Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobivits declared that it is his “belief that Jews in the diaspora, while not wishing or entitled to participate in Israel’s decision-making process, should contribute to it by freely expressing their views, even in public and even if they are sometimes critical.”
The British Chief Rabbi affirmed that position in a statement released today, responding to widespread criticism here and abroad of his recent remarks in which he took issue with the present Israeli government’s approach to peace and a solution of the Palestinian problem.
Jakobovits, an Orthodox rabbi, also sharply assailed the use of religious beliefs to justify certain policies. “I regard it as hypocrisy to use the slogan ‘the Bible is our mandate’ to demand rights from others and not to impose duties on ourselves equally mandated by the Bible,” he said. “I cannot see the justification for relying on divine province for the security of Israel, unless we are prepared — by moral rectitude and spiritual excellence — to fulfill our part of the Covenant whereby the land was promised to us unconditionally.”
He added, “I share the passionate hope that we are indeed now entering ‘the beginning of the final redemption’ but neither Jewish history nor Jewish teaching, in my view, entitle us to base national policy on the certainty that we have clearly identified the Messianic footsteps.”
At another point in his statement, jakobovits observed that “Religious or quasi-religious fervor is, after all, today the most vociferous dynamic of Zionist militancy at one end of the political spectrum, just as it is of militant anti-Zionism at the other end. Whether I live in Jerusalem or London, I cannot help being alarmed at the prospect of Jewish religious fundamentalism being seen (rightly or wrongly) as an impediment to peace, with incalculable damage to Judaism itself, especially in a world now threatened with reversal to the Middle Ages by religious fanaticism elsewhere. Hence, I want Jewish religious voices of moderation to be heard….”
CLARIFIES REMARKS ON PALESTINIANS
Rabbi Jakobovits went on to clarify and amplify those remarks be made to a group of Anglo-Jewish and Israeli journalists at his home a week ago which drew the most fire from critics here, in Israel, the U.S. and the British Commonwealth. These were his willingness to see the establishment of a Palestinian state, even with its capital in East Jerusalem, if the Palestinians proved over a substantial period that they could live peacefully with Israel; and his assertion that, “If I knew we could never attain peace with the Arab world, I would say ‘liquidate Israel now’.”
In his statement today, Jakobovits declared “Far from contemplating a Palestinian state now, or from expressing any views on the present autonomy talks, or even the settlement policies, I argued that all options should be left open after a ten-year period of completely normal relations with the Arabs to provide Israel with a breathing space, whilst gradually creating a new psychological climate of understanding between neighbors and greater sympathy from the world community.
“Far from advocating any immediate territorial concessions as the Peace Now movement does, I would not surrender anything until convincing evidence of real peace has been demonstrated,” Jakobovits said. “And far from contemplating Israel’s liquidation (perish the thought), I asserted my absolute faith in the State by spelling out the alternatives, designed to nourish the hope of an eventual settlement.”
The Chief Rabbi expressed concern over “the threat of the existing policies generating ever more embittered polarization between ‘hawks’ and ‘doves’ inside Israel.” He observed that “Perhaps it needs an outsider to advance a formula which provides some middle ground which may lead to a consensus neither to give up any territory until tangible experience of peace is at hand, nor to foreclose any future options by the word, ‘never’.”
SEES GROWING ARAB STRENGTH
Jakobovits suggested that “There are factors which are bound to be more clearly visible abroad and more objectively assessed in the perspective of distance, particularly when the are related to attitudes of a generally hostile world far beyond Israel’s embattled borders. Moreover, a monolithic voice by diaspora Jewry, invariably echoing official Israeli policies, would lose its credibility; governments, newspapers and public opinion would know that the facade of unanimity is contrived.”
Accordingly, Jakobovits said, “Jews throughout the world should be seen to wrestle with the problems of peace. By making no more secret of it than the Israelis themselves do, they would show real and not just artificial solidarity and their opinion in support of Israel’s interests would carry greater weight, both with whom they want to identify and whose thinking would be enriched by the cross-fertilization of ideas in the quest for a solution to our perplexities.”
Jakobovits warned that “Arab resources in wealth, manpower, modern weaponry and world influence will increasingly tilt the balance against Israel. Short of miracles and inexhaustible American goodwill, based on the hazards of American election carnivals, Israel’s armed might could become irrelevant to her security in a convulsive world where might rules and powerful countries are tendered prostrate and defenseless overnight,” he said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
