| Topic: | Re:Religious Extremists in our midst | |
| Posted by: | Francis Rowe | |
| Date/Time: | 01/06/15 09:04:00 |
| One of the many things about London is that you can live here for decades and still continue to find out new and amazing things about this city. I knew nothing about the Belz community until I read this article which gives pause for thought given that this large group of people live around 10 miles away. Who knew that there was a London version of the Amish? Like everyone passing opinion here I know very little about the Belz but I think it would be very wrong to jump to the conclusion that this is a patriarchal sect who oppresses their womenfolk. My north London friend told me this weekend that he wasn't that familiar with this particular group but from his experience of other ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities it was the women who them bound together and were usually the most socially conservative and were certainly the most powerful. They would dismiss the idea out of hand that their well-defined role in the community made them less than equal. This chimes with my limited but enlightening contact over the years with other more apparently backward looking religious groups. Rather than believing in equality of the sexes they believe they are differentiated. But this differentiation is most enthusiastically supported by the women of the group. It is highly simplistic and possibly quite dangerous to jump to the conclusion that by highlighting this issue we are coming to the aid of oppressed Belz women. This is a group that survived Tsarist and Soviet pogroms and is a residual of a much larger community that was nearly obliterated by the Nazis. It is literally in their DNA to be distrustful of outsiders and adhere closely to their own traditions. My friend believes that the school run story is more complicated than it is being presented in the media. This is not a state school but an independent one funded and staffed by their community. The Belz confound the rich Jew stereotype and are generally economically disadvantaged. This means they are quite sensitive to any apparent wealth disparities within the community and it seems likely that some of mums have been driving to school causing resentment among others. To try and heal division within the community a long disregarded stipulation about women not driving has been revived. In their lack of understanding of the way modern media works the Belz have directed the spotlight of attention on themselves which is the last thing they want. We have become noticeably less tolerant of different views and traditions over the last 15 years in part due to an exaggerated fear of terrorism. It is a sad reflection on us that people who dress differently to us and have a different set of values automatically become 'extremists' and are ignorantly presented as some sort of threat that something must be done about. A group of people who have never been a danger to anyone all of a sudden have become something to be afraid of. We describe people who have a different outlook as ultra-orthodox but fail to recognise that orthodoxy in 21st century Britain is a commitment to equality. This a view that I wholeheartedly agree with as both a father of daughters and a man whose career has benefited from the support of female mentors. However, I also believe that is wrong to force my views on others. This is not a view shared by soundbite politicians, the religious experts on this forum and the Twitter mob who have now deemed the Belz worthy of their attention. The Belz have survived centuries of persecution but the clear existential threat presented by their enemies in the 19th and 20th centuries served to bind them together as a community. The new challenge of equality uber alles is perhaps more dangerous because it is more pervasive and insidious. The Belz are now likely to be bombarded with propaganda from the well-meaning who genuinely believe that they are protecting them from erroneous beliefs. A minor internecine dispute that a decade ago would have gone unnoticed has now become the catalyst for a crusade in which the right-thinking will not rest until this abomination in our midst is eradicated. The power of modern media is such that this may prove to be more effective than the cruder more violent methods of history. If we are living in the last days of the Belz it mean an important part of the soul of London has been destroyed and we are entering a crueler less tolerant age. |