Fundamentalism in Comparative Perspective (42 page)

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Authors: Lawrence Kaplan

Tags: #Religion, #General, #Fundamentalism, #Comparative Religion, #Philosophy, #test

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Page 162
in the Jerusalem Talmud (Hagiga 76:B) that calls religious scholars rather than armed watchmen the guardians and true defenders of the city. In its proclamation the group argued that, as religious students and scholars, they (NK), and not the defense units of the Zionists (Haganah), were the guardians of the city, as the latter desecrated the Sabbath in public and did not observe the dietary laws of
kashrut,
in line with the secular character of Zionism. Amram Blau and his friends raised this challenge both verbally and in writing. They even raised it physically, when they took to the streets to interfere with attempts to collect the "defense" money.
Although secular Zionists were the proclaimed enemy, Agudat Israel became the principal target of the NK protest. For, in the eyes of NK, the Agudah was unwittingly helping to legitimize the Zionist organization by cooperating with this effort. When Edah Haredit elections were held in July 1945, NK, in cooperation with some Edah leaders, obtained control over its institutions and ousted the representatives of Agudat Israel from this body.
Although NK and the Edah expressed the same political-religious point of view after July 1945, they still differed in organization and function. The Edah was and still is a communal organization with its own bureaucracy, whose main function is to provide its members with communal services, in particular with regard to
kashrut
and personal status (marriage and divorce). Yet, paradoxically, the very same isolationist principle that dictates providing separate religious and communal services has forced the Edah to accommodate itself to "Zionist-atheist" institutions in order to have the wherewithal to do so.
After the State of Israel was established in 1948, political reality as well as financial need dictated some form of cooperation with the state. For example, even the most extreme and anti-Zionist elements are not prepared to relinquish government sanction of marriages, as without it the Edah could not take any binding legal measures against a member who leaves his wife and children. Although some protracted and enervating procedures for applying pressure are always available in such a community, the outcome is not at all certain. They therefore must accept formal authorization from the Ministry of Religious Affairs in order to perform legally binding
 
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marriages and to grant divorces. Further, the provision of separate Edah
kashrut
services necessitates municipal and sometimes also governmental licenses (e.g., for slaughtering houses), as well as arrangements with Zionist enterprises and corporations such as Tnuvah (a Histadrut affiliate), which supplies most of the country's dairy products, fruit, and vegetables. Moreover, having its own bureaucracy has almost inevitably led the Edah to make further concessions in its isolationist principle when it fights for its economic interests by trying to gain a greater share of the Israeli food market for ultra-kosher products. As long as the standard of living in Israel remained low, these tendencies were hardly noticeable. But by the mid-1960s, as it rose and the
haredi
(ultra-Orthodox), community sought to share in it, an increasingly sharp controversy developed between NK and Edah leaders.
The controversies between NK and the Edah, between these two and Agudat Israel, and between all three and secular Jewish society provide the background and context for the activities of radical extremist elements in NK and related groups, whose acts of religious zeal often take on a verbal and physical violence. Paradoxical as it may seem, these activities are directed not only against the secular Zionist but also against recognized, accepted rabbinic authorities and distinguished leaders of the ultra-Orthodox groups. Again paradoxically, these expressions of the tension between groups are based on shared historiosophical and historiographical views as
yahadut haredit: haredi
Jewry. It is only with this knowledge that we can understand such acts of religious zeal and their dialectical nature, for it is my thesis that this particular social context fosters conservative fundamentalism.
Without elaborating on the development of the term
yahadut haredit,
the historiosophical and historiographical principles that determine the social confinement of this society are formulated in a brief and in a somewhat simplified manner.
1. The term ''Jewish nation'' is meaningful only within the context of the mystical unity of Israel, the Torah, and God. Thus, Jewish identity has meaning only when there is faith in God, as well as in the Torah (both written and oral) as the expression of His absolute
 
Page 164
will. The Torah must therefore be obeyed by observing the halakhic commandments as interpreted by the
gedolei ha-Torah
(Torah sages) of every generation.
2. The historic destiny of the Jewish people derives from the special relationship between the Jewish nation and God, as described in the biblical quote, "Not like the other nations is the house of Israel." The Jewish nation cannot escape its special historic destiny of exile and redemption, both of which are basic concepts of Jewish existence. Agudat Israel, Edah Haredit, and NK all define Jewish existence in the current political reality of Zionism and the State of Israel as being in a state of exile; whereas the adherents of Zionism define it as "the return of the Jewish people to history," and ultra-Orthodox Jews view it as a revolt against the ''not [being] like other nations." The
haredi
viewpoint, perforce, views Zionist attempts to control Jewish history as a mutiny against God. This viewpoint leads to its isolationist principle and policy toward Zionist institutions and the State of Israel. Hence, every deviation from this policy, if justified at all, is justified on pragmatic grounds alone, in other words,
a posteriori
.
3. The way of life that developed in traditional Jewish communities, especially in the Ashkenazi communities of Central and Eastern Europe before the process of modernization and secularization (
haskalah
) began, is viewed as the fullest expression of Jewish society. Thus,
haredi
ultra-Orthodoxy takes this traditional Jewish society as its standard for determining the legitimacy of Orthodox Jewish life in the modern reality. From this point of view,
haredi
ultra-Orthodox religiosity to a large extent can be defined as "neo-traditionalism," a term used here deliberately because
haredi
religiosity is certainly not consistent with traditional religiosity. Although one finds traditional religionists, whose adherence to the traditional way of life is absolute and who make no attempt whatsoever to adjust to modern society,
haredi
Jews seem to be able to deviate from tradition when necessary. However, it should again be stressed that any changes in traditional ways of life are justified only
a posteriori,
generally as a concession to social or personal imperfection.
Haredi
society therefore is viewed hierarchically, in accordance
 
