Judaism, truth, and the prime minister - opinion

Much has been said and written about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statements regarding security issues at the press conference on December 2.

Our area of expertise is the Jewish character of the State of Israel and issues of religion and state, and we can state that unfortunately, the prime minister’s words were inaccurate (to say the least) and he was probably aware of this. 

The Prime Minister opened his remarks concerning the return of the hostages with a seemingly familiar quote:

“Whoever saves one soul it is as if he saved an entire world.” The problem is that this quote cannot be found in the printed editions of the Mishna and the Talmud, nor is it taught in the educational system in Israel, and certainly not in ultra-Orthodox religious schools. 

Rather, the [Hebrew] text reads [Sanhedrin 4:5]: “Whoever destroys one soul from Israel (the Jewish people), it is considered as if he had destroyed an entire world; and whoever saves one soul from Israel (the Jewish people) will be considered as if they had saved an entire world.” 

The value of life in Judaism 

The essential difference is in just two words: “from Israel.” That is, it is specifically about saving the soul of a Jew. Scholars have pointed out that the original wording that appears in most manuscripts is indeed universal and refers to all of humanity, but this wording was changed and modified to refer specifically to Jews, and thus it appears in all the editions of the Mishna that are printed and studied.

It is clear why the prime minister chose not to use the common text in the context of the release of the hostages, which also include non-Jews. For obvious reasons, Magen David Adom and Yad Vashem also choose to disregard the printed text.

None of them bothers to point out to their listeners and donors that this is a text that was unfortunately changed and reduced in the official religious canon.

We identify, of course, with the ancient version, but the prime minister prefers to enjoy the best of all worlds: to both use the text that has already been replaced in the early rabbinic tradition in a tendentious manner, and to bow before his religious political partners who perpetuate the particularistic text, which is in direct conflict with what Netanyahu chooses to put forward, and who use it to justify incitement and discrimination.

The prime minister could have made a significant contribution to mending the all-too-poisonous discourse if he had acted to create awareness of the distortion of the original universal approach of Judaism in the Mishna and the Talmud and called for its restoration.

It should be adopted by both secular and religious education systems and guide the policies of the State of Israel, for example, anchoring the principle of equality in the constitutional legislation in Israel.

NETANYAHU AGAIN addressed Jewish issues at the press conference when replying to a question regarding the approval of coalition funds for the ultra-Orthodox despite the war situation and promises to drastically cut them and transfer the funds to urgent direct and indirect war-related needs.

In his remarks, the prime minister chose to distort the relevant financial data, and engage in emotional and aggressive rhetoric, with little relevance to the question that was posed. 

In a familiar manipulation, in which the best defense is offense, the prime minister chose to delegitimize the criticism by describing it as “populism and gratuitous hatred,” accusing his critics of hating the ultra-Orthodox.

By the way, no criticism heard in the public on this issue comes close to the incitement and hatred in the ultra-orthodox media toward the secular public, members of the Reform movement, and Zionists, all of which unfortunately the prime minister chooses to ignore.

The facts are, of course, different, and senior economists have all pointed out the danger to the future of Israel’s economy and the well-being of society if core curricular studies are not enforced, and if funding for schools that refuse to teach them is increased. 

Hiddush’s 2023 Religion and State Index again showed that an overwhelming majority of the adult Jewish public (and an identical majority of Likud voters) demand that core curricular studies be enforced in ultra-Orthodox schools, and 75% are of the opinion that the state funding of ultra-Orthodox schools that do not fully teach core curricular studies should be canceled or cut.

Instead, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich chose to increase the budget for ultra-Orthodox schools by hundreds of millions of shekels. Hiddush will pursue legal steps to stop this immoral and illegal funding, in view of the coalition’s disregard for the relevant law, national priorities, and the will of the public. 

The coalition funds [aptly referred to in the US as “pork barrels”] should be stopped. This is clear to everyone, except for the Prime Minister and his partners who insist on milking the public purse not only for ultra-Orthodox schools and yeshivas, but also for the religious indoctrination of the secular public, and more.

But it is important that the struggle after the end of the war should be not only about budget issues but also about strengthening a democratic Jewish identity that respects and upholds the Declaration of Independence’s assurances of equality and freedom of religion and conscience.

The writer is CEO of Hiddush – Freedom of Religion for Israel, Inc.