Israel Matzav

This just might be the most detailed critique of J Street ever

I believe part of the phenomenon stems from the attempts by many American Jews to separate ethnicity from religion in this country and to merge Jewish identity with secular political values. It's been theorized that the attempt to separate religion from ethnicity created a void that many attempted to fill with politics or popular culture, among other things; and ironically many approached the task of filling the emptiness with an almost religious zeal. Or they created a secular “religion” by perverting the concept of Tikkun Olam, which they typically define as “social action,” but which according to the Talmud and Zohar is more closely interpreted as “insuring the proper workings of society” as part of a mystical process to ingather the divine sparks said to have been scattered throughout the universe at creation. What they’ve done with this concept is the subject of another talk, but suffice to say there is nothing holy in “social action” divorced from the Jews’ religious and mystical imperatives to fulfill their obligations to their G-d and to their People.

Political progressives tend to ignore the spiritual, and seek to supplant it with secular values – or universal values, if such things truly exist. However, there’s nothing about “repairing the world” that mandates an outward focus to the exclusion of Jewish self-interest and self-preservation. Moreover, there is nothing about the concept that a priori requires support of left-wing political agendas that conflict with traditional Judaism.

Ironically, secular progressives tend to believe they’re "repairing the world" by endorsing progressive political agendas, which increasingly promote the Palestinian narrative and question Israel’s Jewish character – and even her right to exist. But progressive politics do not reflect inherently Jewish priorities any more than does any other set of secular, political values.

Does “repairing the world” justify ignoring Israel's security concerns or denying her Jewish character? Certainly not; and any agenda in which Israel's Jewish character is debatable is by definition not consistent with Jewish values.

Labels: George Soros, J Street, Jeremy Ben Ami, pro-Israel pro-peace

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:50 PM