A degrading memorial

[Ophra]

A degrading memorial
By Alexander Yakobson

In the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Beit Yisrael, the Jerusalem municipality has erected a memorial to the fatalities of the August 2003 terror attack on the No. 2 bus: a memorial plaque bearing the names of those who were killed. The name of one of the dead, Maria Antonia Reslas of the Philippines, was engraved separately from the others, and she was given the title "Mrs.," while the Jewish dead were awarded the title "sainted" (kadosh). "Shortly after the ceremony," the newspaper (Haaretz Hebrew edition, August 9) reports, "there was already evidence of the scratching that unknown persons had done over Reslas' name."

The damage to the plaque is an ugly act of vandalism but the plaque itself, which officially declares that one of the dead is a second-class victim because she is not Jewish, is far more shameful and ugly. This is not a matter of an act by extremists. The hand hesitates to write this, but the truth must be told: The municipality of Jerusalem decided to degrade the woman who was killed out of consideration for the feelings of the public.

These things are not being written out of a tendency to "devour the ultra-Orthodox." This phenomenon, about which the ultra-Orthodox public complains a lot, does indeed exist, and it deserves condemnation like any other manifestation of hostility toward an entire community. However, the story of the plaque brings to mind a phenomenon of the opposite sort: The mayor of the city of Jerusalem is an ultra-Orthodox politician, Uri Lupolianski, who was elected with the help of the votes of a considerable number of liberal voters who remembered to his credit his praiseworthy activity at Yad Sarah [an organization which provides medical equipment to the needy].

The terrible suicide attack on bus No. 2, in which entire families were killed, aroused profound identification among the general public with its ultra-Orthodox victims. Many people spoke, with admiration and even envy, about the dignified way in which the ultra-Orthodox coped with their disaster. That is to say, precisely on the background of this incident there has been an evident willingness on the part of many secular people not only to respect the ultra-Orthodox, but also to recognize the seemly aspects of their world.

Is it really the halakha (Jewish religious law) that necessitated the degrading inscription of the name of the woman who was killed? It is known that the halakha prohibits the burial of Jews and non-Jews together. Does this prohibition also apply to a memorial plaque? If the title "kadosh" is reserved, according to tradition, exclusively for Jews, would it not have been possible to relinquish it? And if indeed there is no possibility, according to the halakha and tradition as interpreted by the ultra-Orthodox, of mentioning Jews and non-Jews together in a dignified way, would it not have been preferable not to have posted the plaque? Are official memorial plaques a religious requirement?

The truth is that this is not a matter, in this case at least, of halakhic requirements. However, this is also not merely a manifestation of insensitivity, but rather of a perception that is deeply rooted in broad circles of ultra-Orthodox society - even if it must not, of course, be attributed to every single ultra-Orthodox person. This perception refuses to accept a non-Jewish person as being of equal worth and to internalize the fact that here, in Israel, we are not a Jewish community that is concerned only for its members but rather a sovereign state that is responsible for everyone who lives in its territory.

This attitude toward non-Jews has nothing to do with the Jewish-Arab conflict and the feelings of fear and hostility that it arouses; the dead woman who was treated with contempt in Jerusalem is a victim of Arab terror. Nevertheless, it is clear that this basic approach toward non-Jews has implications in the Jewish-Arab context. Public opinion surveys show that hostility toward the Arabs is stronger among the ultra-Orthodox than among other segments of the public.

Is an ultra-Orthodoxy possible that is not based on these perceptions? It is to be hoped that it is. There are ultra-Orthodox Jews abroad that differ from this approach in important respects. In Israel, too, there are examples of a different approach: Yad Sarah, for example, also cares devotedly for non-Jews in need. The question is whether the ultra-Orthodox public in Israel, including its leaders and its spokesmen, is prepared to rid itself entirely of the view that non-Jews are not really human beings. If the answer is negative, this does not bode well for initiatives that aim to nurture dialogue and understanding between various segments of the Israeli public.

The writer is a lecturer in history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

[redcake]

Can you please provide a source for this commentary. I'm guessing Ha'aretz? A writer bio tagline isn't sufficient enough. Thanks.

[Oh Jerusalem]

If this happened, it's a desecration of G-d's name. Makes no difference if it was done by a child or an adult. Someone's got their head screwed on backwards.

Public opinion surveys show that hostility toward the Arabs is stronger among the ultra-Orthodox than among other segments of the public.

Is that because religious Jews in general have a greater proportion of right, conservative thinking people than the general population - and certainly than the secular.

Stupid statistic.

[Ophra]

Ooops. Sorry.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/465063.html

[Mediocrates]

I think it's a stupid argument to make. To criticize Orthodox for not being Orthodox is like criticizing a chicken because it can't fly. Of course Haredi are going to distinguish their own. That's what makes them Haredi. That they are bad because they are not your run of the mill universalists is absurd.

[redcake]

Is that the worst you can point to? Refusing to put a name on a memorial with equal billing? You can't say it's proof of an all around general attitude, because there are many minute differences even between Orthodox sects and denominations. Shoot, you can't even get them to agree of the Talmud, how can you say a memorial speaks for the attitude of every single ultra-orthodox person?

Such generalizations are every bit as imposing and wrong as anything this article accuses the Orthodox of doing.

[Oh Jerusalem]

A clarification on my previous post:

I was upset about the vandalism that supposedly occured. I say supposedly because Haaretz has been known to talk absolute nonsense when it comes to religious Jews.

As for the name being separate and a title of Mrs. versus Kadosh - this is sheer pettiness.

Looks like Haaretz reporters want to lick up to Shinui anti-semitism for some reason.

