Political and Religious Israel: A Living Contradiction

This year, May 14th holds an extra dose of significance for the Israeli people. While the date normally marks the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence, this year it holds dual importance: a 70th year anniversary of independence and the date the US moves its embassy to Jerusalem. Both events have sparked discussions in the Israeli community about their history. Claire Sufrin, an associate professor of Jewish studies at Northwestern University, took note of the term "eternal capital" being used to describe Jerusalem, implying that Jerusalem has always belonged to the Jewish people.  

Among these two celebrations is the epitome of Israel as a living contradiction. On one hand, Israel is a developing political entity, making strides in the industry of technology. On the other hand, Israel is seen as eternal-- a religious home for the Jewish people for hundreds of thousands of years.

Looking at a period of seventy years, it can be easy to break this chunk of time into times of political progress and political dissolution-- steps forward or backward. Regional turmoil tends to highlight Israel's role as a political state, but it is also important to flip perspectives and view Israel for its religious nature. Hearing the voices of the religious in Israel can shed light on why some may call it "eternal."

Israel is, as Uzi Robbi describes it, a "collage picture of its history." Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Robbi said he that he tries to "tie up the loose ends." Those loose ends, to him, are the intersecting histories of Israeli and Middle Eastern history. It can be a daunting task, considering those intersecting histories make 70 years look like a tiny blip in history.

To individuals living in Israel or under Israeli authority, those histories can be critical, however. Eliana Passentin lives in the Northern Benyamin region on top of Mt. Efraim in the West Bank. From her backyard, she points to different landscape elements that connect her to the Biblical history of Israel. She points to Highway 60, once a road traveled by Abraham, Jacob and Joseph. She points to ancient Shiloh, the first capital of ancient Israel.

"Let's go back 3,500 years in time," Passentin said. "God tells Joshua to come to Shiloh and establish the first capital, the center of the twelve tribes… The land is divided and every tribe lives somewhere else in Israel but they're expected to come back here three times a year."

Beyond these landmarks, Passentin presented her evidence of the presence of Israelis thousands of years ago. When Passentin's house was first being built, she found pottery shards buried in her back yard. She said that these shards came from thousands of years ago, when the twelve tribes would meet in ancient Shiloh to conduct a sacrifice.

"According to Jewish law you can eat your sacrifice, anywhere as far as the eye can see," Passtetin said. "Pottery, according to Jewish law, is porous, it absorbs the holiness and therefore it cannot be used for a second time, because it is a holy vessel now. So they break the dishes.  So we have broken dishes from Jewish families from 3500 years ago all over our back yard."

These more tangible elements are just one part of what has connected Jewish people of faith to Israel. Rena Quint is a Holocaust survivor who has seen the life and development of Israel. She recalled her time in Sweden, a country which accepted a limited number of Holocaust victims after World War II was over. It was there that she met her future foster parents. Quint said that her foster parents had heard rumors of Jews meeting up with their mothers, fathers and brothers back in the land of Palestine. Even before the establishment of the state of Israel, there was a thought that Jews could reunite with their families in the land where Israel would be.

"It's mind boggling to think if he had had a state of Israel," Quint said. "That's why Israel is so important to us, whether we like the government, whether we like this or that-- Israel is here for every Jew that needs to come in here. That's why we are so privileged to have this state."

Quint's characterization of Israel reflects a deeper purpose of the state-- a purpose that stretches beyond the politics of the government at any given time. A safe home, or as Sufrin might say, an eternal place, for the Jewish people.

While the development of Israel as a Jewish state is progress for the Jewish people, there are still some disconnects between reality and hope for eventuality. 

"In the Passover satyr every year it concludes with "Next year in Jerusalem," Sufrin said. "That's the concluding line and people sing it. There's a certain irony that you could very well be in Jerusalem next year for Passover, it's just a matter of money. Yet, people sing it. The irony is that people also sing it in Jerusalem. Because that idea-- the Jerusalem of dreams of redemption-- is not realized."

In essence, there is still disillusionment around the duality of a political and religious state. Israel as a political state has normal, everyday issues. As Sufrin points out, the government can be good, but it can also be ridden with corruption. There are areas that are dirty, there are problems with feral cats--- the bus drivers go on strike. These political realities exist in a more mundane realm from concepts of an "eternal capital" or "Jerusalem of dreams." Yet, the two are reconciled in the present and historical Israel.