Can Ruth Calderon Unite Religious And Secular Israelis?

by Sigal Samuel
Apr 19, 2013 2:30 PM EDT

Israeli parliamentarian Ruth Calderon, whose now-famous inaugural Knesset speech took the form of a Talmud lesson, recently made the controversial move of speaking at the Komemiyut Conference in Jerusalem. Because she’s an unapologetically secular Talmudist and a known liberal, Calderon’s decision to participate in a far-right religious Zionist conference drew the ire of left-wingers, who weren’t crazy about the idea of her fraternizing with a movement that encourages Jews to refrain from employing Arabs, to protest Jerusalem’s gay pride parade, and to view their lives as inherently more valuable than those of non-Jews. But Calderon insisted on attending, because she believes in engaging in dialogue, even—especially—with those who disagree with her.

Addressing the movement, Calderon made a number of impressive, bold, and—given the context—even revolutionary statements. She called their discrimination against Arabs just what it is: racism. She decried their homophobia and transphobia, referring to it as “bigotry, injustice and a profanation of God’s name.” She insisted that “all people…non-religious and religious, women and men, homosexuals and heterosexuals, Jews and non-Jews, all were created in the image of God.” She even went so far as to say that the women in the room were in possession of “important Torah that men cannot teach.” But, believe it or not, that wasn’t even the most revolutionary thing about Calderon’s remarks.

The most revolutionary thing can be heard toward the end of the video posted above, which Tablet’s Yair Rosenberg provided and blogged about yesterday. Here’s how the English subtitles render Calderon’s words to her audience:

"We have waited many years for an alliance like this. A true alliance between the secular and the religious, within the Zionist project, within which there is a place of course for the Haredi community and for others. I very much hope that we will succeed in building this partnership in truth and in equality, and with honor for the Jewish culture that we carry."

Given the current level of tension between secular and religious Israelis, forging an “alliance”—Calderon’s original Hebrew word, brit, is more typically translated as “covenant”—between the groups would be an achievement bordering on the miraculous. What’s more, for those who live steeped in biblical and rabbinic texts, the word brit carries powerful valences; it conjures up a multilateral, mutually beneficial, lasting and even loving relationship wherein each party commits to doing certain things for the sake of the other. In the Bible, God makes a brit with Abraham, for example, and with the children of Israel. For Calderon to tell her far-right religious audience that she wants to build a covenant with them is to say something truly revolutionary—and, as far as the left is concerned, downright terrifying.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/19/can-ruth-calderon-unite-religious-and-secular-israelis.html