FREE SPEECH

By Rabbi Jermey Rosen

One of the very positive features of a Western Education is the emphasis on the freedom of expression and listening to another point of view. Of course this is very much part of the Talmudic tradition.  In Pirkei Avot ( 5.9) it is the Golem, the idiot, who interrupts and doesn’t allow someone to finish! Sadly as we know Jews are very selective in what they do and don’t keep of the Torah.

Last week we had a debate at YAKAR. Two Israeli reservists, typically secular, who refused to serve in the army on the West Bank, were putting their point of view.

I was not particularly impressed with their arguments or their reluctance to admit that if another type of Israeli soldier refuses an order to demolish settlements he has exactly the same rights as they do. However they had a point of view that deserved a hearing. Most countries have a tradition of dealing with pacifists and conscientious objectors. In Britain we tended to put pacifists in jail for the duration of the war. In Israel they served a month and were free to travel. They were sincere and apparently genuinely concerned, motivated by morality not personal gain.

The opposing point of view was ably and forcefully put by the Betar representative. I was only sad that he descended into unnecessary personal abuse. But his arguments were pretty impressive. I found myself, as I often do, in the middle.

Sadly so many in the audience both on the left and more noticeably on the right, were simply unwilling to listen to another point of view and showed the brutish yahoo side of humans by barracking and trying to shout down views they did not like. Sure the issue is a highly charged one and for all of us it is a matter of life and death. But in a civilized debate there must be a degree of restraint.

What upset me more was this. I invited a Muslim friend to come along. A sensitive, caring man who stands for a reasoned, balanced Islam, devoid of extreme or violence. He was able to make some very good points. One of them was to compliment us on the fact that we could have such a debate, virtually impossible in the Muslim world. Afterwards a vocal Right Wing supporter went up to him and in a threatening, vicious voice said ‘ I’m going to get you, you bastard.’ The Chillul HaShem, the damage that this did is inestimable.

We all know this is the norm for Israeli politics, the aggressive punch ups at Herut party meetings, the violence in the Knesset and at the hustings. All the worst elements of Israeli life now seem to be imported into Anglo Jewry.  Both in Religion and Politics debate no longer seems possible. All we do is belittle, besmirch and humiliate anyone we disagree with. This does not make me proud to be a Jew.