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Something that American Jews need to keep in mind amidst the renewed attention to religion and state issues in Israel is that the priorities here are not the same as in Israel despite the fact that the foes may be the same 1/
Avigdor Liberman wants to end the Haredi monopoly over religious institutions in Israel and rails against Smotrich’s endorsement of a state run according to Torah law, but his goal is different than American Jews who share the same goals and desires 2/
Liberman’s fight against the Haredim and Hardalim is because he is advocating secularism. The American Jewish against the Haredim and Hardalim is not a fight for secularism but a fight for religious pluralism. 3/
Religious pluralism is not only beyond anything that Liberman wants, it is entirely foreign to most Israelis. This doesn’t mean that Liberman’s battle against the tide of religious compulsion in Israel shouldn’t be cheered on, but American Jews should understand what it is 4/
Religious pluralism is meaningless to Israeli Jews living in a majority culture with no need to have a wide array of variations on how to express their Judaism and Jewish identity. For American Jews who are a minority in a dominant culture, the variation is key to identity 5/
All of which is to say that nobody should be surprised if Liberman is successful in his fight, as it is widely popular among Israelis, and that still nothing changes with the Kotel or with recognition of Conservative and Reform Judaism. 6/
Liberman represents a battle for secularism and not the end of Orthodox domination for pluralism’s sake. American Jews may identify with his side, but his side doesn’t much identify with what American Jews want. If these expectations are managed, everyone will be better off 7/7
