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A tale of three narratives
By Jonathan Mirvis
Tags: israel news, israel pope

Now that this month's visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Israel has been relegated to history, it might be useful to examine the distinctly different ways in which the trip was understood by different populations.

We can point to three contrasting "narratives" by which the event was described. The first reads as follows: "Pope visits Israel and refuses to apologize for Holocaust"; the second reads, "Pope visits Holy Land and prays at the holy places." One can find the first narrative in the Israeli media while the second is typical of the Catholic media, as well as of some of the general world media that covered the visit. There is a third narrative reflected in Israel's traditional religious media, according to which the papal visit was a non-event. For that public, the lead story of the week in question was the celebrations of Lag Ba'omer and the pilgrimage of tens of thousands to Mt. Meron.

These narratives reflect three contrasting views relating to this region. In terms of the Zionist perspective, the pope was visiting the State of Israel, which was created by Jewish activists to provide a viable homeland for the Jewish people following 2,000 years of exile. According to the second view, this is the Holy Land - sacred and central to the three principal monotheistic faiths. According to the third mindset, this is the Land of Israel, the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants, a promise that would be fulfilled if the Jewish people were to be morally deserving.
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The third view is related to Lag Ba'omer, because it is the day on which we celebrate the end of the plague that decimated the students of Rabbi Akiva, and commemorate his life's work and contribution to the Jewish people. Akiva made his mark both as a teacher and as a leader; his teachings are prolific in the Mishna, and as a leader he supported the disastrous Bar-Kokhba revolt against the Romans in 132 C.E., dying the death of a martyr. Akiva is remembered by tradition as being a believer in the ultimate triumph of the Jewish people. In keeping with his optimistic outlook on life, when he witnessed the foxes foraging for food among the ruins of the Temple Mount, he laughed with joy, saying that the sight was the fulfillment of the first part of a biblical prophecy, presaging a return to Zion.

All three narratives find expression in a compelling literature. The first draws upon the Bible and modern Israeli literary sources; the second on a comparative literature of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; and the third, primarily upon rabbinic writings.

In Israel, these three perspectives are not merely academic paradigms. They have far-reaching ramifications with respect to local politics, the educational system and how Israel portrays itself to the world. When weighing a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, for example, should Israel adopt a realpolitik approach, or should it look to traditional sources to guide its decisions? Should Israel's educational system focus on the sciences to ensure the country's future as a high-tech center, or should it focus on a Judaic emphasis to ensure that Israelis have a strong faith-related identity? When Israel markets itself as a tourist center, should it focus on its status as Mediterranean destination with modern facilities for guests, or should it emphasize the fact that it is the Holy Land and a center of pilgrimage?

While the reporting of the papal visit highlighted these contrasting narratives, it also highlights the disconnect between them. This is disconcerting, since in reality, there is no reason for them to be considered mutually exclusive: In fact, we need to be conversant in all three narratives to survive in this region. The narrative of the Zionist perspective is critical to ensure that we survive the real threats to our existence; the Holy Land narrative is necessary to ensure that we understand the perspective of billions of religious adherents who have a special relationship with this country; and the traditional rabbinic perspective is essential to ensure that we do not forget our destiny and our link to the divine promise.

Regrettably, our school system perpetuates the disconnect between these three views. Students in the various educational streams are usually proficient in only one narrative, sometimes in two and almost never in all three. If proficiency in all the narratives is indeed important, it is critical we develop an educational system that meets this challenge.

Dr. Jonathan Mirvis is a lecturer at the Hebrew University's Melton Center, the international director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, and founder of the Gandel Institute for Adult Jewish Learning.
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  1.   good article 13:33  |  Arie k 28/05/09
  2.   Forget the zionist narrative 09:30  |  GaileeHero 29/05/09
  3.   to GaileeHero #2 16:57  |  zeev 31/05/09
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