Three major controversies ahead of Israel’s election

By Ira Sharkansky

Ira Sharkansky

JERUSALEM — What’s worse?

  • The decision of the Israeli Supreme Court, authorizing the conversions to Judaism by Conservative and Reform Rabbis in Israel?
  • The onset of investigations against Israel for war crimes by the International Criminal Court? or
  • The opening of Israeli schools in all grades, as well as shopping centers, restaurants, coffee houses, bars, theaters, and halls for weddings and Bar Mitvot, as well as the opening of Israel’s borders to 4,000 per day of returning Israelis and the weakening of what had been screening by a government committee of applicants and allowing the return of some 600 per day?

Each of these caused a storm of warning, commentary, and discussion. Yet each, when examined, appears less than threatening in the foreseeable future.

The first comes after 15 years of government dithering and inability to reach a decision on the subject of conversions by non-Orthodox rabbis. It’s caused the two ultra-Orthodox political parties, and the two official Rabbis (Ashkenazi and Sephardi) to reach high temper. The parties are threatening to leave their alliance with Likud. One of the Ashkenazi Knesset Members referred to the women converted in the IDF (by Orthodox Rabbis) as Shiksas and Goys.

The second issue brought some unity to Israeli politics, and a speech by the Prime Minister indicating that the International Criminal Court, formed in response to the cruelty of Nazis against Jews, had turned to anti-Semitism against the Jewish State. It also brought pressure from Israel against the Palestinians, hinting at what Israel might do if the Palestine Authority did not desist in its political campaign against Israel in the Court.

The third comes a week after huge parties, dances, and religious ceremonies over Purim, by both young secular Israelis and the ultra-Orthodox, and against warnings by health professionals about the expected leap in infections caused by the opening of the economy and the airport. It also reflects Israeli politics at its worst, unable to resist pressures from various economic sectors. They’re promising to screen customers and clients for documents showing that they’ve been inoculated or have been cured of Coronavirus, but there is little trust that inspections will be widely implemented.

The three threats are actually a lot less than what is being said.

The decision by the Israeli Supreme Court affects only those conversions undertaken in Israel. Those done overseas by Conservative and Reform Rabbis have already been recognized. Those converted have status under the Law of Return, which allows the immigration of individuals having at least one Jewish grandparent. Many of those converted by Conservative or Reform Rabbis are the North American children of mixed marriages, with a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother.

Guesses are that relatively few individuals pursue Conservative or Reform conversions within Israel. There are a lot of conversions done in the framework of the IDF, by Orthodox Rabbis, presumably more permissive or open to diversity than found among Orthodox Rabbis outside of the IDF. Again, many of those converted are the products of mixed marriages, with a Jewish father but a non-Jewish mother. They’re either the children of those from Russia, Ukraine, or other former segments of the Soviet Union, or of couples who met when the non-Jewish mother was serving as a volunteer in Israel.

The second issue seems likely to move forward with glacial speed in the procedures of the International Criminal Court. A major office holder there will change in the near future, and the new incumbent may be more open to pressures from Israel and the United States, neither of which recognize the Court’s jurisdiction. Israel is likely to have support from European countries, inclined to avoid the conflict-ridden issues raised by the West Bank and Jerusalem. And the Court’s opening of procedures is not only against Israel, but also against Gazan Palestinians for their missile attacks against Israeli civilian targets.

The third issue reflects the coming together of citizen fatigue, widespread inoculations, and the political campaign toward the election in two weeks. Politicians and citizens, including the ultra-religious and ultra-secular youngsters (teenagers through the twenty- and thirty year olds, as well as older concert-goers) want their freedom to congregate with family members, co-religionists, and like minded civilians who they meet at mass street parties. Health officials complain and urge a slower opening of facilities, while politicians cooperate with the opening, thinking that it’ll help their party at the polls.

So where are we?

The Jewish state is worried about the pressures, and also contributing to them. The frenzy is part of the Jewish condition, helped along by polls showing a likely tie in the coming election. That won’t be a neat case. We’ll be unable to predict the results on the next day, or perhaps the next week.  Vote counting then negotiations within and between the parties will go on. If neither the pro-Bibi or anti-Bibi camps have enough Knesset seats and enough flexibility to decide on a government, then we’ll be set for yet another election a few months away. Meanwhile, the present government will continue in an interim status, with fierce battles and no decisions about a budget or other needs.

*
Ira Sharkansky, PhD, is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University.  He may be contacted via ira.sharkansky@sdjewishworld.com