Paul Calvert spoke with Rabbi Dov Lipman

Rabbi Dov Lipman with Paul Calvert

Rabbi Dov Lipman is an Israeli Knesset member. Born in Silver Spring, Maryland in America, he made Aliyah to Israel in 2004. Paul Calvert spent time with him, discussing politics in Israel, the relationship between Christians and Jews, threats against the State of Israel and anti-Semitism.

Paul: What is it like for you serving your country as a member of the Knesset?

Rabbi Lipman: I have to be honest with you, that every single day we drive to Jerusalem and as the car turns the corner and I see the building in front of me, the Knesset, the Jewish Parliament in a Jewish State with the Israeli flag, I look up and say thank you to God for the opportunity. What an opportunity and blessing to be able to come to work every day and work towards change and improving the situation for the Jewish people and for all people of faith in the land of Israel. It's nothing short of a blessing for me and I don't take it for granted at all.

Paul: Have you always been interested in politics?

Rabbi Lipman: I was always interested in politics and government. I never aspired to be a Member of Parliament; that wasn't a dream of mine or a plan I had. I am an educator. I have been teaching Jewish education for over 20 years. I actually landed a dream job, teaching youth from around the world who had come to Israel for a year or two between high school and university and strengthen their connection to religion, strengthen their faith and strengthen their connection to the land. It was a dream, but I started to see issues that bothered me in our State and I realised that if I want to impact, it's easy to sit back and complain and criticise, but we have an opportunity to do something about it, so that's what brought me into politics and into the actual system itself.

Paul: Quite a lot of people in Israel are secular. Do you want to see more of a spiritual value brought back into the life of Israel?

Rabbi Lipman: I do want to see more of a spiritual value, but I think the way to do that is for the religious and the secular to work together. For decades it has been religious against secular in a battle, which I don't think is healthy for Jewish people and the Jewish State. I think we will succeed in bringing more of a spiritual value and core Jewish values to the State if we on the religious side ease off a little bit on the secular side, because essentially by trying to force religion on the rest of the State I think we have pushed away 50% of the population that views themselves as secular. We need to give them the ability to function and to breathe and to connect Jewishly on their own, then I do believe that overall there'll be a spiritual renaissance and a Jewish State that's run, not by Jewish law, but by core Jewish values.

Paul: What is the relationship like between Christians and Jews?

Rabbi Lipman: It's interesting. Not only am I a Rabbi, but I grew up in the United States. That is a very important component over here, because for me, living with Christian neighbours and Christian friends is natural, as that's what I did. I grew up in Silver Spring Maryland and the people around us on the streets were Christian. We were best of friends and good neighbours. In Israel it's not as much a given. Israelis aren't used to that and they don't know necessarily how that works. Part of what I am trying to do is to educate Israelis about not only how well we can get on with Christians in Israel, but Christians around the world. This is a critical relationship where we share core values, where Christians around the world understand the benefit or the value or need for a strong and secure Israel as a Jewish State. We need to work very hard to strengthen that relationship and I try as much as I can in Israel to educate people about how natural that relationship can and must be.

Paul: Why do you think Christians have a love for the Jewish people?

Rabbi Lipman: The bottom line is that we come from the same people. We come from the same values and the notion of bringing not just monotheism, but bringing God into a place where it permeates every aspect of our lives. That's something we share. Christians open up their Bible and they see that the land of Israel was given to the Jewish people and they believe that with all their heart and soul. They believe that anything but that is actually going against the Bible and against their faith system. When you start looking at some of the core values of loving one another; of bringing God into every element of our life; of trying to share the word of God to everyone around the world, then that's something that we share together.

Make no mistake about it, when we talk about fundamentalist Islam, forget any persecution of Jews, they are persecuting Christians and the world is silent. Israel together with Christians around the world need to unite in this battle to defeat it and to show the loving values of the Bible and of God, instead of what fundamentalist Islam represents.

Paul: In the past Christians haven't been a very good example to the Jewish people with some of the things they have done. Do you think things have changed now and that Israel and the Jewish people really see the love that the Christians have for the Jews?

Rabbi Lipman: There is no doubt that that plays a role in some of the scepticism or fears amongst some Jews and especially in Israel. I think the moment you had a Pope though, who stood up and openly talked about the sins of the Christian past and it's time to re-do the contract between the Jews and Christians around the world; add that to the Christian policies over the last 50 years, which have only been favourable towards the Jewish people and I believe we can absolutely turn the page. As people of faith you do have to be forgiving as well and we can be forgiving in terms of what has happened in the past and only focus on building a stronger future together.