When a Reform temple in Israel is vandalized, it is not just a poor reflection on religious tolerance in Israel, it is not just counterproductive for the vandals, it is not just corrosive of the complex fabric of Israeli society, it is not just hurtful to the worshippers in the temple and its sympathizers. It is not only a pragmatic error. It is just plain wrong.
There will be, and there are, deep divides in Israeli society; there are deep debates about the nature of Judaism and the role of religious pluralism. There should be no divide and no debate about the role of violence in intrareligious relations in Israel. It is just plain wrong.
Last week it was a Reform temple. If violence is right, tomorrow it can just as well hit a Sunni or Shiite mosque, a Druze khalwa, an Orthodox or Conservative Jewish synagogue, a Catholic, Protestant, Coptic or Orthodox church, a Messianic congregation, a Baha’i temple. Violence is malignantly infectious.
No house of worship should be attacked in Israel — or anywhere.
Copyright © 2016 by the Intermountain Jewish News
