Some values are non-negotiable. Jews can discuss the prescriptions of Talmud or Shulhan Aruh, the details of mixing milk with meat, or turning on electricity on Sabbath, but some basic things must be accepted: for example, pork is prohibited and Jews should not perform exhausting work on Sabbath. Modern rabbis accept all kinds of transgressors. They should firmly reject Jewish evildoers. Few Jews will leave synagogues that blast their violations; most will mend their ways for the better. Jews long for chastisement. Honest rabbis who decry violations are popular with their flock. People, Jews especially, need strong values, the firmament in a fluid world. Instead of disregarding the violations or criticizing them equivocally, reject them out of hand. Weak religiosity is hypocrisy; Jews only respect and follow strong beliefs. It’s similar with politics. Foreigners resent an Israel that delays returning the “occupied land of Palestine.” Annexing the “Jewish land of Judea” would sound very different. Accept that some things are non-negotiable: Jews neither eat pork nor allow an Arab state in Judea. Believe in your values. Act on them. It’s not even about religion, but upholding the values that build your community, the bonds with the people who will join you in the gas chamber or the Sinai trench, the compatriots who will wield clubs running alongside you against your enemies. You’d better be sure you share your values with them.