Future

Photographs of Israeli soldiers evacuating Israelis from Gaza reveal a deep divide and great pain.

For the settlers, the most painful part of the evacuation is not parting with four walls and a roof. They are pained at being forced by their State to go against what they believe to be God's Word. For the first time, they are experiencing a clash between their Zionist ideology and their land-based, messianic form of Judaism.

Israeli soldiers are also victims of this cultural war. These soldiers have been trained to fight the enemy. They know how to navigate the desert at night, detonate bombs, drive tanks … In Gaza, the soldiers are being asked to act against fellow citizens. Now Israeli soldiers have to know how to physically remove Jews from synagogues, persuade parents to send children out of their homes before soldiers storm in, and endure verbal assaults.

What will happen after the Gaza evacuation? Can the sense of a shared destiny check the animosity and anger? Can cooperation be achieved when the secular camp insists on a modern State and the religious camp insists on a Torah State? Can a new social contract be formed and internal peace be achieved?

Some in Israel believe that the current secular-religious schism can be bridged. However, the intensity and difficulty of the conflict means it could take a generation or more to resolve.

The first step toward healing is recognition of the illness. Surveys have shown that Israelis overwhelmingly recognize the religious-secular divide as Israel’s most pressing problem.

People-to-people dialogues are an important step toward overcoming barriers of understanding. Currently in Israel, there is little contact between secular and religious Israelis as they tend to live in different neighborhoods and send their children to different school systems. More programs that bring religious and secular Israelis together are essential.

Achieving greater social unity also depends on the active involvement of representatives of the two groups. Journalists, academics, teachers, rabbis, business leaders, and politicians can influence the general public, serve as mediators between the two groups, and lead the way toward creation of a new social contract.

Fighting the fragmentation of Israeli society must be a top priority. The Jewish people have survived for thousands of years despite persecution by other people, and the modern Jewish State succeeded to establish itself despite attempts by stronger States to destroy it. Wouldn't it be tragic if we became our own worst enemy? In 2005, with a mere 5,235,000 Jews living in Israel and with the country still facing security threats, internal concord and cooperation is essential.

During this difficult time, as we watch images like that of a 10-year-old religious boy calling a 40-year-old Israeli policeman a "Nazi", we need to remember that unity is our great challenge and the key to our future.