The biblical system of judges is fully relevant now. Israel has become a deathbed for Jewishness, a melting pot, and an instrument of assimilation. Israeli government scorches every viable definition of Jewishness, from religious to nationalist (abrogation of Eretz Israel notion) to cultural (with garbled tongue instead of the biblical Hebrew). Israeli state will continue as secular, assimilationist, gentilized institution serving foreign masters and media rather than the Jews. As any large multi-strata democracy, Israel will roll down the path of corruption, bribing the voters, and serving oligarchs and special interest groups.
Administrative autonomy for communities is the only option to preserve Jews in the state of Israel. The state would provide the communities with defense against regular Arab armies and general antiterrorist services. The communities will be free to close themselves to Arabs to solve the immediate problems of rampant crime and terrorism. The communities will effect their own legal systems, whether secular or various types of Judaic legislation. The state will curtail the judicial power of communities by interpreting caret as banishment rather than execution. That will ensure that no people are executed for religious transgressions. The state will prosecute criminals who escaped from the communities if secular law recognizes their offenses.
Communities will conduct their own policies in language (modern or biblical), religion, education, taxation, welfare, and other issues. The state will finance itself from customs duty and perhaps a small tax payable by all communities.
Some communities will continue socialist and secular, like kibbutzim, some – religious of various orientations, other – nationalist. Some might promote welfare and high taxes, while others attract investors with low taxes while discouraging workers with low benefits. They will compete and develop the most efficient policies. Communities will preserve vibrant Judaism and Jewish nationalism; various ideas will compete for settlers.
Transition from unitarian state to the federation of communities might be slow. Israel needs to dismantle centralized rabbinical hierarchy which only promotes corruption, allow the communities to have their own education programs, permit them to restrict certain rights such as of homosexuality and Sabbath work, decentralize the tax system.
No other option is viable. In democracy, interest groups will continue to pressure for concessions, and welfare state will drive entrepreneur Jews into emigration. Israel will continue imposing assimilationist policies on religious and nationalist Jews if only to annihilate their determined opposition to Israel’s emasculation of the Jewish idea. Dictatorship will not help, but only bring another leftist to power. Constitution will equalize Arabs, and destroy even the lip service paid to the Jewish character of Israel. Any Jews should be able to buy land anywhere in Eretz Israel, establish jurisdiction in their communities, and enjoy the nuclear protection of Israel.
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Well, the idea could be based on the distribution by tribes descripted in the Tanach. But this could be done just if some small communities began to building up a "closed community" at, for example, the Neguev. But has to be properly done, not to be some kind of freaks as Escenees. A lot of people enjoy to live like this, but socialist-for-the-masses-capitalism-for-us goverments hardly accept this. This will be a serious blow for their authority. After all, what you are proposing here is a authentic Moses law system, against the putrid greek concept of corrupted democracy. That means, everyone votes, but in the higher levels they just govern at will. At the lower levels, everything is permitted. Homosexuality, bank interest and usure, idolatry and so on. Maybe we are assisting right now to one of the lowest times of civilization, a time of free game, but if you want to keep our G-d statues you are a weirdo. Obadiah proposal could be good for Am Israel, but not for Corrupts dinasty with low IQ. Anyway, more details about administration and religious matters will be appreciated.
Well, the "Essene freaks" passed on to us the largest body of ancient Hebrew literature.
A limited precedent exists in the US private communities and incorporated townships which set their own rules to an extent.
The idea is for every community to chose the mode of administration and the degree of religiosity.
Danny:When I talk about "freak escenees" I mean people not desiring to procreate, not allowing other members to eat in the same table just to get them dead by starvation, writing about "children of the ligh vs children of the darkness" and so on.
About their legacy, just 2 tanach books were found among the scrolls, all the rest was own theology and internal escenees laws. Up to today, a lot of archeologist doub about the origin of the tanach books found. Were the escenees or jews escaping from Jerusalem to Massada who left the scrolls behind?
You know, people two thousand years from now would read Israeli Basic Law and misunderstand our society. Perhaps we shouldn't take the pieces like War Scroll too literally.
Essenes are very reputable. Many Christian authors mentioned them as late as the fourth century. Pliny praises them a lot. Odd folks they were, you're right.
I think that Jewish people can build any country they like. Especially if we recall the events how Israel was found. It is totally religious mono national country. Jews wanted to rebuild there country as it was told by God and written in Bible. It is hard for Israel to become a civil nation because the idea of the country of Israel is from their religious outlook. Judaism is extremely conservative non-missionary national religion so it is really hard for Israel which political system is close to theocracy to become a civil country.
Or vice versa, it is hard for secular Israel to become a Jewish state. Harder than to pass through the needle's ear.