Op-ed: Israel’s secular majority finally fighting back, starting to behave like a minority group
Once upon a time we were the most influential group in this country, yet this is no longer the case. On the one hand, we are the largest group in society, more than the Arabs (20%), more than the religious (12%) and more than the haredim (8%). On the other hand, they always defeat us, because we’re the majority, so we don’t deserve anything.
Someone sent a chain letter by email. He wrote: “I belong to the strongest group in Israel in terms of numbers, so please explain to me how the hell I’m a minority in this country?”
You are a minority because you are not.
I know it sounds absurd, yet this is how it works. The majority does not know how to join forces for the sake of its own interests; the majority cannot afford to say “to hell with everything”; the majority does not hire lobbyists, does not set up NGOs that would work for its interests, and does not know how to press Knesset members from its sector, because it’s not a sector.
The majority also cannot build an illegal home, on illegal land, and then fight with the police officers who come to evict it, because the majority has a nephew in the police and loves its nephew.
Categories: Asia, Israel, Middle East
A quiet revolution is happening in Europe, USA and Canada as well. In North America almost 15-20% call themselves unaffiliated to any church and the number is approaching 40-50% in Europe.
The agnostics and atheists as a group are debating the believing Christians, who are not monolithic either. We need to inject ourselves in these discussions, but first we need to understand what they are saying to each other. The Muslim Times should come in handy in this regard.
One question to ponder is how far we should seek cooperation with the Christian churches against the ‘secularists’ (atheists, agnostics)? In a way of course we have much in common with all believers in a Creator.