Understanding Jewish extremism

IN a week when Israel’s departing defence minister Moshe Ya’alon warned of extremist and dangerous elements “shaking up our home and threatening harm to those in it”, Israeli academic Gideon Aran shared his expertise about religious radicalism in Israel at the Sydney Jewish Museum.

Aran explained Jewish fundamentalism results from a process called selective retrieval, “where you pick and choose one element from the huge reservoir of traditional religion, even if it is marginal or an undercurrent one, and you put it at the centre, as the embodiment and manifestation of authentic Judaism”.

“It goes against the grain and is therefore not natural, so it requires an ideology.

“One form of it needs segregation and tends to close itself off, like the Charedis, and the other form attempts to impose one’s interpretation, and hold the reins on, the entire society – this is indeed Jewish fundamentalism.”

Aran, an emeritus professor of sociology and anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the current Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Academic Exchange Fellow, said despite resembling a movement from a bygone era, radical elements within the ultra-Orthodox sub-group in Israeli society are a new phenomenon.

“To a large degree it is in opposition to and rejects changes in modern Jewish society like religious reforms, Zionism and assimilation.

“Paradoxically enough, traditionalist Jewish religious radicalism can thrive in a modern, liberal, democratic and urban society.

“It is because of factors that make things easier like freedom of speech, an affluent society that provides a welfare system, new technologies and a weakening sense of confidence within secular society.

“It is much more radical and rigid than its predecessors and the standards it imposes are only becoming higher.

“The fact that those who adhere to this leadership choose to do so and can meet these higher standards is what makes this [sub-group] very extreme.”

Aran is in Australia working with international security expert Dr Gil Merom at the University of Sydney to further research the causes and implications of religious fundamentalism.

He is also working on his next book, Suicide Terrorism. “People often ask me how can young suicide bombers really believe in the afterlife – they find that very strange,” Aran said.

“But some 75 per cent of Australian youths aged between 15 and 25 (based on a recent survey) believe in the afterlife. I read this in an article in relation to my current studies.”

Last Thursday’s lecture was facilitated by the Australian Friends of the Hebrew University.

SHANE DESIATNIK