ISRAEL
"This land you shall divide for yourselves among the tribes of Israel. You shall allot it as a heritage for yourselves and for the strangers who reside among you, children who are born among you. You shall treat them as Israelite citizens; they shall receive allotments along with you among the tribes of Israel. You shall give the stranger an allotment within the tribe where he resides - declares the Lord God."
-Ezekiel 47:21-23
Israel runs advertisements on CNN touting their perception of themselves as the only democracy in the Middle East. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. One of the fundamental principles of a democracy is freedom of religious practice, which Israel does not allow. All Jewish Israelis are required to participate in disgusting marriage ceremonies regulated by the Orthodox where a man takes possession of the woman. They cannot have a gender egalitarian ceremony if they want one. Furthermore, they only allow the Orthodox to define who is a Jew, even though the vast majority of Jews worldwide and in Israel are not Orthodox. That is not democracy.
Israel is not in fact the center of Jewish life, America is. There are more Jews here than in Israel. We foot the bill for Israel, as well. And Israelis couldn't have more contempt for us, in spite of this. We need to start to realize that we have the power to force them to recognize patrilineal descent, as well as gender egalitarian religious practice, if we only choose to use that power. It's time to say to them, " Either take away control of religious life from the Orthodox, or GET OFF THE GRAVY TRAIN."
Many Israelis don't want the Orthodox to have control, either. But they don't do anything about it. Social changes don't happen by people just sitting around talking about it. Women didn't get the right to vote by saying to someone, "We think we should have the right to vote." Blacks in the American south didn't get the right to sit in the front of the bus by just saying they ought to have that right. They had to use their economic power and commit acts of civil disobedience. Sometimes strife arises with these conflicts. But it is something that has to be done. All societies must move forward, even if there are growing pains involved. All Israelis need to do is make a decision and organize themselves. There are many "non-halachic" Jews there. They are required to perform military service, like all Jewish Israelis, but if they die in battle, they aren't buried in a military cemetary. Non-halachic Jews should refuse to perform military service until the Orthodox are removed from power. They may go to jail, but, hell, they're a lot safer there! If everyone unites, we can break the back of the Orthodox.
Ben-Gurion gave control of religious practices in Israel to the Orthodox because he thought they would "disappear." He was wrong. Letting them have control only fomented the movement, because it validated them. It gave both them and the non-Orthodox the perception that they bear the mantel of "real" Judaism, even though that's complete bullshit. Many of the Orthodox customs and practices didn't materialize until the 19th century, at the same time as the Reform practices were developing. And many of those that were in existence before the 19th century were the result of an evolution that occurred over many centuries and incorporated many of the customs and laws of the various countries that Jews found themselves living in. Israel needs to change it's education system. Most Israelis don't practice Orthodox Judaism, but they are taught that that's what Judaism is and don't respect Conservative and Reform. That must end.
In short, Israel wants our money, but they don't want to recognize us. It's time to tell them, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you." I would like to live in a world where everyone respects other people's beliefs and each can practice their religion according to their own consience. But if the Orthodox don't want to do that, then they must be eliminated. Israel is in a very vulnerable position right now and we need to take advantage of this opportunity to finally get rid of the Orthodox. Carpe diem!