot, Shavuot, Tu B'av); so too Yom Ha’Atzmaut is preceded by a week filled with sadness – Yom Ha-Shoah and then Yom Ha-Zikaron.
Since today's an ideal time to reflect on the State of Israel, I’ll share thoughts from a few interesting speakers whom I’ve heard at Schechter over the last few weeks:
1) Rabbi Yossi Turner shared his thoughts on the contemporary significance of Yom Ha-Atzma’ut. He argued that the Israeli public has tended to see the meaning of the state of Israel along the lines suggested by Theodore Herzl and David Ben Gurion: that the political establishment of the state itself is the ultimate goal of Zionism, protecting Jews from anti-Semitism and “normalizing” our existence as a people. Is this enough of a reason to inspire Israelis to celebrate Yom Ha-Atzma’ut? Turner argued that, in our era, we should be re-focusing our attention on other visions for the State of Israel that present the state as providing not just a political safe-haven but also providing for the “cultural and spiritual rejuvenation of the people” – the sorts of visions associated with Ahad Ha’am, Martin Buber, and Mordecai Kaplan as opposed to Herzl and Ben Gurion.
2) Dr. Arik Carmon of the Israel Democracy Institute spoke with us about, among other topics, the instability of democracy in the State of Israel, something caused by a variety of factors: the fact that this is such a new state (of an old nation); the presence of a large Arab minority within the country that views their state as at war with their nation; the presence of so many questions about the identity of the state (hence the questions above; Israelis ask questions all the time like 'Israel is an answer to what question?'-- not the sort of question that most nation-states regularly ask themselves); the fact that Israel is the only democracy in the world without borders (because of a lack of agreement about how to define the state's identity); the fact that the Israeli public agenda is constantly overloaded, so that policymakers are constantly focused on the here and now ("in the evening, morning news is history") rather than on cultivating a long-term vision (let alone, say, a constitution for the state).
3) Rabbi Ron Kronish and Issa Jaber of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) spoke with us about the process of creating dialogue and relationships between Arab Muslim, Arab Christian, and Jewish citizens of Israel. The question of the identity of Arab citizens of Israel - "Palestinian Arabs of Israeli Citizenship" is increasingly the popular term - is one of the questions that especially surfaces at this time of the year, since the Arab portion of the population here is not terribly enthusiastic about celebrating Yom Ha-Atzma'ut, singing "Hatikvah," and parading with the Israeli flag. Creating relationships between Arab Muslim citizens and Jews has been a particular challenge. It seems like the ICCI has had some clear successes in that area, and the fact that Israeli Arab Muslims are far, far more moderate then their brethren in the Palestinian territories (or their fellow-believers in much of the Muslim world) should be a sign for some hope. On the other hand, very few Muslim leaders in the state have declared any interest in engaging in this sort of meaningful dialogue with Jews, even if (as Issa Jaber claimed) there is a silent majority that supports such dialogue.
Now we’re moving into Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, Independence Day, which immediately follows Yom Ha-Zikaron. The juxtaposition of the two days drives home the message that Israel’s independence has depended on the soldiers who died defending it. We're also engaging in what Rabbi Yitz Greenberg describes as “the classic dialectical move of Jewish tradition from sadness to celebration, from mourning to joy, from death to life, in the wink of an eye.” We tend to fast or mourn shortly before days of great celebration (e.g. before Purim, Pesach, Sukkot, Shavuot, Tu B'av); so too Yom Ha’Atzmaut is preceded by a week filled with sadness – Yom Ha-Shoah and then Yom Ha-Zikaron.
Since today's an ideal time to reflect on the State of Israel, I’ll share thoughts from a few interesting speakers whom I’ve heard at Schechter over the last few weeks:
1) Rabbi Yossi Turner shared his thoughts on the contemporary significance of Yom Ha-Atzma’ut. He argued that the Israeli public has tended to see the meaning of the state of Israel along the lines suggested by Theodore Herzl and David Ben Gurion: that the political establishment of the state itself is the ultimate goal of Zionism, protecting Jews from anti-Semitism and “normalizing” our existence as a people. Is this enough of a reason to inspire Israelis to celebrate Yom Ha-Atzma’ut? Turner argued that, in our era, we should be re-focusing our attention on other visions for the State of Israel that present the state as providing not just a political safe-haven but also providing for the “cultural and spiritual rejuvenation of the people” – the sorts of visions associated with Ahad Ha’am, Martin Buber, and Mordecai Kaplan as opposed to Herzl and Ben Gurion.
2) Dr. Arik Carmon of the Israel Democracy Institute spoke with us about, among other topics, the instability of democracy in the State of Israel, something caused by a variety of factors: the fact that this is such a new state (of an old nation); the presence of a large Arab minority within the country that views their state as at war with their nation; the presence of so many questions about the identity of the state (hence the questions above; Israelis ask questions all the time like 'Israel is an answer to what question?'-- not the sort of question that most nation-states regularly ask themselves); the fact that Israel is the only democracy in the world without borders (because of a lack of agreement about how to define the state's identity); the fact that the Israeli public agenda is constantly overloaded, so that policymakers are constantly focused on the here and now ("in the evening, morning news is history") rather than on cultivating a long-term vision (let alone, say, a constitution for the state).
3) Rabbi Ron Kronish and Issa Jaber of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) spoke with us about the process of creating dialogue and relationships between Arab Muslim, Arab Christian, and Jewish citizens of Israel. The question of the identity of Arab citizens of Israel - "Palestinian Arabs of Israeli Citizenship" is increasingly the popular term - is one of the questions that especially surfaces at this time of the year, since the Arab portion of the population here is not terribly enthusiastic about celebrating Yom Ha-Atzma'ut, singing "Hatikvah," and parading with the Israeli flag. Creating relationships between Arab Muslim citizens and Jews has been a particular challenge. It seems like the ICCI has had some clear successes in that area, and the fact that Israeli Arab Muslims are far, far more moderate then their brethren in the Palestinian territories (or their fellow-believers in much of the Muslim world) should be a sign for some hope. On the other hand, very few Muslim leaders in the state have declared any interest in engaging in this sort of meaningful dialogue with Jews, even if (as Issa Jaber claimed) there is a silent majority that supports such dialogue.
posted by Geoff at 7:38 PM
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