“I spend much valuable time reasoning and contextualising Israel’s actions in the Middle East. This is mainly because I see the concept of being one’s ‘brother’s keeper’ as including care for one’s fellow Jew’s actions, and theirs for mine.”

The Interviewee – Ariel Abel (Born 1974), Rabbi, Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation. Born in Manchester, graduate in Semitics and Languages, Research Methodology and Law (July, 2016) from British universities. Married, father of five children. Today lives in Darwen, Lancashire, England.

In your opinion, what importance, if any, does the existence of a Jewish state have to you personally and to Jewish people in general?

“As a Jew or descendant of Jews in the Post-holocaust era, my position in the diaspora would be extremely vulnerable if there were no independent State of Israel with a Jewish-run army to defend it. Anti-Semites think twice before going too far because they realize, however grudgingly, that Jews are no longer weak and indefensible. I speak as a third generation of survivors from the little-known Holocaust perpetrated against the Sephardim in Tunisia, which was occupied by the SS and maintained many forced labour camps and a concentration camp with inactived crematoria at Bizerte, until May 1943.”

Do you feel committed in some way to defend the future existence of Israel?

“Although the existential need for the Jewish people was barely mentioned and even less celebrated as I grew up in a ‘Non-Zionist’ home otherwise practising Judaism devoutly, my burning passion from the age of 15 for Israel led me to commit myself to Israel, its army, and my family’s consciousness of and respect for the destiny of diaspora and an independent State which are both necessary to exist and work interdependently and hand-in-hand for each other’s safety, security, religious, cultural and economic survival and success.“

Do you affiliate yourself with a specific denomination in Judaism? What is your view regarding the dominance of the Orthodox denomination in Israel religious establishment?

“I am de facto Orthodox. It is sad that non-identification with a religious adjective would label me as theologically and religiously particular in the eyes of other (Orthodox and non-Orthodox) Jews. Since the failure of the Ne’eman Commission in the late 1990s to unify Jewish identity under one agreed authority it has become ever more necessary to seek a way to provide for Jews whose identity is incomplete according to the Orthodox definition without losing them to the mainstream communities and providing more reasons to perpetuate divisions in Israel and abroad purportedly on a theological basis when the real reasons are often irrelevant to religion.

“The problem of religious dominance in Israel emerge precisely because modern Israel follows not the unified community of the Sephardi model but the harsh realities that split Ashkenazi Jewry struggling with an approach to halacha which tended to unbearable stringency and ignored the human condition. The superimposition of one European model of halachic Judaism with another will only compound the problems and exacerbate the tensions. Israel must recognise itself as a Middle Eastern nation and buy in to a new approach to religion based on the broadest spectrum of halachic opinion, and make the best case it can to do away with the need to religiously adjectivise halacha and faith into two opposing camps.“

Do you feel morally responsible for Israel’s actions (such as its management of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)?

“Yes, definitely. I spend much valuable time reasoning and contextualising Israel’s actions in the Middle East. This is mainly because I see the concept of being one’s ‘brother’s keeper’ as including care for one’s fellow Jew’s actions, and theirs for mine. This would include issues ranging from conflict management to the environment and the propheticl duty we have as Jews to be a ‘light unto the nations’.”

In your opinion, what is the main thing Israelis fail to understand about the reality of being Jewish outside of Israel?

“That the actions of Israel directly affect Jews outside of Israel, and that what others think of Israel and Israelis is no less important than what Jews outside of Israel think about Israel and do to support Israel.”

How would you describe Israel’s policy (formally and in practice) regarding its relationship with the Diaspora?

“Israel appears to relate respectfully to diaspora communities but fails to encourage it’s citizens to identify with Jews. A true Zionism must not detach itself from its Jewish roots, and the only way for Israel to insure itself against the permanent loss of its own citizens abroad is to insist that they join local Jewish communities if they wish to continue to hold Israeli citizenship. This is not religious coercion but simply giving sense and meaning to the Law of Return. As a Jew, I insist that Judaism and, synonymously Israeli identity, carry with it commitment to and thereby justification of Jewish continuity both in an independent State of Israel and as a sustainable a Jewish community outside of Israel.”

In your opinion, does Israel have an obligation to defend and help Jewish communities in need?

“Definitely, based on the humane principle enshrined in Mosaic Law: You shall not stand by and watch your brother go down in blood…”

Have you ever been to Israel? if you have, can you summarize your impression from the Israeli reality?

“Yes, I have lived there and paid taxes. Israeli society is complex, beautiful, full of hope and tortured by its own suffering and the burdens of Jewish history. At once, this makes Israel the most morally engaged nation in the world, not because they are perfect, but because Israelis must struggle to survive in so many different ways. Israel would benefit from relaxing conscription and replacing it with national service which includes fostering good relations with other young people abroad in religious and cultural exchange projects. This will not risk Israel…it will reinforce its existence and reinvigorate its raison d’etre.“

What was your best experience of Israeli culture in the past year (book, music, TV, movie, theater etc.)?

“The Israeli TV drama ‘Shtisel’ and a film about Philipplinos struggling to stay in Tel-Aviv.”

Can you tell us a bit about the Jewish community in your hometown? Is it organized? Are there any community activities?

“We are the only (known, self-identitying) Jews in our town. We serve communities religiously in the North-west of England, some of which have significant and active Jewish populations.”