‘Israel’ has very little to do with the essence of Judaism, says ex-Speaker of Knesset

The current State of ‘Israel’ “has very little to do with historic Judaism and the essence of Judaism,” former Speaker of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has told Haaretz.

During a podcast interview, Avraham Burg spoke at length about his reasons for wanting to delete his registration as “Jewish” in the population register compiled by Israel’s Interior Ministry.

Earlier this month, Burg has made the request to have his designation as a Jew discarded in an extraordinary affidavit where he has suggested that belonging to the Jewish community in the Zionist state was equivalent to “belonging to the group of the masters”.

He made this step in response to Israel’s 2018 Nation State law, which states that ‘Israel’ does not belong to all its citizens, but is instead “the Nation-State of the Jewish people”. The text further stipulates that the “right to exercise national self-determination in the state of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”

Critics insist that the law passed by the occupation state has formalised apartheid.

Burg wrote in the affidavit that he no longer considers himself as belonging to the Jewish nationality. He adds that his conscience does not allow him to be classified as a member of that nation, because it implies “belonging to the group of the masters.” In simple, clear words, he asserts, “I can no longer feel identification with this collective.”

The interviewer introduced Burg as “Zionist aristocracy”.

Burg talked about the aforementioned law, denouncing it for having “built in discrimination”. He said that ‘Israel’ is promoting a “new Judaism” which went against values of “historical Judaism” to which he belonged.

He also mentioned the important role that Judaism plays in his life and that of his family in order to highlight his opposition to the state of ‘Israel’, which he argued has abandoned the ancient tradition.

“Judaism is a civilisation, it’s a culture it’s a way of life that nobody can grant me and nobody can deprive me of,” he said. He is clearly committed to his faith, but is no longer so to the occupation state.

“Jewish state is an oxymoron,” said Burg as he explained that ‘Israel’ is a tool in the hands of the people and it cannot have a Jewish essence or the essence of any religion.

“Community and culture can be Jewish,” but as soon as you give a state a Jewish essence, a religious essence, it’s no longer a democracy that belongs to its people. It becomes a source of authority.”

“Jewish and democratic is an illusion. No state, social organisation or company can have two opposing sources of authority: a democratic human source and a theocratic divine one.”

Asked whether it was inevitable that political Zionism would descend into racist nationalism and if it had taken a wrong turn, Burg said that his role was not to rewrite the past but create a better future. He places his trust in the Jewish diaspora and the Arab citizens of ‘Israel’ to rescue the occupation state from its existing course.

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