Transcript CHAPTER 12: Whose Country Is This, Anyway

CHAPTER 12:
Whose Country Is This,
Anyway
Prompt 2
Evin Hatch
p. 7
Orthodox vs. Secular Jews

“In Israel, alongside
Israeli negotiations
with the Arabs…is the
competition between
Orthodox Jews and
Secular (Zionist)
Jews” (Heilman).
What is Zionism?

“Zionism largely ignored religious identity
and attachment, replacing them with
attachments to a place and citizenship in a
Jewish state” (Heilman).
What is Orthodox?

The Orthodox, on the
other hand, carried on
what they considered
traditional Jewish life,
such as readings from
the Torah. (Heilman)
So what happened?

“When the dust had settled by the middle
of the century, Orthodox Jews found
themselves part of the secular state of
Israel, whose leaders were Zionists”
(Heilman).
The ultra-Orthodox

These believers felt
very strongly that that
the then Israeli culture
undermined all that
what authentically
Jewish. (Heilman)
The “new” Orthodox Jews

This second, and larger Orthodox group
came to share beliefs with the Zionists.
They embraced the state and its
institutions while sharing the culture of
modern Israel. (Heilman)
1967 Six-Day War
•The outcome of the Six-Day War and
the conquest of much of the biblical
land of Israel further stimulated the
Zionist cause The evidence of the
coming “redemption” led more
Orthodox Jews to embody Zionist
ideas. (Heilman).
Things turn bad

After the Six-Day War, Israel however,
gave some of the territories back to the
Arab states. This made people in Israel
very upset.
….then get worse


Orthodox Rabbi Meir
Kahane further
evolved the idea that
for Israel to be a
Jewish state, it must
get rid of all the Arabs
(Heilman).
This dangerous idea
became very popular
in Israel (Heilman).
Lasting question

“Will those who consider the unity of the
Jewish people the primary value prevail, or
will those who see sovereignty over the
entire biblical land of Israel as the highest
value carry the day? The fierce battle for
the heart and soul of Israeli Judaism
continues…” (Heilman).