Constructing Kasun, Educator

For any group of people who want to understand Israel, they have to understand Judaism.  The State of Israel, as you know, was created to be a Jewish State.  The laws are secular, but the identity is Jewish.  Religious people are supported by the state, so not all activity is entirely secular (for instance, a certain population of Jews is supported by the state to study religious texts without adding productively to the economy).

So, where to begin?  From a cultural standpoint, you could go to the Museum of the Diaspora, which tells the story of the Jewish people who were forcibly removed from their land and ended up settling all around the Mediterranean and beyond, setting up Jewish communities.  Central to this is the Temple, which was destroyed twice, the second time in 70 AD, and the Jews were left without their most holy of spaces to worship.  There is a debate whether or not exile has been creative or destructive to the Jews.  Many of the Jews who now live in Israel obviously believe that a return to their land is creative, and that’s why they’re here. 

We’ve also looked (at a microscopic level) at a few religious texts to understand the kind of discourse and analysis that belongs to Judaism.  While the Catholic part of me wants a Magisterium to determine which texts and interpretations are correct, the Jews refuse to do this.  The result is a certain kind of tolerance and wiggle room among interpretation that seems to ultimately resolve itself through history.  Several group members have commented that when they ask a question of our presenters, the response is either, “I’m getting to that,” or another question in reply. 

There’s a huge question here also of, “Who is a Jew?”  For about an hour, our group discussed with our very patient advisor what might be an appropriate answer to that question.  There are lots of possible answers—culture, religion, history, being the son or daughter or a Jewish woman, and so on.  Just like the religious tradition of the Jews, there isn’t a solid answer.  I suppose this is true of many groups and the way they do and don’t identify themselves.

We also listened to an explanation of basic demographics here in Israel, begun with a map that showed physical distances in miles of how small Israel is, and, according to the presenter, how real the danger of the Palestinian territories are.  We’ve found that Israel is at the front of international research in various fields and that its economy is becoming increasingly capitalist with the issues that come with it—increased inequality but also increased GDP per capita. 

I keep wondering if any religious state can make it on the international stage.  We’ve learned that Muslim Arabs (and maybe other Arabs?) who live in Israel are considered citizens yet don’t have the right to vote.  It goes without saying this is a real problem.  The Israeli Jew will likely explain that if you give those Arabs the right to vote, they’ll lose their Jewish state.  The same people who are the subject of anti-Semitism throughout the world, a people who would like to be able to be part of their culture and religion in one geographic place.

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Last night, four of us ventured into Tel Aviv proper from our suburban hotel, about 20 minutes from the city.  What a great city.  We had dinner on the beach of the Mediterannean with the most expertly prepared food I’ve had since the trip began, my plate full of red rice, mango sauce, and perfectly grilled blue bream.  We walked along the soft sand and could see the water was very clear even at night; some locals were still bathing in the warm waters.  Later we took a taxi to the restaurant called, “Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar.”  Yes, your imagination is correct in picturing a chocolate lover’s dream—white, milk, dark chocolates in liquid and solid forms.  The atmosphere was vibrant along the Port area where we passed restaurant after restaurant full of locals and visitors having a good time.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 11:56 pm and is filed under Israel, education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.