With all the enormous respect to the Haredi society and its leaders, and maybe because of that respect, the last few days of embarrassing arguments about how synagogues should function during COVID have given us a national mission – to take decisions about synagogues for the public at large out of the hands of the Haredim.
In the public discussion, an argument from Chief Rabbi David Lau and Shas chairman and the most important political leader in Haredi Judaism Aryeh Deri stood out. That argument was that no order could be given to close synagogues, as the public would not follow it because people were demonstrating outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem. They are right, but only when it comes to the Haredi public. It's not pleasant to admit, but not even a decision to restrict the Balfour St. protests would have caused many Haredim to forgo prayers in synagogue. Given that, can a decision be made that applies to the general public and puts it in danger on the ground that there is a core of Haredi society that will not comply? Can a sector that does not obey the law determine the rules for everyone?
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The government needs to realize that the Haredim do not make up all the synagogue-attending pubic, and are far from representing them. Most synagogues in Israel are not Haredi. Most of the people who pray and most of the synagogues are responsible and governable and follow the government's decisions. The State of Israel is the focal point of the Jewish people in this generation, both in terms of identity and practice, and in some senses it is the one who makes the decisions. The state is taking over the historic role of the community as the entity that decides on Jewish public customs, which is why riding bikes is surprisingly not seen as desecration of Yom Kippur, because it's a charming community tradition created here.
Therefor the most important task in preserving Judaism in Israel is for the state to stop letting the Haredim dictate the religious order. Unlike them, the majority of synagogues in the country will follow public health rules and act responsibly. If the authorities decide that to save lives, prayers must not take place inside synagogues, and what we need is social solidarity, worshippers will follow the rules and pray outside.
The government cannot continue to allow the Haredim to make decisions for society as a whole. Haredi leaders operate in a system of internal pressures that does not allow them to take a moderate line as they sometimes did in the time of Shas under Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. This week, we could hear Deri on the Haredi radio station Kol Hai, recommending – but not able to go all the way – the courageous ruling by Yosef's son, Rabbi David Yosef, that prayers must take place outside and that synagogues should be closed.
This is a fact that they must understand: the historic Haredi decision was made in order to preserve a tiny, pure group. It was a heroic and honorable decision, but it means that we cannot allow the Haredim to manage all religious affairs for the religious, traditional, and traditional-secular sectors in Israel.
A few years ago, I published a book in which I claimed that the last 30 years or so have seen a breakdown of Haredi society and that radicalization in Haredi society would lead to it becoming almost impossible for Haredi representatives to be a core part of managing the modern Jewish state. Since then, United Torah Judaism leader Yaakov Litzman has resigned twice from ministerial posts, and we are now seeing the stately and responsible Deri, with his good intentions, nearly helpless in the face of intra-Haredi extremism without the support of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
The government cannot make decisions for all those who worship here out of fear that the Haredim will not obey. Israel as a whole, the traditional Israel, religious and secular, must take responsibility for Judaism. It belongs to them, too.
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