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A new direction for religious Zionism By Yair Sheleg Tags: National Religious Party  The dissolution yesterday of the National Religious Party and the unification of the four right-wing religious Zionist parties - the NRP, National Union, Tekuma and Moledet - will probably not bring in many new votes because the promised result is far from satisfactory in terms of either the issues or individuals involved. While many new faces are promised - both intellectuals and professionals - all are likely to hail from the same center-right ranks of the national religious that characterized these parties in the past. Perhaps young people will be greatly enthusiastic, anxious to contribute to the renewed party, but anyone who did not find his ideological home there before is not going to find it there now. Furthermore, the paradox of religious Zionism's success is that it was so good at educating its children to integrate into Israeli society that many of them no longer want to vote for a niche party, as a matter of principle. Advertisement With regard to priorities, once again education reform, not the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, heads the list. The change itself is in the right direction, but it is insufficient. Talk about "concern for education" by a religious party is liable to sound like "Let's finally take care of our own institutions." On the other hand, the very act of taking the cultural-education route is a good one, but it must be deepened. All national-religious people, not only the politicians of the four parties trying to improve their ratings, should ask themselves about the movement's contribution to Israel's agenda. It does not have to be in the political arena, it could be spiritual-cultural: That is where religious Zionism's position of integrating Judaism with modern life could represent a significant formula for Israeli society on the whole. One way of putting it is that the capitalist era ushered in three great crises: the ecological crisis, the social-gaps crisis and the spiritual-cultural crisis. Without minimizing the seriousness of the first two, much is being done about them, and society at large recognizes the scope of these problems and the importance of not accepting the conventional capitalist formula. But the cultural crisis caused by the culture of consumerism and ratings has no sponsor. While some people express their opposition to this culture in writing, there are no social, public or political forces acting in this area (with the exception of ultra-Orthodox religious proselytizers). The reason for this lies in two interconnected, fundamental assumptions. The first holds that while we should reject reality television shows because they are in bad taste, they do not damage our lives significantly. The second assumes that a democratic society does not have the right to interfere with its members' cultural consumption. Both of these assumptions are incorrect. It is precisely in a democratic society, where "the majority rules," that the thriving of populist and degenerate culture can have a dramatic effect on our lives in the long run - both on the degree of support for collective values, whether nationalist or humanist, and on the willingness to fight for these values. This kind of culture can also have a dramatic effect on the degree of support for institutions considered elitist, such as academia or the justice system. Second, while this consumption of culture cannot be restricted through law, there are ways to create a balance. Regulatory bodies can insist more strongly on a certain minimum requirement for broadcast content, at least for airing on certain channels at certain hours. There can also be consumer boycotts, and schools can teach smarter media consumption. In the current state of affairs, the fundamentalism of ratings and advertising is fighting over cultural territory with the fundamentalism of the ultra-Orthodox. The rest make do with writing learned opinion pieces. This situation of only two practical alternatives is a dangerous one. Religious Zionism, and especially its education branches, can be a supporting pillar in the struggle to present another option. It can do so if it does not act alone but forms an alliance with all of society's forces for whom culture is the top priority: artists, intellectuals, educators and secular batei midrash schools of religious study. Beyond its practical importance, such an alliance could also restore the national religious camp to the center of the Israeli stage, in the sphere its people know is the one that also determines the future of the other issues. Bookmark to del.icio.us   The King is dead Archeologists find new evidence for King Herod's tomb site. Al-Hasbara Israel launches Arabic YouTube channel to bypass Arab media.   1.   New direction? 22:43  |  Eliezer 19/11/08

Read & React Bradley Burston: Dividing Jerusalem, one wall at a time Responses: 42 Peres: Obama told me he was 'very impressed' with Arab peace plan Responses: 75 VIDEO / Peres speech at Oxford University disrupted by anti-Israel protesters Responses: 104 Settler rabbi: The State of Israel is an enemy of the people Responses: 69 Hamas: We're prepared to end cease-fire and confront Israel Responses: 49 More Headlines 22:25 IAEA: Syria site bombed by Israel bore features of nuclear reactor 22:05 Israel to boycott 'Durban II' anti-racism conference 21:40 Assad: Israel never asked Syria to cut ties with Hezbollah, Iran 21:42 PA negotiator: Obama told Abbas he'd spare no effort to see Mideast peace 19:26 Israel launches Arabic YouTube channel to bypass Arab media 22:02 Jewish Republican representative elected to top deputy spot in Congress 01:36 Archaeologists find new evidence for King Herod's tomb site 23:06 GA special report / Satisfied participants bid farewell to Jerusalem 00:44 U.S. FAA downgrades Israel's aviation safety ranking 19:04 Dividing Jerusalem, one wall at a time 02:09 Al-Qaida No. 2: Obama guilty of betraying Muslim roots in backing Israel 00:42 Peres speech at Oxford University disrupted by anti-Israel protesters 02:07 Warsaw completes restoration project marking Jewish Ghetto boundaries 01:50 Court sentences Boaz Yona to 7 years, doubles damages he must pay 02:40 Report: 90% of schools offer auxiliary programs not monitored by Education Min. Previous Editions Select Day 19 nov 18 nov 17 nov 16 nov 14 nov 13 nov 12 nov 11 nov 10 nov 09 nov 07 nov 06 nov

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