Rabbi Melchior is concerned about the deep schism that has opened up in Israeli society between its religious and nonreligious members, a matter that surfaced intensively at the time of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank under the Sharon Government.

As Rabbi Melchior puts it, Israel is undergoing two parallel processes that may cause great damage to the country as a Jewish and democratic state.

The first is the deterioration of parts of religious Zionism, stemming from the relinquishing of controls by rabbis in this community and the legitimization of matters that are inconsistent with Judaism. This was manifested during the disengagement in acts such as spitting on soldiers at checkpoints and years of disregard of injustices against the “other”—be they society’s poor and weak members or Palestinians and Arab citizens.

This process, which caused Judaism to be identified with moral obtuseness, brought on the second process: the total, conscious disengagement of the nonreligious from anything related to Judaism. This secular disengagement, Rabbi Melchior says, has given birth to “a generation of ignorant and proud Israelis.”

To read Rabbi Melchior’s article on the topic, click here.

In an attempt to build a dialogue of outreach between religious and nonreligious Israelis, Rabbi Melchior has been leading several programs and activities for years:

“Judaism for All”: This project, set in motion by Rabbi Melchior seven years ago during his term as Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Israeli Society, and Jerusalem, has expanded greatly and now embraces all Jewish festivals. Some 100,000 Israelis—traditional and secular, immigrants and nonimmigrants—take part each year in project-related events in hundreds of locations around the country. The project is managed in full and exceptional cooperation among many entities: the Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Israeli Society, and Jerusalem; the Torah Culture Department of the Ministry of Education; the Israel Community Centers Corporation; the Zohar organization of rabbis; and Beyahad (Judaism, Society, and Democracy), of which Rabbi Melchior is honorary chair. Prayer and study conferences are conducted on Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Tu Bishvat, Pessah, Shavuot, and Tisha B’av. The goal of the project is to allow the public at large to experience the festivals and tradition in a tolerant Jewish atmosphere, outside the synagogue, and in exploration of issues in Jewish and Israeli culture. The many participants credit the encounters for enabling them to experience the atmosphere of the festivals in an open and friendly way.

“Judaism for All” is backed by a radio advertising campaign and has earned sweeping media coverage and a far-reaching public response.

Yahad Council House was established seven years ago under the Meimad Covenant on Religion and State, which mandated the formation of a public council as a setting for regular dialogue among sectors of the Jewish people. The goals of Yahad, of which Rabbi Melchior is the honorary chair, are to resolve principled and local disputes by means of consensus and to gradually build relations of respect and understanding.

Yahad Council for relations among ultra-Orthodox, religious, and secular Jews, centered at the President’s Residence, has been laboring for some time to propose acceptable arrangements for coexistence among ultra-Orthodox, religious, and nonreligious Jews. The council recently established the Public Committee for the Image of the Sabbath in Israel, tasked with preserving the special complexion of the Sabbath day in the Jewish state. Leading public figures in Israeli society have taken part in the committee, including Minister Natan Sharansky, Dr. Zvi Zameret (chair), Prof. Rafi Israeli, Shmuel Slavin, Dr. Motti Zeira, Prof. Oz Almog, Dr. Aviad Hacohen, Zvika Rosenzweig (representing the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Employment), Prof. Jacob Katz (representing the Ministry of Education), Yoav Artzieli, and Udi Cohen.

After the committee held a series of meetings and sponsored large public conferences around the country, in which Rabbi Melchior took part, the committee drew up draft legislation concerning the Sabbath and Jewish festivals. The bill distinguishes between permissible activities (leisure, culture, entertainment, and downscaled public transportation) and impermissible ones (governmental and commercial activities, except for those that are vital). The purpose of the bill is to give prominent and meaningful expression to the singularity of the Sabbath in the public domain of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Yahad Council also produced a unique book that gathers in one volume the covenants that have been written in Israel for the regulation of religious-secular relations.

In Rabbi Melchior’s opinion, Israel’s education system has been perpetuating a “primeval sin” that dates back to the time the state was established: the dichotomization of schools into secular and religious systems. The result, he says, is the emergence of two different and totally unconnected peoples in Israel: one secular and one religious. Rabbi Melchior believes that Israeli society needs to have a shared narrative and a partnership in developing a common vision of the country’s future. Only a nexus among Judaism, democracy, and humanism can serve as a basis for the future of the State of Israel.

The Meitarim school system, established at the initiative of Rabbi Melchior, offers a unique educational climate. Religious and nonreligious pupils study together and receive a Jewish education based on Jewish law and tradition as a point of departure for discussion, following a non-coercive approach that allows the Jewish heritage to be expressed in many ways.

Meitarim’s reputation precedes it and the system is expanding steadily. Today, Meitarim is active in Beersheva, Zikhron Ya’akov, kindergartens and Yahad School in Modi’in, a junior high and senior high in Ra’anana, and Reut Junior High and Senior High in Jerusalem.

In view of the need to establish a discourse and a common language among the sides, draft legislation in the matter of Jewish state education has been prepared. The bill seeks to establish another State school system—one offering pluralistic Jewish education. Schools affiliated with the system will act in accordance with the goals of the State system and will recognize the importance of education in tolerance and shared life among Jews of all persuasions: religious, nonreligious, traditional, and any other form of Jewish identity.

Rabbi Melchior is also championing an amendment to the Chief Rabbis and Town Rabbis Law. In accordance with the Meimad Covenant, the bill seeks to do away with the redundancy of having two chief rabbis and two town rabbis. The existing law is based on a sectoral dichotomy between Ashkenazim and Sephardim that should have been done away with long ago. The structure of the existing law is unnecessary, unworthy of a soundly functioning state, and legally confusing. The Israeli melting pot is a fact. Ethnic intermarriage among Jews is high and most of the public no longer gives thought to the ethnic group which it belongs. Therefore, the proposed amendment strikes down the existing law and abandons the preoccupation with “weighty” public issues such as “Who is a Sephardi” and “Who is an Ashkenazi.” The bill passed on preliminary leading and is being prepared for its first reading in the Knesset Interior Committee.

All year long, needless to say, Rabbi Melchior’s bureau receives and handles a large number of requests from citizens who run into difficulties with the system in matters such as rabbinical courts and conversion.

Religious girls in the Israel Defence Forces—for many girls who finish high school in the State Religious system, the choice of service programs is fraught with indecision. According to various estimates, a minority of girls chooses the option of exemption from military service on the ground of religious belief. Today, among girls who graduate from the State Religious system and choose the path of service, about one-third opt for army service and the others enlist in the national service program. In recent years, however, girls have been showing greater interest in joining the army.

In Rabbi Melchior’s opinion, it is important, instead of hiding one’s head in the sand, to tackle the phenomenon so that girls who choose military service may continue maintaining a religious way of life as they choose. Therefore, he has decided to encourage various individuals and associations that are trying to make life easier for religious girls who join the army—by tailoring the military systems to their singular needs to the greatest extent possible.