Real Jews: Secular Versus Ultra- Orthodox: The Struggle For Jewish Identity In Israel by Noah Efron (Basic Books)

This book explores the divide between the Ultra-Orthodox religious Israelis and their secular counterparts in the young nation. The author leaves no stone unturned in the delivery and the average reader is given enough detail to feel like an expert on the subject by the end of the book.

I recommend this book especially to anyone with a monolithic impression of Israel, as most Westerners with an opinion seem to have. Israeli society is far more complex than most of the world realizes and there is a lot of (some might say self-induced) tension beneath the surface.

Israel occupies a prominent place in world opinion. It is largely hated by Europeans and other Western sophisticates, despite having a very liberal society. Conversely it is loved by many American Evangelicals and others, who believe that it to be a religious (Biblical) state, despite the open hatred and fear in Israel of its most religious members.

This book explains why that fear exists and why, for example, the ultra-religious do not serve in the army. The author take pains to remain neutral in the debate, while at the same time plunging directly into the fray and asking tough question of both sides.

Most Americans would be shocked and disturbed to learn that the harsh rhetoric of virulent anti-Semitism is alive and thriving in Israel. Israel is a Jewish state, after all, so the anti-Semitism found there could hardly be aimed at all Jews. In fact, the Israeli brand of anti-Semitism pits secular Jews against fundamentalist Jews, the ones in traditional clothing following exacting religious rules.Writing from his unique vantage as a Tel Aviv resident, Noah Efron examines the discomfiture and spleen that some secular Jews feel when confronted with their ultra-Orthodox brethren. He recounts the difficult history of the ultra-Orthodox in Europe and Palestine, and examines their role in Israel, a country obsessed with and conflicted about what it means to be a Jew. Despite political, economic, cultural, and religious reasons for the tension between the two groups, little can explain the ferocity with which the Orthodox are loathed today, or the shocking rhetoric that many secular Jews use to denounce and ridicule them. This chilling and disturbing book documents the terrible details of an animosity based partly on fact and partly on a fantasy that threatens the future of Israel.