This Week: Israel At Its Best. And Worst.

Sending rescue teams to Turkey underscores humanitarian generosity; proposing a law to criminalize non-Orthodox participation at the Kotel shows arrogant mean-spiritedness.

Going to the Wall: Former Prime Minister and current Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the

proposed Kotel Bill would mean “the Western Wall no longer belongs to everybody.”

The energy, passion, commitment and contradictions that make up modern Israeli society were on display this week, big time. And the results were both inspiring and infuriating.

I read with pride how Israel was one of the first countries to respond to Monday’s devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, sending several hundreds of trained experts from the IDF, Foreign Ministry, United Hatzalah and IsraAID to Turkey to help search, rescue and medically treat survivors.

And although Syria has long been a bitter enemy, the Jewish State offered its assistance there as well. 

The Jerusalem Post reported that, as of today (Feb. 9), 13 victims of the quake were saved by the Israeli team, including a girl buried in the remains of her home where her mother and two siblings were killed. Her father, devastated by the death of his wife and two other daughters, was treated by United Hatzalah’s psycho-trauma team, The Post reported.

Two boys were saved because their sounds of life were detected by an Israeli drone with special equipment.

Tiny Israel has been at the forefront of such dramatic rescue missions for decades, often setting up a field hospital before medical teams from other countries have even arrived. These soldiers, reservists, medical experts and volunteers represent the Israel that embodies a humanitarian mandate rooted in our sacred texts, remembering and responding to the suffering of others. 

At the same time that these brave Israelis were bringing honor to their country, officials of the new coalition in Jerusalem sought to introduce draconian legislation that, if passed, would rend relations between Jerusalem and the majority of diaspora Jewry, perhaps beyond repair. 

Known as “the Kotel Bill,” it would criminalize non-Orthodox participation at world Jewry’s holiest site, for centuries a symbol of Jewish unity. 

Visitors would have to abide by the “local custom” of the area, as determined by the Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Chief Rabbinic Council. Dress must be deemed appropriate, no use of cell phones or musical instruments would be permitted on Shabbat. 

In a direct attack on Women of the Wall, a mixed-denominational group that has held Rosh Chodesh services at the Kotel for more than three decades, the bill would ban services in the women section that include reading from the Torah, wearing a tallit or tefillin, or blowing the shofar.

Egalitarian prayer services would be prohibited.

Offenders would be removed from the area and subject to a six-month prison sentence or a fine of NIS 10,000 ($2,900).

When news broke that the bill proposal was set to be included on the agenda of this Sunday’s meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, the depth and volume of outrage expressed in the U.S. and Israel resulted in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepping in directly to quell the opposition. In a video, he promised that no changes to the status quo of the Kotel will take place, at least temporarily. He said that no legislation would criminalize immodest clothing or musical instruments.

The prime minister noted he had been in touch with key members of his coalition, who agreed that the bill “won’t come up right now.” Of course that is not to say that it won’t be introduced. Just not immediately.

Not very reassuring to those of us deeply concerned about the breakneck speed coalition leaders are seeking to make major changes – with little or no attempt to engage in dialogue or consider compromise – regarding laws that would weaken Israel’s democracy. 

Why the hurry here?

In this case, it makes perfect sense that the Kotel Bill was proposed by Shas party chair Aryeh Deri, who was barred by the Supreme Court from the post of Minister of Health and Interior because of recent criminal convictions. (He also served a three-year prison sentence two decades ago for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.)

Deri, still a Knesset member, was well aware that the Israeli High Court plans to deal on Feb. 28 with a petition to formally recognize mixed-prayer services at the Kotel. Hurrying up passage of the Kotel Bill at a preliminary hearing before Feb. 28 was an attempt to allow the government to inform the Court at that time that the Knesset was dealing with the issue – and therefore, no Court ruling was required at this time.

That’s not going to happen now, but there’s little indication that this hard right coalition is in any mood to slow down its effort to do as much as possible to re-make Israel in their vision of a Jewish state.

Ironically, Netanyahu, the adult in the room, is the most liberal member of the coalition. He surely is not happy with the prospect of an upcoming effort to pass a slightly modified Kotel Bill. In all of his interviews with American media, he talks about being in the driver’s seat – “my hands are on the wheel” – and emphasizes that he’s not about to allow his government to endanger Israel’s democracy. But it’s noteworthy that he doesn’t talk like that in Israel. That’s because he fears offending or upsetting his partners; he needs them as much, if not more, than they need him. Held hostage in his own coalition, he knows that if his government collapses, he faces the prospect of going to jail.

One positive takeaway from this near-calamity is that crying “Gevalt” at times can make a difference. Netanyahu responded quickly to the outcries calling for immediate action against the Kotel Bill. But his society remains at a crisis point.

Yaakov Katz, the very able editor of The Jerusalem Post, wrote an Opinion piece today suggesting that both the Israelis saving lives in Turkey and those protesting vigorously against the government’s effort to reduce the authority of the High Court are “actually the same.” He asserted that “they fight for what they believe in, care for something greater than themselves and give of themselves to a greater purpose.”

I am an admirer of Katz’s work but I don’t believe his rhetoric holds up here. I think that at least in this case, those two groups – the humanitarians and the politicians – are driven by very different impulses. The Israelis giving of themselves to help those in need in Turkey reflect the best values of their country and their Jewish heritage. 

The coalition members trying to push through legislation that would make them a majority with little concern for the minority want to make Israel not just a Jewish state but a religious state. They aren’t seeking to unite Israeli society; they want to dominate it. 

Some have called the Kotel Bill incident a case of “Shas vs. the Jewish People.” This is the time for the Jewish People to make its voice heard. And loud enough to make a difference.