Early last week, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the head of the World Values Network, took out a full-page ad in The New York Times calling pop singer Dua Lipa “anti-Semitic” for social media comments she had made criticizing Israel’s response to Hamas’ attacks — namely, the disproportionate loss of Palestinian life.
We’re not picking a side in the Israel vs. Palestine conflict or the Boteach vs. Dua Lipa showdown. Our issue is the way “anti-Semitic” gets thrown around when someone criticizes the actions of Israel’s government. Critiquing a ruling body and a saying hateful things about Jewish people are not the same thing. At least, they shouldn’t be.
The problem seems to be the way church — or perhaps synagogue, in this case — and state are so irrevocably interwoven in Israel. In 2018, the Basic Laws were passed, declaring: “The state of Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, in which it actualizes its natural, religious and historical right for self-determination. … The actualization of the right of national self-determination in the state of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”
Israel may be made up primarily of Jewish people, but it counts Arabs, Muslims and Christians among its citizenry. Nearly a quarter of Israel’s citizens, totaling 1.8 million, are non-Jewish, and most of those are Muslims. Unfortunately, the non-Jewish population are often treated as second-class citizens. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, “Israelis all recognize that Arab villages have historically received less funding than Jewish areas and this has affected the quality of Arab schools, infrastructure and social services. Arabs are also underrepresented in higher education and most industries.”
This is problematic in a democratic government. People should have the ability to criticize a governing body — either as a whole, or singling out an individual in public office — and not be accused of religious discrimination.
Imagine if every foreign critique of America — or even internal complaints — were construed as an attack on Christianity. Then again, some people already think it does.
There’s a reason the United States Constitution enshrined the freedom of religion — and a reason church and state must be kept separate.
We are a nation of millions of individuals coming from thousands of religious, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. To give one religion ruling authority is to ostracize and oppress everyone else. We may see elements of Christianity in our founding documents and in our national rituals, but America’s founders were explicit that there would be no “official” religion in the United States. And despite what many state governments have attempted lately, our laws should never be based on one religion’s tenets.
Separation of church and state is essential in a democracy, and the high tension surrounding even the discussion of Israel and Palestine illustrates why.
Depending on your belief system, the right to human dignity may be bestowed by some greater power, but the recognition of that dignity can only be given by humankind. Not everyone shares the same beliefs, but we can all treat each other with respect regardless of personal faith (or lack of), which is why we codify the right to be treated with dignity in our laws — without the trappings of religion.
