"Unsuccessful" Talks Help Diffuse Tensions

Arutz 7 ^ | 11 February 2003

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"Unsuccessful" Talks Help Diffuse Tensions

MKs Zevulun Orlev of the NRP and Tommy Lapid of the avowedly secular Shinui party met today, but disagreed on topics such as Shinui's demand for civil marriages and public Shabbat transportation in Israel. Shinui also wishes to have Reform conversion recognized. NRP leader Effie Eitam said afterwards that though he does not rule out the possibility of sitting in the same government as Shinui, it does not appear workable under the current circumstances.

Although Shinui and the NRP failed to come to a mutual understanding on many of the issues facing Israeli society today, many people still have hope for religious-secular dialogue. On the contrary, they see the coalition negotiations between hareidi, religious, and secular elements as a positive development on the religious-secular front.

At a seminar discussing the social ramifications of the recent elections at Bar Ilan University's Florence Unger and Samuel Goldstein Interdisciplinary Center today, topics such as these were raised and analyzed. Dr. Ephraim Tabory, deputy head of Bar Ilan's Conflict Management program, who spoke on "Religious-Secular Relations," told Arutz-7 beforehand that talks between Shinui and religious groups are encouraging in and of themselves. Similarly, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, who spoke on the gap between Shas and Shinui, said earlier that the coalition negotiations provide an opportunity for both sides to understand and come towards each other.

Atty. Itzik Cohen, a doctoral candidate at Bar Ilan University, told Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson today of another Bar Ilan program dedicated to bridging this gap: "For seven years, we have been offering a full-credit course on religious-secular dialogue, in which students from both 'camps' come together to discuss relevant issues." He explained that the course is less frontal and more "experiential," and that the students even spend some Shabbatot together. Cohen expressed confidence that programs of this nature help diffuse some of the prevalent tensions in Israeli society.