Identifying Jewish moderates

GORDON WEINER

To more fully understand the controversy surrounding Daniel Pipes and his right-wing views, all we have to do is to turn around the questions he poses for "Identifying Muslim Moderates" (Jewish News, Nov. 28). We rightly would go meshuga if someone had the chutzpah to ask them of us.

Many non-Jews are suspicious about the true intent of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government and the Orthodox supporters it relies on. Are they truly after a real and lasting peace with the Palestinians that may involve territorial compromise, or are they carrying out a pretense of moderation?

The best way to discern moderation is by asking pointed questions.

Violence: Do you condone the actions of Baruch Goldstein and other extremist Jews who give up their lives to kill enemy civilians?

Modernity: Do you refuse to accept the definition of jihad offered by moderate Islamic scholars as "inner struggle" instead of world domination; and do you recognize non-Orthodox forms of Judaism as equally valid with Orthodoxy?

Secularism: Should non-Jews in Israel enjoy equal civil rights with Jews, including being under the same zoning and funding schemes? When Orthodox Jewish customs conflict with secular laws, which should give way?

Jewish pluralism: Are Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Humanistic Jews fully legitimate Jews, and should Israeli laws be changed to reflect this fact? Do you see non-Orthodox Jews as having fallen into disbelief?

Self-criticism: Do you accept the legitimacy of scholarly inquiry into who wrote the Five Books of Moses and the rest of the Bible, even if it argues against divine revelation or inspiration?

Defense against militant haredim: Do you agree that institutions accused of funding non-governmentally sanctioned settlements in the West Bank and Gaza should be shut down? Should 18-year-old Orthodox Jews in Israel be made to enter the army with everyone else, or should they be deferred to study Torah?

Goals in the West/Israel: Do you accept that Israel is both a secular and a Jewish state? Should Orthodox Jewish law be the law of the land and applied even to non-Orthodox and non-Jewish citizens?

No single reply establishes a militant, intolerant Jewish position, and pretense is always a possibility, but these questions offer a good start to the vexing issue of separating peace-seeking from intolerant Jews.

Gordon Weiner is an Arizona State University professor emeritus and former director of the ASU Jewish Studies Program.

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