{"id":174,"date":"2006-11-08T12:06:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-08T12:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/virtualtalmud\/2006\/11\/rights-dont-make-right.html"},"modified":"2006-11-08T12:06:00","modified_gmt":"2006-11-08T12:06:00","slug":"rights-dont-make-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/virtualtalmud\/2006\/11\/rights-dont-make-right.html","title":{"rendered":"Rights Don’t Make Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ohhh please…Rabbi Grossman\u2019s position<\/a> is a caricature of just the kind of simplistic, clich\u00e9d liberal thinking that has got us into this mess to begin with.<\/p>\n

Firstly, I just want to be clear: If one haredi <\/span>lifts up a hand to hurt one Jew in that parade than they will have committed a greater hillul hashem<\/span> (an action that hides God’s presence) than anything any marcher will have done that day.<\/p>\n

That said, my position on the march has nothing to do with rights! The gay-rights march has every right in the world to take place in Jerusalem. BUT AS ANYONE WHO HAS HAD ANY SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP KNOWS, RIGHTS DON\u2019T MAKE RIGHT.<\/p>\n

Healthy relationships–and, for that matter, healthy societies and cultures–do not function based on rights but rather understanding, sensitivity, and mutual trust. (By the way, Rabbi Grossman, in terms of rights: Do you support the right of the gay community to be ordained? Do you perform gay marriages? Do you right ketubot <\/span>(marriage contracts) and give gettim <\/span>(Jewish religious divorce decrees) for gay marriages and divorces? Do you announce gay couples’ anniversaries from your pulpit? Why shouldn\u2019t the gay community have the \u201cright\u201d to these religious ceremonies?<\/p>\n

The truth of the matter is that looking at this issue in terms of rights just gets too sloppy and simplistic.<\/p>\n

My problem with the gay-rights march is not the march itself. Personally, as I have argued elsewhere, I believe that the gay community should be given full equal rights and be treated politically and economically in the same way any heterosexual is treated.<\/p>\n

What Rabbi Grossman forgets, however, is that this march has taken place a number of times in Jerusalem with little fanfare and debate. The reason for all of the commotion is that this year World Pride<\/a> was originally scheduled to happen in Jerusalem in August, and that stirred the hornets’ nest. This year\u2019s march was seen by the haredi <\/span>community as being overly provocative.
Yes, Jerusalem is not owned by haredim<\/span>\u2013it\u2019s the property of all of Israel\u2019s inhabitants\u2013and there is a limit to what haredim <\/span>should be allowed to get away with. That said, contra Rabbi Grossman, I have no problem with cafes being open on Shabbat and for that matter with buses running up and down every street in Jerusalem during morning services on Shabbat.<\/p>\n

My reasoning is simple: Those things are part of peoples day-to day lives. Having a bus run on Shabbat is not a political statement; it is a statement about wanting to go to the grocery store, or to visit friends and family. A march\u2019s essence is not part of people\u2019s day-to-day lives. It is meant to highlight and accentuate certain groups\u2019 political and social identity. Its purpose is to stake out a position and make people aware of something in a demonstrative manner.<\/p>\n

Having a gay march in Jerusalem will not breed one iota of good will between gays and those who oppose them. (Sure, the haredim <\/span>are pathetic and a danger to the stability of a democratic state…but that\u2019s not a good enough reason to stick a gay-pride parade in their face). The march is unnecessarily provocative, because ultimately it will not prove anything but the strength or weakness of a police force to separate the marchers and protesters.<\/p>\n

Just because someone has a right does not mean it is in their best interest to use that right. It\u2019s easy to be right; it\u2019s much harder having a relationship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ohhh please…Rabbi Grossman\u2019s position is a caricature of just the kind of simplistic, clich\u00e9d liberal thinking that has got us into this mess to begin with. 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