Sephardic revolution, or the Judean republic of Israel

 

Alik Bakhshi

 

Sephardic revolution, or the Judean

republic of Israel

 

 

    The words uttered by Israeli parliament member Rabbi Ilyahu Swisa, as a threat to the Ashkenazi community, about a coming Sephardic revolution in his angry speech about the upcoming imprisonment of former Shas party leader Rabbi Aryeh Deri, unfortunately, are entirely consistent with the reality of the future facing Israel. This reality has serious objective reasons. The revolution planned by Shas can, of course, be called a Jewish revolution, analogous to the Islamic Revolution in Iran. However, the roots and goals of the revolution most likely lie in the realm of national relations, and the rabbi was not misspeaking when he called it Sephardic.

    Various national communities practicing Judaism have found a second home in Israel. Each has its own language, traditions, and culture—that is, all the characteristics that distinguish one people from another. The fact that the famous Israeli "melting pot" ended up without fire is further confirmed by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's latest gems about the Holocaust of European Jewry as a deserved punishment for sins against the Faith. Apparently, the spiritual leader of the Moroccan community, unlike the Ashkenazim, worships a different God, one capable of punishing six million Jews, including thousands of infants whose lips never uttered the single word "mama." What kind of insanity must one have reached to hold such misanthropic judgments? Here, following logic, I will allow myself to complete the thought of our religious philosopher, which he will undoubtedly express in the company of ayatollahs and Hamas members: that Hitler is the Messiah, sent to punish a sinful people, and that, as a reward for his godly deed, he is now enjoying a well-deserved rest in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by beautifully hipped houris.

     The statements of the father of the future Sephardic-Jewish revolution reveal far-reaching political plans, and these plans should, above all, be viewed as the tactical move of a clever politician whose ultimate goal is to achieve power. Fully aware that the Ashkenazim are his main adversary, Ovadia Yosef labels them sinners and instructs his flock on their proper place in the halachic hierarchy and who will milk the cows on Saturdays in the future Jewish Republic of Israel. It seems likely that this opportunity will be bestowed upon Ashkenazi rabbis, who have failed to fulfill their responsibilities.

     The Great Aliyah has significantly disrupted Israel's national balance, increasing the Ashkenazi population. However, given the political spinelessness of Russian-speaking immigrants and their Yisrael Ba'Aliyah party, the Sephardim still retain a chance to seize political leadership. Mr. Sharansky, at this difficult time for the governing coalition and the country as a whole, has found nothing better than to erect a "protest tent," within whose confined space a spirit of national unity hovers, the absurdity of which is particularly evident against the backdrop of the racist arguments of the spiritual father of the Moroccan community.

    Much of what is happening in Israel now resembles the situation in Iran prior to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The then-reformer of Iranian society, Shah Pahlavi, faced desperate resistance from the clergy, unwilling to lose their hold on the religiously obedient people. Exiled by the Shah, the leader of the religious elite, Ayatollah Khomeini, acquired the image of a martyr for the Faith and managed to rouse the masses against the Shah's reforms. A black veil of religious obscurantism descended upon the country. The Guardians of the Islamic Revolution mercilessly dealt with anything that did not conform to religious dogma. Cinemas were burned with audiences locked inside. Women caught in adultery or daring to appear uncovered were subjected to horrific executions. The Shahanshah of Iran (the Shah of all Shahs), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was forced to flee his country and spend the rest of his life in exile. The Eastern mentality of Moroccan Jews rejects the guilt of the fraudster and bribe-taker Rabbi Aryeh Deri and can elevate him to the status of a saintly martyr who suffered for the Faith at the hands of the hated Ashkenazi sinners. While the arson attacks on movie theatres and non-kosher stores that we have seen so far are not widespread, they could undoubtedly be a harbinger of political clashes on religious grounds. The fact that Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a religious fanatic should already alert the public, which should finally come to the proper conclusion that a serious threat looms over the institution of our democracy.

