Not That Quiet of a Riot

This piece of news was not in the American papers at all (although the Hezbollah arms cache was, and for good reason, along with Iron Dome, both of which should be beneficial to Israeli security due to the fact that the Ministry of Defense didn't have to wait until Hezbollah started firing said munitions, and the system will be ready in a year), but this one has been dominating the Israeli press for the past couple of days. Earlier in the week, a Neturei Karta (a sect of Haredim that reject the existence of the state of Israel due to the fact that a Messiah has not arrived) child, one of 10, was taken to a hospital with physicians under the suspicion that the mother had been starving the child who at 2 years old only weighed 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds, which is healthy if you're less than a year old). It turns out they were right when they caught her on video removing the child's feeding tube, and they were able to arrest her. According to this article, the police suspect she could be diagnosed with Munchhausen Syndrome by proxy, meaning she takes injurious action against people close to her in order to gain attention from others.

Of course, the Haredim, even those whose views of the State of Israel clash with those of the Neturei Karta over the legitimacy of the state, saw this as a direct attack against them, just as they saw the parking lots near the Jaffa Gate being open on Shabbat as an attack against their beliefs and religious practices. This caused them to see the government as trying to "make baseless allegations against Haredi mothers" with no other purpose but to steal their children. So they took to the streets in Meah Shearim, a neighborhood that is sadly notorious for its extremist views towards clothing that shows skin and those that drive on Shabbat (although police blockades are now put up on Friday night and stay there until Saturday night, and you actually don't save that much time by driving through that neighborhood). The burning of garbage caused a stench to travel all the way to the classroom where I have my Hebrew class. But that was not enough, as they decided to take to the streets that are main arteries for traffic, especially Bar Ilan Road and Eshkol Tunnel, which they blocked with garbage. This lead to secular mayor Nir Barkat shutting off all services to the neighborhood, and my bus, which usually passes by Meah Shearim, to literally go around the city and not make any of its regular stops. Luckily this roundabout lead me right to .

Today the situation has cooled off, as my bus took its usual route and we were able to see the aftermath: some graffiti, but soldiers and police at every corner and streets with a few children loitering and nearly no adults.

Ami Kaufman summarized the recent flare-up of the secular-religious conflict, the last significant rise of which is profiled in the book that drove me to study Israeli politics, Real Jews: Secular vs. Orthodox: The Struggle for Jewish Identity in Israel. He also surprised me by mentioning that Yossi Deri, who was convicted of corruption in the late 1980's, is now planning a political comeback (I dare someone in the US to try that). However, while Efron remained neutral in his analysis, Kaufman, who previously participated in demonstrations against the "religious coercion" in the late 1980's, leaves us with quite the inflammatory statement:

The flames are still low, but I don't know. Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?

Well, Mr. Kaufman, the answer will be yes if you continue to write editorials and preclude the occurence of these events, and criticize people who find the secular attitude and action against Haredim to be reminiscent of what many Jews say is analogous to Nazi policy, then yes. The confrontation could be the death of Israel, if the secular fuel of the economy becomes apathetic enough to let theocracy take over.

Efron also wrote a piece on the episode, and I find him to be a bit more reasonable on the subject as he teaches at Bar-Ilan, an institution noted for its greater religious connection compared to other top Israeli universities. Efron understands the perspective of Haredim, who want to be isolated from the temptation of the secular sector, but cannot comprehend their squalid living conditions. They take welfare from the government with a quick reach, and when they are victimized in any way, they can't comprehend it. But their isolation is not perceived by the other side. When they see their imposition of religious restrictions, they see a society moving towards theocracy.

The tightrope of Israeli government seems to get thinner by the minute, and the coalition system seems to be the driving force. Government reform must be considered, or 20% of the population will ruin the country for the other 80%. Does that sound like a functional democracy?