The true desecrators of our Jewish tradition

Let's get something straight. The State of Israel is a democracy, not a theocracy.

However, the lines are frequently blurred as Israel is also a Jewish state and often reflects Jewish values. Unlike the American system that creates a "wall of separation between church and state," Israel has no constitutional division. Indeed, Israel has no constitution.
 
I know very few Israelis who would advocate that the government cease funding two kitchens on each army base - one for dairy and one for meat. For it is not the separation of church and state that Israel so badly needs. We need a separation of religion and politics.
 
We are told of the Torah that "all of its ways are ways of pleasantness and its paths are paths of peace." The Sabbath is ostensibly our day of peace and of rest. But turning on the TV to watch the news at the end of most Shabbatot, one would be hard pressed to sense this. Rioting by haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities in Jerusalem has become the norm.
 
Last Shabbat, as well as the one before, about three thousand demonstrators walked to an industrial area, where there were no homes, away from their own neighborhood, to protest at the Intel factory because it is open on Shabbat, as it has been since opening its doors in Jerusalem two and a half decades ago.
 
Jerusalem is the poorest of Israeli cities. Intel employs some six hundred people, most of them in high-tech jobs. Certain work must continue there seven days a week. Its presence in Jerusalem, and the addition of other like plants, is crucial for the financial future of Jerusalem. Such development is part of Mayor Nir Barkat's plan for Israel's capital city.
 
By law, nobody in Israel is forced to work on Shabbat. The employees agree that there is no coercion by their superiors. In fact, Intel has agreed that all workers on the Shabbat shift will be non-Jews.
 
Now the question of factories remaining open on Shabbat is an area that is fair to debate. I am Shabbat observant myself, and enjoy a Shabbat atmosphere in my city. But the moment that debate turns violent - our response must be swift and severe.
 
Over the last half year we have witnessed dozens of violent demonstrations by the Eda Haredit - the most radical of all of the haredi groups. Bystanders, reporters and police have all suffered as these hooligans  rioted, set fires, harassed drivers, vandalized the Intel synagogue, attacked reporters  and more. They protest against what they feel to be courtroom injustice, a private parking lot opening on Shabbat, the Pride Parade for Tolerance, and now the Intel plant.
 
Without exception, all of these demonstrations have turned violent. But this time other leading haredi rabbis (e.g. Rav Elyashiv and the Gerer Rebbe) as well as Knesset members (e.g. Malkev) and haredi newspapers (e.g. Yated Ne'eman and Hamodia) supported the demonstration. No longer can this be deemed the fringe of haredi society.
 
Not for a moment do I think that most haredim support the violence, nor that most participate. But if most demonstrations turn violent - who in their right mind, provocateurs aside, would endorse continued protest without first educating their constituents on the principles of peaceful protest?
 
Now let me be clear - Israel must allow free speech and the right of protest. But when the protests lead to incitement, and then to violence, when the organizers lose control, then this right is forfeited.
 
That is exactly what occurred last Shabbat. The entryway to Intel was vandalized, car windows were smashed and reporters were attacked. This behavior is true lawlessness and has no place in a civilized society.
 
The protests are supposedly intended to preserve Shabbat observance and the Jewish flavor of Jerusalem. But they have consistently led to Shabbat desecration and an increased distaste by the public for religious coercion.
 
A recent study showed that only 24% of Israelis believe the recent haredi riots in the capital were inspired by love of Israel and the wellbeing of society. Rather, many believe the protests are a guise for haredi disdain for Jerusalem's secular mayor; that many haredim seem willing to hold the city hostage and use violent coercion to achieve the goal of theocracy.
 
Yes, some haredi rabbis have since denounced the violence. But it is time for them to call for the full measure of the law to be applied to all whose mooncalfian acts endanger the innocent. The lawbreakers must be expelled from the Yeshivas, shunned by their leaders and turned over to the police.
 
Israel is a society of laws. Admittedly a society that has a long way to go to achieve all of the ideals of democracy while protecting the rights of the minorities. But the courts are open to the haredim. So too the media and the avenue of peaceful protest.
 
Let us draw Jews closer to our tradition and Shabbat observance. This is certainly an aim of the Masorti Movement (despite what the Talkbackers are going to claim). But let us do it through "Darchei Noam" - ways of plesanness.

The time is now to put an end to the haredi rioting in Jerusalem. For they are the true desecrators of our Jewish tradition.
 
 
Rabbi Andrew Sacks directs the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel. The opinions expressed are his own.