First, the haredim attacked women who had gathered as a small group to pray together at the Western Wall. The government did nothing to stop them. Now they are threatening bus drivers and parades supposedly protected by freedom of speech. Still the government is doing nothing to stop them. Where will it end?
It takes guts and a strong political will to stand up to extremists of any stripe, and especially if you want their votes to prop up your government. You would think Israel , of all nations, would know the heavy price that will need to be paid by standing by in the face of injustice and the rise of intolerance.
This leads me to another troubling thought to begun the secular New Year. Does religion breed hate?
That is what a congregant recently asked me. I answered that the world does not need religion for hate to thrive. Just look at Hitler and Stalin, two anti-religious demigods, and the movements they mobilized. Like any powerful energy, religion is a neutral force that can be used for good or ill. It is up to us to use it wisely. One would hope that religion could breed cooperation, understanding, and compassion. But we see that is not necessarily true.
The scariest thing is that most extremists share with liberals the desire to build a better world. The problem is our definitions of what a "better world" would be is so very different. That is when it becomes the responsibility of the government to protect the firm boundaries of a social contract that protects diversity and the common weal and shows no tolerance for citizen-initiated threats or violence.
--Posted by Rabbi Susan Grossman
Rabbi Eliyahu Stern: Grasp Orthodoxy's Appeal
Rabbi Waxman: Open Closed Minds
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
B"H I don't know what it is about the Land of Israel that prompts people to go to such extremes. Here in the United States, as well as in other communities throught the galut, one does not hear of such acts. Still, it should be re-iterated that those who perpretrate acts of violence in the Torah community are the tiny minority. Personally I do not tolerate violence for any reason...Yosef Hershkowitz
This statement"mankind does not need relgion"is a lot of B.S.We see the results of no guidance,culture,family,and religious laws every day;barbaric killing gangs,who become active criminals.THAT is their background,which is why they do all that.Their gangs are the only family they have,and they resort to barbarism to survive. This is an impractical,"pie-in-the-sky"statement,from someone who does not understand mankind,or history,and I am not going to even consider this person as rational.
I think you might find that Hitler used relgion when he needed to. Hitler was a Roman Catholic and never once renounced his religion. He used his slant on the story of Christ to incite racial hatred against the Jews. As for Stalin, his version of communism has often been likened to a religion. All it takes is for one maniac demigod to make it to the top of the sh*t pile and we're all f**ked.