The Israeli government should strike a balance between the demands made by the ultra-Orthodox sectors and the needs of Israeli citizens in general. BNEI BRAK: The combination of ultra-Orthodox large families who are unemployed, lack a regular income and the basic education required for knowledge and occupation, has led to extensive poverty among this sector, says the writer. (photo credit: YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90) The debate over Israel’s national and religious character began many years prior to its establishment, and has continued, and even radicalized, since then. All the great minds behind Zionism and the establishment of the Jewish nation state, including Herzl, Jabotinsky, Wolffsohn, and Kalischer, wrote about its religious character. Since all Zionist philosophers and their implementers were secular Jews, it was only natural for them all to envision the Jewish nation state as secular, where freedom of religion and freedom from religion would be available to every citizen according to their faith. It is noteworthy that religious Jewish philosophers, such as Maimonides, also allowed every individual to make their own choices, claiming that “each person should live according to their own belief.” Christianity followed this principle, and even the Prophet Muhammad in the original Islam – before it […]
