The Haredim who defend corrupt kashruth arrangements, radical feminists, "human rights activists" who defend terrorism and the thought police of the knights of political correctness have much in common. In the battle for the image of society, it repeatedly becomes clear just how destructive, authoritative, and corrupt the "purists" are. Anyone who truly wants to protect Israel's Jewish identity, promote equality for women, protect human rights, and defend freedom of speech has an interest in thwarting their policies and exposing their motives. This is necessary not only to defend those same values, but to limit the damage they do to an open and democratic society.
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Israel's Jewish identity, which Shas leader Aryeh Deri repeatedly enlists in order to protect Haredi corruption, was guaranteed mainly by people who abandoned that lifestyle. The Zionist revolution rebelled against the rabbinical leadership and took to the barricades to ensure the future of the Jewish people in their own land. It's minority of religiously observant partners (the Mizrahi movement) proposed a conservative and accepting approach, the opposite of the radical, oppressive, and corrupt approach of the Haredi leadership, to building the country together with traditional and secular Jews. The new type of Haredi hard core uses the Jewish state, which was founded and flourishes thanks to the work and devotion of secularists, traditional Jews, and the moderate religious, and lives off their sweat and blood. They have taken over the religious establishment, corrupted it, and – by their cynical behavior – alienated the general public from their Jewish heritage. The kashruth "protection" racket, controlled by the Haredi rabbinate, pulls billions of shekels out of the public's pocket into their own, and provides thousands of jobs for their supporters. This has absolutely nothing to do with Jewish identity.
The welcome increased awareness of justice and benefit to society of equality for women and defending them from sexual assault is hampered by pressure from radical feminists. In a few different areas, they have managed to recruit the legal system and the media to the assumption that women, by their nature, are innocent victims and men are predators, and any contact and touch between them that is not to her liking should be interpreted in legal terms as oppression by a "privilege," as gender-based discrimination or as sexual harassment, and women should be given preference without relevant criteria. Their success has kept not only men who are put off by their radicalism away from the important social battle for women's equality, but also women who are repelled by the perverted image of themselves as helpless victims and welcome partnership with anyone who aspires to a fairer, safer society.
Human rights organizations, which were established at the end of the previous century to defend innocent civilians in violent conflicts have contributed a great deal to the increased awareness of their suffering and to reduced harm to civilians by the militaries of western democracies. In the past few decades, many important organizations among them have been taken over by destructive radicals who created a false symmetry between cultured states and totalitarian, authoritarian, and tribal entities – both state and sub-state – in a way that deliberates obfuscates the moral chasm between imperfect good and unchecked barbarians.
They have created a symbiotic relationship with international organizations that are controlled by countries that oppress human rights and purists like themselves in the media, which twists the moral compass until it is unrecognizable. The same political camp is home to the boots of the politically correct thought police. They try to poison the free discussion of ideas by compelling the use of a perverted and false lexicon, which rules out from the start the legitimacy of anyone who disputes their narrow, extremist views.
The purist who have appointed themselves spokespeople for the radicals in the name of important values often win narcissistic satisfaction, beyond political and economic advancement. Even though they are nothing but a gimmick without any real contribution of ideas, they win public attention because of their extremism and are in love with their own shining image as tortured saints in the service of a big idea. The problem is the damage they do to the idea itself. Pirkei Avot taught us: "Do not make them a crown for self-exaltation, nor a spade with which to dig," and one of the commentators added, "He who does so sullies the holiness of the Torah."
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