Live and Let Live

by Ben Dayan, Itai Holtzman, Shmuel Tiasano, Grade 10,
Amal Comprehensive School for Sciences and Arts, Hadera

As Israel is celebrating its 50th birthday, 50 years of achievements admired worldwide, we are still witnessing numerous occurances around the country which indicate that there seems to exist an alarming gap between the religious and secular groups in our society. This gap is originated in a disagreement concerning religious practices.

On the one hand, the religious people claim that the secular people don't respect their wish to observe the Mitzvot; on the other hand, the secular people claim that the religious are focing their way of life on them.

As a result of this conflict, we decided to condust a survey among the general public in order to find out what most people really think about the situation. The results of the survey show that most of the public is aware of the existence of the problem, and thinks that some form of action must be taken to solve it. The results also show that the secular public is much more worried about the situation than the religious public. It turns out that 80% of the secular population believe that religious coercion exists, as opposed to 16% of the religious population, most of which denies it existence.

We asked a religious person, who asked to remain anonymous, what his opinion was regarding the fact that kibbutz shopping areas are open on Saturdays. His answer was that he totally disagreed with that practice. He explained that God wants us to rest on the Sabbath, just as it is said in the Bible. We asked him what he was doing or was planning to do against that practice, and his answer was: "I am one of the many people who come and protest against the opening of the stores on Saturdays."

In order to present an objective picture, we asked a secular person for his opinion regarding the same issue, and his response was: "I am against being told what to do or where to go on my day off, especially when I don't disturb anyone who may feel differently."

Unfortunately, the survey and interviews proved our original assumption to be true. The gap does exist, and if we don't do something about it, it will jsut get worse. We believe that this gap can be bridged, and we can all live together peacefully if we learn to be tolerant, respect each others' feelings, and accept the principle that each person has the right to lead his life the way he chooses.

This poem previously appeared in The Student's Word, The Comprehensive High School for Sciences and Arts, Amal Hadera, May 1998.

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© 1998, Amal Pedagogical Technological Center