'The Greatest Threat to Israel's Future'
'The Greatest Threat to Israel's Future'
In a wide-ranging interview, former Israeli Member of Knesset Dov Lipman offers refreshingly candid takes on the Jewish future.
In 2004, Dov Lipman immigrated from the U.S. to Israel with his wife and four children, and in 2013 he was elected to the 19th Knesset, making him the first U.S.-born Member of Knesset in 30 years.
Lipman recently joined The Future of Jewish podcast to discuss his new organization, Yad L’Olim, as well as why he decided to leave Israeli politics in favor of Israeli policies, impassioned by what he calls “the greatest threat to Israel’s future.”
“It’s not all the security issues, it’s not what everybody reads in the headlines,” Lipman said. “It’s about what kind of people are we going to be like within, and being able to live in tolerance and coexistence with one another in the Jewish state.”
Lipman referenced classic Jewish resources, which are quite clear: Jews were exiled from Jerusalem and the Second Temple was destroyed 2,000 years ago, not because of the Roman legion’s insurmountable strength, but because “we couldn’t get along with each other within,” adding:
“There’s an amazing power when we’re unified and able to function together as a people, and once we lose that, our enemies that always seek to destroy us are able to come in and make that happen.”
Lipman also said that this issue relates to Israel’s relationship with Diaspora Jewry and global Jewry, “where there’s a lot of friction on that point as well.”
“As people feel polarized from Israel and they feel distant, and they feel like disengaging from Israel, that’s a strategic problem for the Jewish state, that Jews feel that way. This is why I believe it’s such a pressing issue, which I believe it’s the most important issue Israel needs to address.”
In addition to this issue, Lipman and Hoffman discussed some of the stereotypes surrounding the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israeli society, and the ways in which the next generations of these groups are dramatically differing from their elders.
You can listen to The Future of Jewish podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and on the web.
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