.orgCaroline Altman
The Politics of Religion in Israel
What is the difference between an Orthodox, Reformed, and Conservative Jew? Why is there such a divide between the Orthodox and these two more secular sects of Jews in Israel? What is the implication of this divide for Jews, Palestinians, and the cycle of violence that plagues religious politics in the Middle East? These questions can be answered by religion and life style.
An Orthodox Jew lives by the laws and practices of the Old Testament. The Old Testament, the Talmud (which includes rabbinic discussions of the Old Testament) and the Midrash, (which offers interpretations of the Old Testament), are followed according to their literal translation.
A Conservative Jew follows most of the tenants in the Old Testament but lives a life style modified to allow for a slightly looser interpretation of the texts.
A Reformed Jew melds interpretations of the Old Testament, the Talmud and the Midrash with the challenges of modern times. This looser reading of the texts allows Reformed Jews to adjust the paths of their lives practically rather than literally. While Conservatives see and consider the role of God in their everyday lives and Reformed Jews pay closer attention to the teachings, both Conservative and Reformed want to achieve parity with the Orthodox in that they want the same kind of acceptance and political agency.
But there are no official temples for Conservative Jews or Reformed Jews in Israel, no help for them to establish themselves in the holy land as an integral part of society because, in the eyes of the government, there is only one way and that is the way of the Orthodox. In Israel, the Orthodox are financially supported by the government and exempted not only from working but also from serving in the army and paying taxes-obligations met by the rest of Jewish society. In the eyes of the government, because of the stringent requirements made by the Orthodox, their sole social obligation and contribution is that of prayer. Any other kind of Jew is viewed as a non-practicing or secular Jew, devoid of religious affiliation.
The practice of Orthodoxy and its relationship with the state hinders Israel from making positive efforts in its search for peace. That is because Orthodox Jews, among other things, believe that Israel's land should encompass all of what was "Palestine" (Judea and Samaria). But peace is also hindered purely because of the Orthodox lifestyle. By refraining from participation in daily toil or helping others outside of their insular community; by living only through texts that sap the strength of the country at large; by using government money for the support of their able-bodied community; and by refusing to offer civic service in place of their absence from the Israeli Defense Forces, they disallow for the kind of change that will stabilize the region.
The parliament in Israel (the Knesset) is constructed much like Italy's parliament where constant changes in the leadership or government require coalitions to group and re-group in efforts to form majority blocs. In the Knesset, just like in Italy's parliament, there are many parties. So, in order to get support from a majority of seats in the Knesset, the Israeli politicians have to take the fractious parties and glue them together with promises that appeal to the groups and persuade them to work together. One of the largest parties is that of Orthodox Jews. They are always the key to making a coalition because they have a lot of followers, which means they have a great deal of power in the Knesset. In order to meld with other parties to make a majority, they demand certain things from the other parties that ask them to join. They have demanded and received not only exemption from service in the National Defense Forces, and a lifetime of government stipend for studying the Torah, but government land and money for the construction of their synagogues. The Reformed and Conservatives in contrast, have to raise their own money and buy their own land if they want a temple. Without a place for Reformed and Conservative Jews to gather and pray, and most importantly communicate ideas of moderation, the Orthodox have the upper hand in decision making.
Those decisions incite and perpetuate the cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Orthodox Jews have settled in the West Bank, land that belonged to the Palestinians until the 1967 War. While the Orthodox work hard to build the settlements in which they dwell, they build them all over the West Bank rather than in just one area, with or without government consent. These actions stem from feelings of entitlement to land they feel was gifted by God. There are some settlements that live peacefully with their Palestinian neighbors but battles ensue, especially when the Orthodox start colonizing another part of the West Bank which is, for now, controlled by Israel.
The Orthodox disregard for fairness and their persistent drive to dominate settlements in the West Bank has made it an impassable jigsaw puzzle impossible for Palestinians to navigate but easy for them to resent; so they attack the Israelis, turning to terror and bombs in demand of more than they should legitimately have. Since the power rests with the Orthodox and other reactionary coalitions, peace is hard to achieve. Instead, Israelites have taken draconian measures to defend themselves. Until another force in the Knesset changes Israel's policies, takes power away from the Orthodox, and distributes it amongst other, more moderate parties, the political climate in Israel cannot change.
Israel is a beautiful and wonderful land. There are a majority of people who would like to change the way things are done, but they are fragmented and do not have the means to influence those in control. So they demand that things change but are not empowered. The Reformed and the Conservative Jews need to take the extraordinary power from the Orthodox. The government must show the will to empower less religious groups so that they can pray and organize for stabilization of the region. Until there is a unified decision and determined effort to take over the Right, we will see a continuation of this cycle of recrimination and violence.
Caroline Altman was born on the west side of Los Angeles and went to the local public schools. After graduating Hamilton High School, she attended UCLA and got her BS in social sciences and a credential in elementary education. She graduated with a Masters Degree in educational psychology from USC.
After teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District for seven years, she became active in United Teachers Los Angeles and went to work for them as an organizer for teachers. She then worked for Teachers Association of Long Beach as assistant Executive Director, California Teachers Association and the Service Employees International Union. At CTA and Service Employees International Union, she organized under the new state laws for school employees, state employees and higher education employees, allowing them to negotiate contracts and unionize.
At SEIU, she rose from organizer to director of a state-wide campaign to organize the five medical centers and their satellite operations in the University of California under HEERA. This campaign put her in charge of 20 organizers and covered Davis, San Francisco, UCLA and the University Hospital in San Diego. The campaign was very successful in collecting the authorizations to represent the nurses, medical professionals and support staff in these facilities. The highlight of the campaign was determining for the hospital employees the state-wide bargaining units which would allow them to maximize their ability to reach meaningful contracts. The unit determination hearings were held by the Public Employee Relations Board at the University of California. Those bargaining units are still in effect today.
After the SEIU campaign, Ms. Altman went to the private sector and began a career as a Human Resources professional. She became a technical recruiter and, as she gained experience, a director and ultimately Vice President of human resources for technical companies.
Her last job was Vice President of Human Resources where she sat on the executive board of iSuppli, a technical company that provided market information and supply chain services to the semiconductor industry.
Presently, Ms. Altman has a consulting business that supports small companies in recruiting and human resources services. She is married to Judge Robert Altman and has two daughters, Catherine, a lecturer at the University of Colorado Boulder and Susan, a lawyer who is working as a County Counsel in Napa County.