In the period leading up to the formal proclamation of Israel as an independent state, religious and political leaders had to reach a compromise that would guarantee the freedoms of all future inhabitants of the state. In the Status Quo Agreement, written by David Ben-Gurion for the Jewish Agency, Ben-Gurion reluctantly appeals to the Ultra-Orthodox/Haredi leadership in Israel through drafting specific compromises in which religion and politics would operate cooperatively. These negotiations included the Sabbath, kashrut, marital affairs, and educational mandates. However, this cooperation entailed the separation of church and state insofar as Israel would not become a theocratic state upon its establishment. It is within the separation of church and state that has led to increasing conflicts between secular Zionists and the Ultra-Orthodox.
Although the Status Quo Agreement intended on placating the religious demands of the Ultra-Orthodox leadership in the future Jewish state, it did not limit its guarantees of freedom to solely religious Jews. With the supposition that members of creeds other than Judaism would also inhabit the impending state of Israel, Ben-Gurion provided for the “full equal rights for all citizens and the absence of coercion or discrimination in religious affairs or other matters.” Since the establishment of Israel was also viewed as the creation of a Jewish national home, Ben-Gurion felt this clause was necessary in that it did not preclude any other religions from free practice thus welcoming settlers from all around the world. In addition, this furthered the notion of separate church and state institutions to prohibit the imposition of Jewish culture and identity on these variant settlers and served to l...
... middle of paper ...
...odox Jews in the establishment of Israel, provides the background of the modern struggles for Jewish identity and the secular condemnation towards the Ultra-Orthodox imposition of theocratic ideals.
Works Cited
Ben-Gurion, David. “Status-Quo Agreement.” In Israel in the Middle East: Second Edition, edited by Itamar Rabinovich and Jehude Reinharz, 58-59. Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2008.
Efron, Noah J. Real Jews: Secular vs. Ultra-Orthodox and the Struggle for Jewish Identity in Israel. New York: Basic Books, 2003.
Segev, Tom. “Nameless People.” In 1949: The First Israels, edited by Arlen Neal Weinstein, 155-194. New York: The Free Press, 1986.
Yates, Joshua. “Haredim vs. Secular: Israel’s Internal Culture War and the Fight for Israeli Identity.” In Levitt Fellowship Research, edited by Shoshana Keller, 2-71. Clinton: Hamilton College, 2012.
Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon. "Jewish Traditions." World religions: western traditions. 1996. Reprint. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2011. 127-157. Print.
New York: William Morrow. Lipsett, S. M. & Co., P.A. and Ladd, E. C. (1971) The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secon "Jewish Academics in the United States: Their Achievements, Culture and Politics." American Jewish Yearbook -. Cited for Zuckerman, Harriet (1977).
...e Menorah Journal And Shaping American Jewish Identity: Culture And Evolutionary Sociology. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal Of Jewish Studies, 30(4), 61-79. doi:10.1353/sho.2012.0095
Arons, Ron. The Jews of Sing Sing. New Jersey: Barricade Books Inc. June 1st, 2008
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted for a partition resolution that led to the establishment of the nation of Israel in May, 1948. This was great news for Jews in Palestine and the diaspora as it meant the fulfillment of the quest for the rebirth of their nation in their previous homeland after many years of wandering (Pappe, 2006, p. 12). However, their Palestinian Arab counterparts opposed to the establishment from the start felt cheated by the international community and remained categorical that the final answer to the Jewish problem would only be solved in blood and fire (Karsh, 2002, p. 8).
In the face of increasing anti-Semitism during the interwar periods Jewish identity often came into conflict with societal pressures to assimilate. Irving Howe’s, A Memoir of the Thirties, written in 1961, depicts his experiences as a Jew in New York City. In his memoir Howe describes the living and social conditions during this decade that pushed many New York Jews to become involved in some type of socialist movement. Although the memoir is primarily about political activities, his description of the social conditions and the Jewish community provides ...
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
A possible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the two-state solution. The two-state solution would become a peace agreement in which establishes a Palestinian state alongside the current state of Israel (Bourke). In the opinion of the Maghar Druze’s community, peace is the main objective in which the two-state solution could provide. As follows, most Israeli Druze’s would encourage the current peace talks in aim of a two-state agreement. Despite the fact that the two-state solution requires compromise in which it is believed the Palestinian are not able to accommodate. In particular, the Maghar Druze’s do not believe the Palestinians will ever be satisfied with a two-state agreement because of the need for retaliation fo...
The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during their process of establishing independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent and self-sufficient states free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. In an attempt to promote nationalistic independence, the states of the region immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948 when Israel declared independence. Israel represented then and now an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict typifies this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention to the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance for both sides, yet the two hegemons of the Cold War now needed to recognize the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states. With their statehood and power cemented, the Middle Easte...
Flohr, Paul R., and Jehuda Reinharz. "2." The Jew in the modern world: a documentary history. 3 ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Print.
Most people are born with more than one identity. Some identities go hand in hand, and have merged together over the years. For example, American and Christian are often associated with one another. Some identities, although not associated with one another, do not contradict each other, and can therefore coexist peacefully. For instance, if someone has a French mother and Italian father, chances are there will not be any problems. There are some identities, however, that are completely contradictory, and cannot coexist. For example, if someone has one parent that identifies as Christian, and another that identifies as Muslim, he or she will have to choose which identity to associate with. For centuries, there has been much debate over whether the American identity can coexist with a religious identity. (referring to religions other than Christianity) America has always been a tolerant country, yet tolerance is one thing, and fitting in is another. In America’s earlier years, maintaining a religious identity and fitting in with the American culture was impossible. This held true especially for the Jews, because religious Jews always put their Jewish identities before their American identities. Nowadays, however, since America has become a melting pot, as a religious Jew that lives with a dual identity, I conclude that sharing the American culture, while living as an observant Jew is more than possible. In this essay I will argue that the barriers of allegiances, limitations, and culture clashes do not exist between the American and Jewish culture.
Zionism declares that “the Jews are more than a purely religious body, they are not only a race but also a nation” (Berkowitz 376). Theodor Herzl, the father of political Zionism, states, “We are a people- one people.” Both Herzl and Berkowitz have interesting key points about a Jewish State, the Jewish religion in general, and how to solve current issues in the religion. A State is formed by a social contract and is still being created today. Rousseau states, “The conditions of this contract are so precisely defined by the nature of the agreement that the slightest alterations would make them null and void. The consequence is that, even where they are not expressly stated, they are everywhere identical, and everywhere tacitly accepted and recognized.” States are mainly created by a nation struggling with social and political disputes. They are difficult to form because of opportunities for land. For example, most territories form because of breaking off from their mother countries. “We depend for sustenance on the nations who are our hosts, and if we had no hosts to support us we should die of starvation.” Herzl states that Jews have been faithfully repeating Anti-Semite’s words because of unjust accusations and the need to realize that the world is always changing and adding new properties.
Conflicts between people often have multiple causes and effects. A majority of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an argument that dates back to Biblical times. The Jewish argue Palestine was the historical site of all Jewish kingdoms, which was promised to Abraham and his descendants. The Arabs argue that Ishmael, forefather of Arabs, is the son of Abraham so God’s promise that the land should go to Abraham’s descendents includes Arabs as well . Some of the main causes which worsen the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the disparity between Sykes-Picot agreement and Balfour Declaration, The United Nation Partition plan of 1947, which was the separation of the boundaries, and Hitler’s Final Solution. While these causes affected both sides
Andersen, Roy, Robert F. Seibert, and Jon G. Wagner. Politics and change in the Middle East: sources of conflict and accommodation. 9th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1982. Print.
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.