[Binyamin]

The damage to the plaque is an ugly act of vandalism but the plaque itself, which officially declares that one of the dead is a second-class victim because she is not Jewish, is far more shameful and ugly. This is not a matter of an act by extremists. The hand hesitates to write this, but the truth must be told: The municipality of Jerusalem decided to degrade the woman who was killed out of consideration for the feelings of the public.

In other words, the municipality was more worried about the sensitivities of the public than those of the Ha'aretz writer. A classic from the Left.

Does the family of Mrs. Reslas consider her a martyr? Does her religion think she is holy because of how she was killed?

The whole issue, as OJ pointed out, is really not worthy of any attention. (Of course, the writer has no agenda against the religious.)

Judaism does not consider non-Jews to be sub-human, but Jews are considered to be better, and they are given a higher calling. (For the Left, somehow, Jews are held to higher level despite their not being better in any way.)

[KettleWhistle]

The author's assertion that Judaism considers goim to be subhuman is just as discusting as the alledged desecration of the monument. There are plenty of issues on which one can critisize the ultra-Orthodox and their primitive stone-age beliefs. That article, however, is just a punch below the belt.

[Ophra]

That article, however, is just a punch below the belt.

That's a little hypocritical coming from someone that admitted to desecrating the grave of Yetzchak Rabin .

[KettleWhistle]

That's a little hypocritical coming from someone that admitted to desecrating the grave of Yetzchak Rabin .

How so? That woman from Phillipines was an innocent victim of terror. She got properly recognized, not degraded, as the author of that article claims. That someone would try to scratch her name off the monument is an appalling act.

Rabin, and his grave, is a whole different issue. He wasn't an innocent bystander murdered by a terrorist. He was a murderer, a criminal, and a traitor, who got what he deserved for his actions. More appaling, is that he was buried on Mount Herzel. And not even at some remote spot, but right atop of it, being honored above people who actually cared for Israel and died for Israel. It is his burial place, that was turned into a worshipping ground for every brainless leftist, and every tourist group, that is wrong. Not the fact that he was buried, or had something nice written on his gravestone.

[Ophra]

How so? That woman from Phillipines was an innocent victim of terror. She got properly recognized, not degraded, as the author of that article claims. That someone would try to scratch her name off the monument is an appalling act.

Rabin, and his grave, is a whole different issue. He wasn't an innocent bystander murdered by a terrorist. He was a murderer, a criminal, and a traitor, who got what he deserved for his actions. More appaling, is that he was buried on Mount Herzel. And not even at some remote spot, but right atop of it, being honored above people who actually cared for Israel and died for Israel. It is his burial place, that was turned into a worshipping ground for every brainless leftist, and every tourist group, that is wrong. Not the fact that he was buried, or had something nice written on his gravestone.

Shame on you .... and shame on all of you so called religious Jews that have not condemned the above post.
The assassination of Yetzchak Rabin was as much a terrorist act as was the blowing apart of bus no.2 .
And you people wonder why the average Israeli despises the involvement of foreigners in our political lives.... why we distrust the extremist right-wing... why we disown and turn away from a religion that praises murder and his murderers.
I will never forget the shock and horror I saw on my children's faces that day.... on all of the faces around me .. it was a dastardly deed committed by one of yours .
Go ahead and play your usual card of calling me a self-hating Jew,an anti-Semite,a loony leftist a whatever label you want.
I am just an average Israeli that looks on your kind with distaste.

[Oh Jerusalem]

Shame on you .... and shame on all of you so called religious Jews that have not condemned the above post.

Tough luck.

I didn't see you condemn your own first post, that slanders religious Jews, nor did I see you condemn AJL when he accused ultra Orthodox Jews of practicing "primitive stone-age beliefs". Personally, AJL's beliefs date back to the likes of Nimrod. I wouldn't boast, if I were him.

I don't agree with certain things in AJL's post but I'm not going to condemn it. I do strongly disagree with any suggestions to desecrate a grave or a memorial to the dead, however.

[redcake]

The assassination of Yetzchak Rabin was as much a terrorist act as was the blowing apart of bus no.2 .
And you people wonder why the average Israeli despises the involvement of foreigners in our political lives.... why we distrust the extremist right-wing... why we disown and turn away from a religion that praises murder and his murderers.
I will never forget the shock and horror I saw on my children's faces that day.... on all of the faces around me .. it was a dastardly deed committed by one of yours .
Go ahead and play your usual card of calling me a self-hating Jew,an anti-Semite,a loony leftist a whatever label you want.
I am just an average Israeli that looks on your kind with distaste.

I don't care who or what you are, this is bordering on hate speak.

The only thing I'd like to call you, is in violation of this board.

You've made your freakish anti-Jewish - pro-Israel agenda clear, but I've read the statistics, and you're not the average Israeli. You're also the last person who should be talking about hypocrisy, because with your mixed bag of hate speak and contradictions, you'd be hard pressed to find like minded support on any message board.

[Ophra]

The only thing I'd like to call you, is in violation of this board.

You've made your freakish anti-Jewish - pro-Israel agenda clear, but I've read the statistics, and you're not the average Israeli. You're also the last person who should be talking about hypocrisy, because with your mixed bag of hate speak and contradictions, you'd be hard pressed to find like minded support on any message board.

AJL desecrates the grave of our elected leader and I am "bordering on hate speak" (????) ...excuse me while I silently weep.

You can call me anything you like.... you and your kind are a blot on our history and a shame on humanity.

What would you know about the average Israeli living so far from us as you do (???)

I don't need support from any message board ... the support is all around me .

My oldest son who is a career Army officer has stated that when he is ordered to remove the Hilltop Youth from their hills the cry on the minds of each and every one of his men will be " For Rabin !! ... "