meth@csd2.UUCP (Asher Meth) (11/27/85)
Tony Wuersch writes : >Likud rhetoric is meant to fuel resentment of Sephardics against >Ashkenazim; a politics of resentment can easily degenerate into >plain ethnic domination. Just a reminder of some history, as far back only as the early '50's. Back in those days, Operation Magic Carpet brought thousands of Jews (from all the arab countries that would let them out) to a new life in Israel. At that time, the Labor party ran the government, Histadrut (labor union), etc. Sephardi families were broken up : children from religious homes were taken away from their parents and sent to non (and anti) religious kibbutzim, earlocks ("peyot") were shorn from the boys, men were told that they could get a job with the stipulation that they work on the Shabbat (violating laws that they had been keeping for years and years, nay, centuries), etc. People were told the same "truths" (quotes are there to note the facetious tone used when I write these "truths") as immigrants were told when they came to the "Goldene Medinah", America. Namely, those religious practices were only for the "old country", for the preservation of the Jews in foreign countries while they were oppressed; but now, you have come to Israel, where all that counts is that you live here (or, you have come to America, and you must blend into society and be a good American - as if being a good Jew contradicted being a good American). I don't "chas veshalom" (G-d forbid) mean to knock the great hospitality we have received here in America, being allowed to live as we please, even as religious Jews to the utmost of our abilities. Indeed, it was very hard to live as a religious Jew for many years in the USA. I, who live now in the day and age when it is "easy" to live as a religious Jew in America (not discounting the old Yiddish idiom - "es is shver tzoo zain a Yid"), am in no position to judge those people who found it hard to retain their religiosity. On the other hand, no can say that "the religious practices were for the old country, but we are past that stage". Such an attitude does not help us strengthen our Jewish identity, or, for that matter, inculcate in our children any measure of Jewish identity. Furthermore, those involved in Operation Magic Carpet (and all other operations that save Jewish lives), surely merit great reward, as we are taught - "he who saves a Jewish life, it is as if he saved the entire world". All the more so, those who save many Jewish lives. However, that which was forced upon those Sepahardi immigrants, and that which happened to so many of our brethren in the past century here in the USA, measures up to a tragic loss on our part. And for those out there for whom religiousity is not presently a very meaningful part of their Jewishness, the cultural loss for all those people and all their descendents is also very great. ---------- Be all that as it may, finger pointing will not solve the problem. It will not bring back the lost souls. It will not make the non-religious more religious. Would it that we would only learn from our past mistakes and not repeat them. As we learn in the last mishnah in the Mishnayot (at the end of tractate 'Uktzin) : The only vessel that HaShem found that could hold the good/blessings that He had for Israel (the nation) is "Shalom" (peace). Let us all strive for understanding, compassion, sensitivity, and peace among ourselves. It will help toward building a better world. Asher Meth ....... meth@nyu-csd2.arpa ....... allegra!cmcl2!csd2!meth