I was reading about the new attempt by Shas to rid the Haredi school systems a the seminary level of discrimination against Sefardim, with the possibility of even having new laws passed, if necessary, that would force the schools to accept girls of sefardi origin that have been rejected until now.
While reading the various articles on the subject, I thought it ironic that Shas is fighting the system of racism and discrimination. Shas, and really the whole parliamentary system our country works with, is built on discrimination and racism and, I think, promotes it. The agenda of Shas is to return Sefardi Jewry to its glory. That is not mixing sefardi kids and ashkenazi kids, but keeping them separate and distinct.
I really should not be singling out Shas here, because the whole system works like this. We should really have a two party system where both parties, or even just one more than the other, works on ensuring equality and ridding the society of discrimination as part of its platform and efforts.
Instead we have a system of special interest parties where everybody who wants something or feels slighted starts a movement of some sort to promote his issue, finding supporters and distinguishing them. if it is not something like lowering fines for parking tickets, or consumer rights such as forcing stores to tag every item with a price tag, so it has nothing to do with discrimination, but when it is for rights of specific types of people, such as a party for Russians or for Sefardim, a specifically Ashkenaz party, or one for Arabs, or for anybody else, even though they are really needed to fight for many rights that are at times not granted as they should be, but frequently they position themselves as not just fighting for equal rights but as distinguishing their supporters, thus causing more discrimination against them.
I am not saying they are really intentionally promoting racism, as it is being done inadvertently. Just by their mere existence and fighting for what they do, they are promoting the racism that remains in society.
Instead we have a system of special interest parties where everybody who wants something or feels slighted starts a movement of some sort to promote his issue, finding supporters and distinguishing them. if it is not something like lowering fines for parking tickets, or consumer rights such as forcing stores to tag every item with a price tag, so it has nothing to do with discrimination, but when it is for rights of specific types of people, such as a party for Russians or for Sefardim, a specifically Ashkenaz party, or one for Arabs, or for anybody else, even though they are really needed to fight for many rights that are at times not granted as they should be, but frequently they position themselves as not just fighting for equal rights but as distinguishing their supporters, thus causing more discrimination against them.
ReplyDeleteHuh?
Not following your sechel here.
ReplyDeleteThere is known discrimination towards Sefardim in the Charedi educational arena, possibly towards Baalei Tshuva, Russians and Anglos also. I can not understand the reasoning behind, 'Why by setting up a specific party that encourages discrimination?'.
"Huh" - Rafi's saying that the fact that many issues in this country get turned into group-specific issues, rather than "fairness for all" further highlights and subdivides the groups versus the klal.
ReplyDelete