On June 19, 1947, David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the executive branch of the Jewish Agency, wrote to the ultra-Orthodox group Agudat Israel, promising them four things: first, that Shabbat would be the official day of rest of the future Jewish State; second, that all kitchens in official institutions of the Jewish State would be kosher according to the halachic rules of Orthodox Judaism; third, that all matters related to marriage and divorce for the Jewish population of the state would be governed by the rabbinical courts (for other groups, by their respective religious authorities); and fourth, that there would be complete autonomy in educational matters for all the different social and religious groups.

Several factors prompted Ben-Gurion to write the letter. The first was to present a united front on the Jewish side before the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). Ben-Gurion was afraid that ultra-Orthodox groups would express their opposition to the establishment of an independent Jewish state to UN envoys.

The second was that it was the prevailing custom in the country. Under Ottoman rule, religious courts had the authority to decide on personal matters, such as marriage or divorce. The British Mandate adopted the same Turkish system, and in 1948 the Israeli government decided to maintain it. The reasoning was that if civil marriage or divorce were adopted, the rabbinical courts would not accept it, and the children of such marriages would be discriminated against by the rabbinate.

Another factor that shaped the relationship between the government and the religious establishment was the fact that after the Holocaust, all the major centers of Jewish learning in Europe, the yeshivots, had been destroyed, and Ben-Gurion set out to revive them. In Israel, in 1948, there were only 400 ultra-Orthodox men left, so he exempted them from military service and work, as the government would support them so they could dedicate themselves fully to Torah study. Ben-Gurion and many like him believed that, despite these concessions, this group would not survive.

Israel never proclaimed a constitution that would enshrine all of this in law or, if necessary, repeal it. What they call the «status quo» in Israel (maintaining the same state of affairs) long gave these policies a binding force and has been one of the causes of the divisions within the Jewish people, especially among Israelis.

Ben-Gurion had serious clashes with ultra-religious groups. He once wrote to Rabbi Judah L. Maimon, who was Israel’s first minister of religious affairs, about what for Ben-Gurion defined being Jewish: Psalm 15. Psalm 15 defines one who «dwells in the Tabernacle of the Lord as an individual who is righteous, speaks the truth, does not slander or do any other evil to his neighbor, does not reproach his neighbor, despises a vile person, fears the Lord, testifies sincerely even if it pains him to do so, does not lend money for interest or take bribes from the innocent.» And Ben-Gurion asked, «Why should someone who observes Shabbat and Kashruth be considered Jewish, but someone who lives according to the Psalmist’s definition not?»

Deep down, Ben-Gurion understood that the vast majority of the Jewish people define their Judaism as both a nationality and a religion. Personally, he would have liked it to be defined solely as a nation, but that wasn’t possible. That’s why he wrote the letter to the Haredim.

By Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: Yedidia Z. Stern: “Religion, State, and the Jewish Identity Crisis in Israel” and other sources.