Undercover Meetings

Really both sides were looking for some sort of resolution. With all the media hype about religious-secular tensions was it possible to find some common ground for peaceful discussion?

We all know that the chareidi community has been under attack by the media for the past several weeks not only in Israel but around the world. Last week Mishpacha organized and published a thought-provoking PR panel that sought answers to the problem of our bad public image. The diverse blend of public relations experts raised many points worth pondering many suggestions on how to extricate ourselves from the bind we’re in – which seems that no matter what we say or do we can’t win; the media will keep on painting an ugly distorted image of us and displaying it to the world.

One suggestion that came up repeatedly in the course of the discussion was that we don’t necessarily have to grapple directly with the media but should try instead to initiate dialogue with our ideological opponents behind closed doors with the aim of understanding each other’s position and reaching practical agreements that will enable us to live side by side in peace despite the impossibility of agreeing on the issues.

Over the years I’ve been privileged to participate in dialogues of this nature which afforded an opportunity to discover the real source of friction between the chareidi and secular communities in Israel what it is that really bothers them.