Mas’e: Expulsion, Democracy and Civil Disobedience

By Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman on August 4, 2005 - כ"ח תמוז תשס"ה

Our Torah portion includes the commandments of the “Levitical Cities” and the “Cities of Refuge.” As Rabbi Arthur Waskow points out in his book, “Godwrestling,” the Levites who enjoyed a privileged status ritually did not have land holdings like the rest of the tribes. This is in contradistinction to the norm in which elites also appropriate wealth for themselves.

Aware of the culture of blood avengers, God commands a system to prevent vigilantism and to insure that the treatment of both the Jew and the Ger are regulated by the law. The guilty must be punished after due process. Those who are entirely innocent or even guilty of criminal negligence but not murder must be protected from the raging desire for revenge.

The Torah explains very clearly why such great care must be taken.” You shall not pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land…” (Numbers 35:33) In the haftarah, Jeremiah also decries the polluting of the Land. In the Bible, the Land is a living entity. It is pained by the shedding of blood and will spit out all those, Jew or non-Jew, who pollute it. One can only imagine how much pain the Land suffers today. This Shabbat being the second of the three haftarot of warning leading up to Tisha B’Av, we should be particularly aware how Palestinian terror and criminal disregard for Palestinian life by our security forces are polluting the Land. Those of us working on the ground know that the seeds of a third intifada have already been planted, and we can only hope that the Land will not spit all of us out.

People Don’t Expel People On Eretz Yisrael, Expulsion, Democracy and Civil Disobedience

I will now make a midrashic leap and share something else that is on my mind for a long time. RHR has no position on the disengagement plan, itself, because it is beyond our mandate. We have expressed our concern about “diversionary” violence against Palestinians, as well as concern that excessive force not be used against settlers and that their needs after being moved are adequately provided for. However, I am personally disturbed by the misappropriation and sullying both of Judaism and the language of human rights by those opposing the disengagement. Every time I see the banners, posters and bumper stickers proclaiming “Jews don’t expel Jews,” I think, “EXCUSE ME?? Shouldn’t it read ‘PEOPLE DON’T EXPEL PEOPLE?’” A high paid PR person undoubtedly came up with this slogan and said to him/herself, that in one stroke this slogan would both pull at the heartstrings of every ultranationalist/particularistic Jew, and neutralize human rights activists by using their own language against them. One lesson of the Cities of Refuge is the importance of drawing distinctions. Without even debating whether it is accurate to call the disengagement “expulsion” or “transfer,” this slogan is an attempt to dissemble and blur distinctions. Those who oppose the disengagement have every right to democratically fight for what they believe in. However, the holy principle that all human beings are created in God’ Image and that every human being’s rights must be respected is desecrated when those who support the expulsion of non-Jews and have no commitment to applying this priniciple universally, all of a sudden invoke the language of universal human rights for their particularistic position. In the same vein, the controversy around a public referendum was also a political question beyond RHR’s mandate. Personally, I felt that there were good arguments on both sides. However, I thought that there was great irony that those who have no real commitment to democracy and had no compulsion about creating settlements undemocratically now invoke democracy. They certainly would oppose demanding a referendum for the establishment of each new outpost. Whether we agree or disagree with the engagement, and whether or not we believe that there should have been be a referendum, the cynical invoking of democracy degrades the concept of democracy itself.

A few weeks ago there was an entire section of Jerusalem’s “Kol HaIr” devoted to Israeli anarchism. The blocking of major traffic arteries by disengagement opponents was characterized as non-violent civil disobedience. Today I heard MK Gila Finklestein also characterize this as “non-violent.” EXCUSE ME??? People can die if a blocked road prevents an ambulance from getting to a hospital in time. As somebody who practices civil disobedience, it would be the height of hypocrisy for me to criticize others who practice civil disobedience. Back in 1995, when rabbis called on soldiers not to participate in withdrawal from territory., RHR argued that our society was stronger when people act their conscience and that the debate should be not on the legitimacy of civil disobedience but on the merits of the issue. In Gush Katif I told settlers that I would personally defend their right to refuse to voluntarily leave their homes as long as it was done non-violently and without incitement. In a democratic society, civil disobedience must be: 1. A matter of last resort. 2. Non-violent, without incitement, and done in a way that does not endanger others.

Not only are the principles of democracy, human rights and non-violence being cynically blurred, but Judaism as well. This week’s Torah portion presents borders for the Land of Israel that include Gaza. Other verses of the Torah do not include it, and historically Gaza was not considered the Land of Israel. Even regarding lands clearly within the Land of Israel, there is no unified halakhic position prohibiting withdrawal. The Jewish tradition is not unilaterally for or against withdrawal. Everybody has a right and obligation to interpret the Jewish tradition according to the best of their ability, but those who present their opinion as the sole legitimate Jewish position do Judaism a disservice.

In the words of our haftarah, may we return to our “Fount of Living Waters” (Jeremiah 2:13) so that

“If you return O Israel declares Adonai — If you return to Me, If you remove you abominations from My presence And do not waver, And swear, “As Adonai lives,” In sincerity, justice and righteousness- Nations shall find blessing for themselves through God And find praise for themselves through God.”

(Jeremiah 4:1-2)

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Bemidbar / Numbers

Naso: Jewish spirituality and social context - June 1st, 2008
Pinehas: Fanaticism and peace between man and his neighbor and between the nation and God. - July 13th, 2006
Balaq: Deluding ourselves into thinking that all is well in our society - July 6th, 2006
Huqqat: Act according to the Golden Mean - June 29th, 2006
Qorah: Clarity in arguments in defense of Human Rights - June 23rd, 2006
Bemidbar: Reaching out to the ones we would normally turn away - May 26th, 2006
Mas'e: Expulsion, Democracy and Civil Disobedience - August 4th, 2005
Mattot: Find the formulas allowing all of us to have our basic Human Rights and needs met. - July 28th, 2005
Pinehas: Conflict of Human Rights values that are sometimes mutually exclusive - July 22nd, 2005
Balaq: We cannot negotiate for peace on the one hand and violate Human Rights on the other - July 14th, 2005
Huqqat: Thinking Before Speaking - July 7th, 2005
Shelah: Eyes and Vision - June 24th, 2005
Beha'alotekha: Critical mass and individual responsibility - June 16th, 2005
BeMidbar: Be counted as a valued individual - June 2nd, 2005

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Mase

Mase: Making an enemy into a Friend - July 21st, 2006
Mas'e: Expulsion, Democracy and Civil Disobedience - August 4th, 2005

Categories: Bemidbar / Numbers, Mase
Tags: Bo, fen, human rights, ISM, order, palestinians, rest, righteousness, settlers