Labor Party Reverses Stands on Golan, Religious Pluralism

Israel’s Labor Party, responding to severe pressure from within and outside its ranks, has backed off from an earlier endorsement of religious pluralism in Israel.

It has also pulled back from supporting a settlement freeze in the Golan Heights.

The retreats occurred at the second session of the party’s convention, which reversed positions taken at the first session in November. The most controversial had to do with the relations between the state and religion.

A resolution adopted in November called for the “separation of religion from politics.” While that was retained, the resolution was revised to include a statement that the party “favors the mutual relationship of dependence between the State of Israel and the Jewish religion.”

It specifically abrogated part of the earlier resolution that called for recognition of pluralism, meaning the Reform and Conservative branches of Judaism, on matters of religious adjudication and personal status.

Labor is now on record in favor of continuing the Orthodox rabbinate’s monopoly over those matters in Israel.

It was apparently forced into that position by its own Orthodox and traditional members, who threatened to quit the party if it voted otherwise.

But it also took into consideration the possibility of future coalition-building with the religious parties to replace the Likud regime with a Labor-led government.

The ultra-Orthodox or haredi bloc had already declared it would have nothing to do with Labor if it adhered to its earlier position on separation of state and faith.

The party’s two leaders, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, urged revision of the earlier resolution because it would prevent future Labor coalitions with the religious parties.

Peres offered another argument. He said he would not “surrender” the Jewish heritage to the haredim. “I am not prepared that the prophets and Maimonides should be the sole property of the Orthodox,” he declared.

The Golan revision came in response to determined lobbying by Laborite settlers in the territory, which was conquered from Syria in 1967. The new resolution declares that Labor favors strengthening settlement throughout the Golan Heights, instead of only “existing settlements,” which implied a freeze.

Convention delegates who were determined to reverse the resolutions on the Golan and religion argued that they were passed by a minority of the Central Committee when most members had left the hall at the end of the session last month.