Why It’s A Big Deal That A Secular Student Won Israel’s Bible Contest
(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.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
