Debate #5 Questions

Conservative: It seems as though you wish to create a democratic religion. How do you expect to receive the opinions and the practice of all conservative Jews around the world? You may be focused on the local situation, but what do you do once Jews start to travel to other lands or populations reach into the hundred-thousand? Will teachers be elected by separated groups? Will those teachers from different locations or different groups meet and discuss trends among their people and define Judaism that way? What if represented groups of different locations don’t agree on a certain aspect of practice, will they separate and form a new sect of Judaism? If all of this is expected to happen, will this system not separate Jews into smaller groups breaking up the religion even more causing even less unity among the Jewish populations of the world?

Ultra-Orthodox: Based on previous events and ideas, it seems as though much of the world does not support or favor the Jewish populations in any way. Even if Jews were allowed a lot of freedom in the Ottoman Empire, they were still seen by all other religious groups as an inferior people. Obviously, being Jewish in the past has not made friends, why are you fighting so hard to keep Judaism exactly the way it has always been? All it has created is dissent and hate. Why not attempt to modernize but still remain Jewish in ways that are not so blatant? Your exaggerated display of Judaism is only bringing you hate from others. Maybe you will be accepted more by the rest of humanity if you do not make yourself such an obvious target for violence and hatred. Your arrogant expression that says, "Judaism is the only true religion and is better than any other religion and it will not be changed for any reason" makes you no better than those that oppress you. Why not move on into the modern world with the rest of society?