Jewish tourists to Israel could soon spend a couple of days relaxing at the Dead Sea, take in the sites of the Old City of Jerusalem, and then head over to a polling station to vote in Knesset elections if one lawmaker gets his way.
The unlikely plan to give Jewish tourists the vote was put forward Tuesday by MK Bezalel Smotrich, of the Jewish Home party, as part of a proposal to try to bridge a growing divide between Israel and Diaspora Jews.
“I think that the Jews of the world, whoever spends at least two weeks a year in the State of Israel, should have the right to vote for the Knesset. I will now propose such a bill. I think this will greatly strengthen the ties between us,” he told US Jewish leaders during a roundtable about Israel-Diaspora relations event in the Knesset.
Smotrich made the remark at a special of the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America at the Knesset, which is taking place this week in Tel Aviv.
A Jew who decides to spend two weeks in Israel “cares about Israel, is connected to it and knows what’s going on here,” said Smotrich, a freshman lawmaker who has frequently been mired in controversy, most recently for calling to kneecap a teenage Palestinian girl.
Smotrich has a history of making controversial remarks, including encouraging draft-dodging in protest of the IDF’s “radical feminist” agenda; comparing the evacuation of an illegal settlement outpost to a “brutal rape,” and claiming that “illiterate” Arabs are granted university admission thanks to affirmative action.
He has also called himself a “proud homophobe,” and was involved in organizing an anti-gay “Beast Parade” in Jerusalem, in response to the city’s annual Gay Pride parade.
Smotrich said it was fine if giving tourists the vote changed Israel’s political landscape.
“There is no doubt that Israel is a democracy, this can certainly influence the political landscape here, it could change the outcome of elections, and that’s okay,” he said. Only citizens can be elected to the Knesset, he added, but it should be allowed for Jewish tourists to cast a ballot.
I think that the State of Israel needs to stay Orthodox and still accept and welcome” non-Orthodox Jews
Various reforms of Israel’s electoral system are regularly discussed, but currently, only Israeli citizens who present themselves at a ballot box in Israel can participate in Knesset elections.
During the panel discussion, which dealt with the deepening crisis between the Diaspora and Israel, Smotrich said a recent trip to the US has changed dramatically his view of world Jewry.
“I was born and raised in Israel, and I’ll tell you the truth, I had never left Israel before that,” he recalled. “During my first few years, my focus was entirely on internal Israel matters. I took many things into account, but not how my actions in the Knesset would affect in the US and other places. This trip opened my eyes and greatly changed my activity in the Knesset.”
Today, Smotrich went on, he considers the impact any given legislation may have on Diaspora Jewry, though he stressed that ultimately he will make decisions based on his best judgement and not necessarily on what the Jews of the world prefer.
In this respect, he rejected the notion of Israel formally recognizing non-Orthodox streams.
“I think that the State of Israel needs to stay Orthodox and still accept and welcome” non-Orthodox Jews, he said. His older brother is not observant but he still loves and respects him, he went on.
“I don’t accept him as he is. I am a God-fearing Jews and I think he is wrong. I don’t think he can expect me to accept him as he is. But it’s possible to feel brotherhood and feel mutual respect and responsibility, and still disagree on things,” he said.
“We’re making a mistake if we focus on our disagreements, we have so many things in common. As much as we managed to develop our common ground it will help us to get over disagreements.”
Earlier during the evening, Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein also addressed the gap between the Israeli government and many Diaspora Jews, especially regarding the status of non-Orthodox streams and the recently passed Jewish nation-state law, which was harshly criticized by many Jews living outside Israel.
“I don’t believe one single cause can explain this rift. But we must not respond by searching for scapegoats,” Edelstein said.
“We are one family, and I am proud to be related. True, we disagree about what it means to be a good family member. But doesn’t this happen in our own families, too?” he went on. “We cannot change others’ worldview, nor should we expect to. But we must be able to dialogue with respect across our differences.”
To guarantee the Jewish future Jews in Israel and the Diaspora need to find a “common cause and strength in our diversity,” he said.
Edelstein, a member of the ruling Likud party, reiterated his call on the government to make “greater efforts” to implement the Western Wall agreement.
In January 2016, the cabinet voted in favor of long-negotiated compromise calling for a pluralistic prayer platform at the holy site. A year and a half later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “suspended” the implementation of the plan’s most controversial parts, citing the opposition of his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.
Unfreezing the agreement “would make our holiest sites a symbol of true Jewish unity,” Edelstein told the US Jewish leaders.
“At the same time, there are also profound issues that the American Jewish community must address,” he said.
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