What Did Cheeseburgers Ever Do To You?

Chapter Eleven of Donna Rosenthal’s book, The Israelis, begins with its title, “The Non-Orthodox,” but quickly follows with this self-explanatory tagline: War of the Cheeseburgers. Not only is it a way to grab readers from the get-go, but it is quite an intriguing concept. Pluralism in Israel is clearly a topic to be discussed as much of the foundational work laid beginning even before the state was established in 1948, is rooted in Judaism. As a previous chapter mentions, only 20% of the country is considered religious now. The juxtaposition of these two groups, religious and non-religious, in the Jewish state speaks to the multifaceted culture one can approach when immersing him/herself in the study of Israel’s diversity. It seems though, that for the Orthodox, the aforementioned tagline can be modified to reflect their position and can be referred to as “The War on Cheeseburgers.”

In the video below, we are first shown background information into what it is to be Orthodox and what characterizes some Orthodox Jews today. With that said, the video jumps into a music scene, with the pianist dressed in Orthodox garb. The irony here being that many think a contemporary lifestyle (filled with music, technology, etc) would not include what is being shown. On the contrary, much of the Orthodox tradition includes being merry and enjoying festivities through music and dance. Take notice though, of the separation of male and female in the video (i.e. they do not/will not dance with each other). Toward, the end of the video, the person who posted it explains, “It was explained to us that this small sect of Orthodox Jews are so ‘high on God’ that they feel they must share their ‘good news’ by dancing in the streets.” For those who may think the Orthodox life of a Jew, living in Israel, is sheltered, on some level this assertion is correct and can be proven, as in Rosenthal’s ninth chapter, but there are clearly other ways to look at this group of people.



What’s interesting in all of this is the lack, or minimal nature, of denominational Judaism in Israel. Clearly, this is viewed as an American construct, but why can it not flourish or be in existence in Israel? In an attempt to be as sympathetic and as balanced as possible to both sides as possible, it seems important to present not only the religious in a positive light (by showing the positive aspects of their culture, above), but to mention the strides being made toward denominational Judaism in the country. Maybe the less religious war is on the fact that the country is less-inclined to be deononiational, especially when compared to America.

First, here is a one-minute video cascading images of the holy city of Jerusalem while running a word reel at the bottom explaining the desire for many Jews living in Jerusalem to make it more seular. The video has been posted by the Hartman Institute, an organization which explains themselves as, "is a pluralistic research and leadership institute at the forefront of Jewish thought and education" (Hartman Website). The reel portrays the views of Donniel Hartman and is titled, "Jerusalem: Capital for All Israelis." Check it out:



Secondly, I want to discuss some of the Rosenthal material. She quotes Rabbi Meir Azari of Beit Daniel Synagogue as saying, “I don’t mind that we’re called the ‘synagogue of the seculars.’ I’m pleased that people are coming here who never have been involved with a congregation. The younger generation, the high-tech generation, have a tremendous thirst for an authentic Israeli form of liberal Judaism” (231). So what is this authentic form of liberal Judaism? It seems contradictory in that he claims it can be authentic, but liberal and (in a way) intrinsically Jewish at the same time. And, of course, I am open to comments and opinions!