Why Would an Ultra-Orthodox Jew be an Avid Activist in ZEHUT?
Ultra-Orthodox ZEHUT activist Meir Lavrov explained why he feels most comfortable in ZEHUT in an interview on the Mendy and Bitan radio show. The following are translated excerpts from the interview:
Can you tell me how the different members of ZEHUT – from secular liberals to Temple Mount activists – connect on the cultural level?
When I go to the large ZEHUT gatherings, I see people with all kinds of different interests from the entire spectrum of Israeli society. There are people in ZEHUT because of their stand on schooling, there are those who want the open market, those who are interested in small business and those who want to pray freely on the Temple Mount. They all come together on one coin that has two sides. The first side is Jewish identity. The second side is liberty. The less that the State interferes in our lives, the more that we can express our own choices. That holds true for the people who want to smoke cannabis and for those who wish to pray on the Temple Mount.
If the State does not interfere in matters of identity, then every person can feel comfortable with his approach and tradition, allowing for a more direct, comfortable meeting of minds with our fellow countrymen.
Our shared Jewish identity is what brings us together, but nobody has to dictate how each individual actualizes that identity. We want the State and its institutions to express our shared Jewish identity, while allowing the citizens to express their identity – how they school their children, how they marry - as they please. Then each individual will grow, will have the tools with which to meet a different fabric of Jewish identity – and give birth to something much better.