Why It’s A Big Deal That A Secular Student Won Israel’s Bible Contest
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Sign up for Forwarding the News, our essential morning briefing with trusted, nonpartisan news and analysis, curated by Senior Writer Benyamin Cohen.
(JTA) — The only time I ever attended Israel’s International Bible Quiz, I sat three rows in front of the prime minister.
It was 2005, I was a 19-year-old student, and I watched as Ariel Sharon strolled in with his security detail, a large black nylon kippa perched lumpily on his head. The rest of the crowd was largely religious Zionist, and a religious student won the contest, which quizzes teens on the Bible’s verses and obscure details.
At the time, Israel was in the throes of a searing debate over the impending withdrawal from Gaza, which included the evacuation of 8,000 settlers. Much of the religious Zionist community opposed the move and some viewed Sharon, a onetime champion of the settlement movement, as a traitor to the cause.
When it came time for Sharon to ask a question of the contestants, a religious woman stood up in the back of the room and screamed to cheers, “A Jew does not expel Jews! A Jew does not expel Jews!”
That charged moment helps explain why it’s such a big deal that a secular Jewish student, 15-year-old Sagiv Lugasi, won the contest — the first secular contestant to win since the 1980s.
