By Allan Brownfeld: Consider the widely quoted statement of Israel’s Sephardic Chief rabbi Ovadiah Joseph. He declared that the only reason for the existence of non-Jews is to serve Jews. His funeral in 2013 was considered the largest ever in Israel—-with crowd estimates reaching 800,000. He is commemorated on Israeli postage stamps and many streets bear his name.
Another rabbinical hero to Jewish West Bank land thieves is Rabbi A.I. Kook. He said of Jews, “We are of a much higher and greater spiritual order.”
Most Americans, including Jewish Americans, are unaware of the narrowness and bigotry which characterizes Israel’s state-supported religious establishment.
Most Americans believe that Israel embraces religious freedom and separation of religion and state. Sadly, this is not the case. Israel has a taxpayer-supported religion, which is ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Most Jewish Americans are not Orthodox. Their Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and other rabbis cannot perform weddings or conduct funerals in Israel. Their conversions are not recognized.
For American taxpayers to support an enterprise which embraces religious bigotry is to turn our backs on our highest values.
For a different Jewish view about Israel, religious freedom and the treatment of Palestinians, see the website of the American Council for Judaism: