Of Karaites, Apartheid and other Experiences and Encounters in Israel
Here are some snippets and observations about my recent visit to Israel.
Shortly after I arrived I sent a note to my friend, journalist and author Gil Troy to let him know I was in Israel. His short response back to me was very profound. He wrote back, “Welcome home.” Indeed, Israel is the home of the Jewish people, and all of us should feel it is our home.
Over ten years ago Symcha and I put a down payment on a small apartment in a town called Ramla, near Lod and the airport. It is about 40 minutes from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The apartment was finally finished, or at least finished by Israeli standards. Apartments in Israel come pretty barren – you have to order the cabinets, refrigerator, sinks, faucets, even toilets and so on. Symcha has been doing an amazing job coordinating all the various deliveries and installations.
Since I was there for a little more than three weeks I joined a health club near our apartment. Ramla is a mixed city. Anyone who falsely libels Israel of practicing apartheid should just come to the health club I joined. There were Arabs (who are both Christian and Moslem) and Israelis working out in the gym side by side – and me. I heard a cacophony of languages in the shopping mall where the gym was located. In addition to Hebrew, one could discern Arabic, Russian, and Amaharic, and a few other dialects.
Although not known as being a particularly religious city, there were about 10 – 12 synagogues within a 5 – 10 minute walk from our apartment. Most of them were Sephardic. Of the ones that I went to on Shabbat, one was founded by Jews from Tunisia, another was for Jews from Iraq and another from Morocco. Each preserved traditions, customs and rituals of their places of origin. I have always contended that it is remarkable, considering how spread out we have been throughout the millennia around the globe how different we are, while at the same time, how much we have in common.
Ramla happens to house the center for Karaite Judaism in Israel. As a student of Jewish history and thought, I found this to be especially interesting and attended a lecture at the center to learn more about their beliefs and practices. At one time, almost 40% of the Jewish people subscribed to their belief system. Today it is estimated that there are less than 40,000 Karaites in the world. Although we have the same Torah and some practices in common, since they hold that the rabbinic interpretations of the rabbis in the Talmud go too far from the original intent of the Bible, there are significant differences in the way they practice their faith. As a result whether or not to consider them Jewish has always been a controversial question, with different rabbinic authorities giving different answers over the ages. I found it to be fascinating to learn about their practices and beliefs. To learn more about them, click here – Karaite Judaism – Wikipedia .
I attended the inspiring closing ceremony of the 21st Macabiah Games at an outdoor sports arena in Rishon LeTsion, featuring a number of popular Israeli performers. Over 10,000 athletes came from 64 countries around the world, making it the second largest international sport event in the world. One night Symcha and I even went to hear what is known in Hebrew as “Standup” – which in English means – a standup comedian. I was anxious to see if I could understand the jokes, the Hebrew, the slang and the references.
I took advantage of my time in Israel to meet with a number of friends and individuals in various positions, as well as a few of our B’nai Tzedek kids in Israel. A highlight was a personal meeting with Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog in his office. I also met with Natan Sharansky, US Ambassador Tom Nides, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nahman Shai, the Speaker of the Knesset (and good friend from his time at the Embassy in DC), Mikki Levy and the incoming new chairman of the Jewish Agency, Doron Almog, among others. I subsequently learned Almog was the first soldier to land in Entebbe in the 1974 operation that freed the hostages in Uganda, and considered a true hero.
