Thank You, MK Rotem (Article# 111) 3/26/2009

I had a unique experience last week. As part of our curriculum, the yeshiva normally spends a day touring both the Knesset and the Supreme Court buildings, learning about Israel’s governmental process and legal system. After the first couple of times, the novelty of the tour has run out—but it is interesting to hear the questions posed by our students and gain some insight into their perception of Israeli life.

Each year, we try to schedule a meeting with members of the Knesset, but for various reasons we had been unable to coordinate a personal visit in prior years. This year, Rav Yehuda Susman, our Rosh Yeshiva, spoke to the “candyman” in his shul in Efrat, who is also known as MK David Rotem of the Yisrael Beteinu party and is a current member of Knesset, and Rav Susman arranged for us to have a meeting with him.

I have to admit that I was fascinated. Although I did not vote for them, the enthusiasm and momentum that Yisrael Beteinu built through the elections was palpable, and I was incredibly curious to meet a religious MK from that faction. After all, a major spin of the party is that it represents the non-religious, specifically Russian immigrants (many of whom may not even be Jewish).

Because of time considerations, we did not get the chance to tour the Knesset as we normally do. Instead, we went to the Knesset’s Jerusalem Conference Room (I hope I remember the name correctly) where MK Rotem was waiting for us. The Jerusalem Room is a very large room, with a circular set of tables. Mr. Rotem sat at the head of the table with a microphone, and our students sat around the table and in folding chairs set up for the overflow.

Mr. Rotem opened the meeting by offering us a choice: we could hear him lecture about his party, his opinions, and the running of the Knesset (of which he has been a member for a bit over two years) or he would open the floor to questions. We chose the Q-and-A session.

First, I must state that I may err in my recollection of his answers, and I apologize to him (and his party) in advance for any such errors.

I also must admit that I found MK Rotem to be very engaging and persuasive. At least in my eyes, there is no question that he is an Israeli patriot and believes (passionately) in his party and its platform, and that their platform truly is the best long-term solution for Israel. He was thoughtful and took great care in formulating his responses to make sure that he wasn’t misunderstood (although he is Israeli born, he speaks excellent English—he has to; he lives in Efrat).

I would also add that while I definitely disagree with some of their platform, a lot of what he said made sense to me and should not be discarded as radical lunacy. Take the “oath of loyalty” that Yisrael Beteinu wants to require of all Israeli citizens (it was the first question asked of him). Although it is portrayed as an anti-Arab measure, he was adamant that it was an extension of a principal that is applied even in the USA. After all, the final step of the naturalization of a new U.S. citizen is the administration of an oath of loyalty to the United States. If the USA can require such an oath, why shouldn’t Israel be able to?

Yes, this is an oversimplification and an extension of the principal beyond what is required by the USA, (after all, none of us had to swear such an oath, and we are still American citizens) but the basic idea exists.

Furthermore, Israel is a country that is in a state of war with several neighbors (even if there is no active fighting at the current time) and has been in direct conflict twice with Arab militant groups in the last two and a half years. During one of those conflicts, Israeli Arab citizens actively aided the enemy. (According to MK Rotem, an Arab MK used his cellphone to call targeting information to Hezbollah terrorist rocket launching squads.)

American citizens doing such acts would be jailed. Could you imagine the outcry if it was discovered that a U.S. Senator or Congressman had aided Al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks? He/she would be tried for treason!

What Yisrael Beteinu is advocating is that such people be denied the benefits of Israeli citizenship and that the oath of loyalty is the litmus test. And they do not stop with requiring it of the Arabs. Any person wanting to benefit from the Jewish State would be required to take the oath, including all the Jews.

While this would be fine with me (I’d probably do it twice just to enjoy the experience a second time), many of my neighbors (ie: chareidim) would be less than thrilled. Swear loyalty to the Zionist State? Ha! But they would have to, in order to continue to benefit from the vast social services network which certainly pays them out much more than they (as a single group) pay in. And that is something that I definitely agree with.

Along with this oath is a requirement for National Service. Also a good idea. Chareidim are so active in chesed that they could easily satisfy this obligation with existing projects (although they would definitely be expanded) and the Arabs would have thousands of their youth putting active effort into building up their communities and benefiting the social welfare of their communities. Who wouldn’t be in favor of that?

He answered questions about the two-state solution, of which he is definitely not in favor, but understands that it is the most likely outcome and therefore wants to work to structure it to be something that can be successful for Israel’s safety and security. Other questions covered many topics, such as his feelings as an Orthodox Jew in a party advocating civil marriages and the opening of our markets to non-kosher foods; he patiently answered each one (he even admitted that he could not answer a question about our water crisis as it is an issue that he is not familiar with).

Perhaps the most astonishing of his answers was to a question about how he could reconcile living in Efrat with being a member of a party whose platform for an eventual two-state solution includes both population and land exchanges. He responded that he understood that it may cost him his home, but that he feels that such a land/population exchange would provide for defensible borders and an opportunity for coexistence. I was impressed by such honesty and forthrightness.

We had to cut the meeting short because we had to head to the Supreme Court to continue our day. Mr. Rotem was prepared to sit with us as long as we liked and was extremely accommodating. We appreciated it.

We will hopefully have a government within the next couple of weeks, and then it will be up to all the MKs involved to see that they move forward in maintaining our safety and security and the well-being of our homeland.

Mazal tov to former Five Towners and current neighbors Penina and Mutty Eichler on the birth of Yisrael Avishai and to former Five Towners and current neighbors Mark and Yosefa Krauss on the marriage of Gavriel to Kayla Kowal of Yad Binyamin.

The Kineret Lake is at –213.46, 46 cm below the lower red line. It is currently raining, and we hope and pray for lots more.