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with the degree of adherence to the old way of life. Since adherence to tradition as expressed in outer appearance (traditional garments, beard, side-locks), speech (Yiddish), and the education of children (
heder
) is considered the most legitimate, Neturei Karta who follow the traditions of the Old Ashkenazi
yishuv
in these respects are not merely the best representative of the isolationist approach, but also the embodiment of extreme and uncompromising loyalty to the traditions of "Israel of old."
6
Haredi
self-identification therefore is determined not only by its special historiosophical and historiographical points of view but also by the awareness of the degree to which these have been deviated from on the political, religious, and social levels. Thus,
haredi
society is characterized by continuous feelings of self-delegitimation, guilt, and weakness
a posteriori
in the face of Zionist reality. These feelings determine the strength of NK as a radical religious group. To a large extent they also determine its dialectical relation with all of
haredi
ultra-Orthodoxy, as well as, in a sense, with religious Jewish society in general.
But radical though they may be, these paradoxical and complicated relations place NK and similar groups in the camp of conservative fundamentalism. This is because Jewish traditional society is their context of reference and they consider themselves living in conditions of exile, which limits their use of power to traditional "exilic" means of behavior. Religious groups such as NK express their radical viewpoints in activities that they call
zealotism,
viewing this as a legitimate religious phenomenon in the context of Judaism. The classical example of such religious zeal is that of Pinhas, son of Elazar, son of Aaron the Priest, who killed both Zimri, son of Salu, "a chief in the Simeonite family," and Cozbi the Midianite, daughter of Zur, before the entire congregation of the children of Israel.
7
The Talmudic commentary on this event provides the following sociological analysis of Pinhas' act.
8
Although God praises Pinhas in the Bible, the Talmud justifies his deed only
a posteriori
. The ambivalent attitude toward such direct, violent acts may be sensed in the discussion between the Talmud sages. The Talmud says that if Zimri had killed Pinhas, he would not have been punished, "for he [Pinhas] is a
 
Page 166
persecutor." And when a man chases his fellow with a weapon in his hand, he who takes the life of the pursuer does not have to be punished, as he has in fact saved the lives of those being pursued. However, a deed such as that of Pinhas can be justified only "if it was committed spontaneously, in a mood of uncontrollable anger."
Despite the ambivalence of the halakhic sages, they recognize that such outbursts are inevitable expressions of religious emotion. But, as it is described in the Talmud,
9
the story reflects another important aspect of the "zeal syndrome": the tension between zealots and their leaders. For, by acting in front of the entire congregation, Pinhas demonstrated the weakness of the leader Moses. Indeed, it is one of the crucial aspects of this syndrome that, whatever their intention, zealots always end up challenging the established religious leadership. Even though their anger is directed at sinners, it ultimately implies criticism of the established leaders, however respected they may otherwise be.
Numerous examples of religious zeal, manifested in acts of verbal and physical violence against "sinners," can be found in various historical contexts. However, such acts are more likely to occur during periods characterized by secularization, when religion has lost control over the behavior of the people. Nor example, the old Ashkenazi
yishuv
in Jewish Jerusalem at the turn of the century provided a particularly favorable climate for religious zealots. The process of change and modernization that took place in Jerusalem toward the end of the nineteenth century, triggered by the activity of Western European Jewish philanthropic organizations with reformist tendencies, made possible the development of an economically and socially strong class of intellectuals (
maskilim
). But, although this new way of life was regarded as antithetical to the tradition of the old
yishuv,
the religious leadership was too weak to take serious action against it. The difficult economic and political situation also compelled them to rely upon these deviators from tradition to maintain contact between them and the philanthropic organizations. However, precisely this weakness of the religious leadership allowed the zealots relative freedom of action.
Within the social structure of the old
yishuv,
among rabbis who possessed authority and were respected in the traditional Jewish
 
Page 167
world, the zealots were able to find religious authorities to be their patrons and to sanction their activities. From this point of view, such figures as Rabbis Y. L. Diskin and J. H. Sonnenfeld played a very important role in the phenomenon of religious zeal in Jerusalem. This patronage also had economic significance. For the rabbinic scholars who sanctioned the activities of the zealots enabled them to assume a relatively independent position in the economic set-up and power centers of their society by supporting them while they devoted their time to religious activities. Thus, the tradition of religious zeal that developed in Jerusalem constituted a source of direct or indirect subsistence by allowing zealotism to become a "profession." And this structure has remained the same in essence to this very day.
An analysis of zealot activities demonstrates that they are facilitated by three levels of participation on the part of their community:
1.
Active zealots
. Unlike Pinhas, who acted alone, the zealots' acts of verbal or physical violence usually are influenced by the group. In other words, those who act against either "sinners" or rabbinical authoritiesby shouting, protesting, blows, or vilificationusually act as a group, with mutual encouragement.
2.
Sympathizers or passive zealots
. Public sympathy for zealotry is a complex phenomenon. Its sympathizers range from those who support activists wholeheartedly and publicly yet do not dare to join them, to those who object to the acts themselves yet refrain from doing anything that might lead to the identification or arrest of the perpetrators because they identify with their final aims.
3.
Rabbinical patrons
. Recognized and respected rabbinical authorities legitimize zealous acts. They are especially necessary when such acts are directed against other rabbinical authorities.
The relationships among these three groups are neither static nor fixed, but rather dynamic. Nor are they harmonious; indeed, they are subject to permanent tension stemming from the violent and unpremeditated nature of some zealous acts.
Against such a social reality, violence is inherent to acts of religious zeal. Indeed, in the case of Pinhas, the archetypical zealot, the violence led to death. This has not been the case with
haredi
zealots,

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