Addressing the Prime Minister’s Conference Partners in Growth in Tel Aviv, Finance Minister Yair Lapid stated there would not be separation of religion and state in Israel. “It will not happen in Israel” Lapid exclaimed, surprising many as the Yesh Atid party headed by the senior minister is pushing a civil marriage bill which intends to undermine the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s exclusive control on marriage in Israel.
Lapid elaborated, stating the State of Israel is not just a place, but an idea, the result of Jews being persecuted throughout the ages, the only place in the world the Jews can truly call “home”. He admits that there is no solution to characterizing the State of Israel as a “democratic Jewish state”, admitting “we prefer to refer to the democratic Israeli state”.
This he explained comes with the right to elect and be elected, the fact that today there are Arab MKs, IDF officers and judges, pointing out that we pretend regarding the inclusion of an Arab in the Israel championship soccer team for what is the issue with this – but there is an issue.
Lapid questioned how such a nation can be democratic if it is Jewish? He feels however that unlike Islam and Christianity, Judaism is a history, a civilization, a tradition and a religion. “The rabbis, wise and great as they may have been do not decide the laws.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
7 Responses
Well, the real truth is that Israel is NOT a “Jewish State” in the true sense of the word. He deep down knows it as well as we.
Separation means independence of religion from state control. Most zionists want Yiddishkeit to be co-opted to serve the statee. They don’t a frum community led by gedolim, unless the government gets to choose the gedolim.
The reason religion tends to fail in countries with “state religion” is that religion is seen as a tool of the state. Note that in Israel the growth in Yiddishkeit since 1948 has been among those parts of the frum community not controlled by the medinah.
This man is not part of the Jewish nation.
To Yosef stern:
The man has bad thoughts, speech, and deeds, but he is a Jew, just as much as you are. Yisrael, afilu sh’chata, Yisrael hu. And that Gemara is talking about the sin of avoida Zara. Your position causes the non frum to hate the frum and makes it harder for them to do tshuva. You and your friends who think like you should take big stock of your bein Adam l’chavero, especially your hatred toward non frum yidden, and do tshuva
i found the english very confusing
To quote Hagaon Harav Shteinman Shlita – “yemach shemo”
#4 His paternal grandparents were Jewish but his parents are goyim which makes him a goy.