 

    While Labor and Likud squabble over the right to sign a peace treaty with Arafat, the clerics are slowly but surely inching their way to power. Thanks to them, the Knesset

has turned into an oriental bazaar, where trading and speculating on votes has become commonplace. The immoral image of the politicizing rabbis is further compounded by the fact that thieves and swindlers have emerged among them, completely indifferent to the fate of the country and willing to violate even the commandments of the Torah for the sake of power and money. The blackmail used by the Sephardic Shas party, aimed at extorting funds for the needs of its community and for the Knesset to approve halachic laws that contradict democracy, is paralyzing the normal functioning of the country's government. 

 

     Yes, political rabbis can be bought by both the right and the left, but it would be a mistake to consider the seemingly unprincipled Shas party's political stance limitless. The reason Shas left Barak's governing coalition, despite the phenomenal successes they achieved through their usual blackmail, lies much deeper than the justification they gave for their unexpected move under the circumstances. It's not that Shas opposes the creation of a Palestinian state (if Shas were in power, signing a final agreement with the Arabs would not have been a major problem for them), but that after peace is established in the region, the advent of genuine democracy is inevitable, guaranteed by a constitution that separates religion from state. The people at the helm of Shas are intelligent, and naturally, such a prospect cannot satisfy them, as it not only deprives them of the opportunity to come to power but also undermines the party's ideological foundation. Therefore, our Israeli clerics will do everything possible to prevent the adoption of a constitution.

 

     All religious politicians have one common enemy: democracy. An ideology that is considered the ultimate truth should not be the ideology of a state, especially a democratic one. All known historical cases where this has occurred have been accompanied by colossal losses for humanity. The era of medieval religious obscurantism and the times of communist and fascist regimes share one thing: the incontestability of their ideologies. Unfortunately, even in our time, and even more so in our region, we are seeing a relapse of this disease in the form of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

     Amid growing pressure from clerics and taking into account the recent statements of Shas political leaders, the question arises of their coming to power in Israel. Although believers constitute a smaller portion of society, they are strong in organization and discipline. The Bolsheviks in Russia were also numerically inferior to the Mensheviks, but thanks to their iron discipline, they seized power and then physically eliminated all their political opponents. The secular population's extremely lenient attitude toward the antics of the Orthodox is astonishing. By handing over Jerusalem to the faithful, we will lose the city, and then, perhaps, the emergence of another state after Iran is just around the corner, one in which power will belong not to a king or dictator, but to a virtual viceroy of God, whose will will not be discussed, and it would be a relief if it doesn't lead to crucifixions. It doesn't take a rich imagination to imagine the future of Israel if clerics come to power who, citing the chosenness and exceptionalism of the Jews, their qualitative difference from the goyim, will not hesitate to isolate themselves from all humanity with an "iron curtain," just as the communists in the Soviet Union shielded the people from the penetration of alien ideologies.

A law banning the import of non-kosher meat will be followed by a ban on ballet and all forms of art—as if they were the work of the goyim. The only permitted songs will be psalms, and the only musical instrument will be the ram's horn, while the anticipation of the coming of the Messiah will be analogous to the communist "bright future." It's possible that Iran will become the only friendly country. And that will be the end of the State of Israel.

 

As a result, the politicking rabbis, as well as the Israeli right, are against the peace process, because peace and democracy are as inseparable as totalitarianism and war.

While in power, Likud avoided democratic reforms, even though they were one of the party's main programmatic goals. The fact is that the existing socialist economic system, in which political and economic power is concentrated in the hands of the state, is perfectly suited to achieving Likud's political goals. Under a free economic market, it is impossible to establish settlements or even build entire cities for strategic purposes. And such a necessary attribute of a democratic state as a constitution is unacceptable to Likud, as it has no desire to equalize the rights of Palestinians with those of Jews—it would be impossible to impose a constitution only on a select few. Given this, statements about the need for a constitution for Israel coming from Mr. Lieberman, a former Likud member and current leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, appear purely populist. True, he does have some experience from his past life in the Soviet Union, where a dictatorial regime thrived under a democratic constitution. All that remains is to establish a dictatorial system here in Israel, and the n any Constitution that will suit even the Jewish Republic of Israel can be adopted.

 

   14.09.00