An Israeli singer explains why she refused to shake Biden's hand

Occupied Jerusalem

- Israeli singer Yuval Dayan's refusal to shake hands with US President Joe Biden, during a ceremonial ceremony at the presidential residence in occupied Jerusalem, raised many questions about the reasons that prompted the singer to take this step that embarrassed Biden.

Activists circulated the original video clip, broadcast by Israeli Channel 12, on social media platforms, in which Biden appeared - alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog - to shake hands with Israeli singers before the singer refused to shake hands with the US President, with the addition of an audio commentary with the word "religious".

Dayan belongs to a family of Sephardic Jews, and was drafted into the Israeli occupation army in 2013, and served in the military division of the Education and Youth Division.

Since 2016, Dayan has become increasingly religiously conservative.

She stated that she attended religious lessons on Friday and Saturday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yuval Dayan (@yuvaldayan1)

Through her account on Instagram, the Israeli singer explained that she was asked a week ago if she would shake hands with the US President, and added that she came from a religious background that many may not understand, and that she has a desire to preserve her lifestyle of dress and touch, as she has never touched drugs nor appeared drunk on stage before.

She indicated her intense fear that preceded the ceremony because of her unwillingness to shake hands with the American president, and confirmed that she understood that the president himself explicitly requested not to touch him and not to photograph with him.

Everyone also told her that her attitude of not shaking hands would not cause any embarrassment to anyone.

In the dialectic of the relationship between religion and the state in Israeli society, the Jewish trend, which combined secularism, democracy, and freedoms on the basis of Zionist thought, is declining, as the majority of Israeli society turns to Jewish schools and streams with beliefs.

Ban and accept

Israeli writer and journalist Yoav Shtern said that "there are no clear texts from the Torah and the Bible that forbid shaking hands and mixing and require modesty." However, many explanations and teachings that also rely on customs and traditions prohibit a woman or religious Jewish man from shaking hands, and women are also prohibited from singing in public. Mixed ceremony, according to beliefs called "no contact" or "keep distance, no touch".

The Israeli writer believes that due to the lack of clear texts in the Torah and the Bible “Tanakh” regarding shaking hands and even mixing, women, as in the case of the singer Dayan, have the freedom to do whatever they want in such cases, knowing that the texts in the “Urushal Talmud” prohibit shaking hands and mixing. And Jewish women sing in the presence of men.

As for the “Mishnah” Oral Torah, it is an analytical interpretation of the written Torah by the rabbis, the vast majority of whom prohibit shaking hands and mixing and stress the necessity of modest dress. According to Shtern, "it was accepted by the majority of Jewish religious currents, while criticism was limited to the secular trend."

Torah and Talmud

Stern explained - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that the Israeli singer Dayan, who refrained from shaking hands with President Biden, for religious reasons and beliefs, belongs to the conservative religious school, or what has become known religiously as the civilized Orthodox current.

The Israeli journalist stressed that "the conservative religious school has become acceptable and more widespread in Israeli society, although it is creeping more towards 'Haredi', which relies on most of the Jewish texts and biblical teachings in its way of life at the expense of nationalism and Zionism," while the Haredi school - according to Stern - " She has a biblical Jewish religious affiliation, and she has no national or Zionist affiliation.

Religion and the state

Dr. Salih Lutfi, a researcher in religious groups and Jewish currents, believes that the singer Dayan's refusal to shake Biden's hand reflects the societal and religious changes that Israel is going through that serve the societal cycle of Jewish religious upbringing.

Lutfi explained - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that what the singer Diane did serves as a message and an indication of what Israel is heading towards and the ongoing transformations in Israeli society, and the conflicts between segments and various currents, whether secular, conservative or those strict religious segments, creating a state of religiosity. private in Israeli society.

The researcher in religious and Jewish groups pointed out that Israel is moving strongly towards a conservative society with a special religiosity that combines religious, civil and secular interests.

Zionism and Judaism

Lutfi pointed out that the situation and approach of the singer Dayan with President Biden reflects the transformations in Israeli society related to the secular dimension, public life, the religious dimension and Jewish teachings.

Lutfi stressed that Israeli society is slowly moving towards "Orthodox Haredi," which adopts biblical Jewish religious teachings at the expense of Zionist values.

He believes that what the singer has done reflects the debate in Israeli society regarding the preservation of the Jewish state, which began to form at this stage after it was established as a secular and democratic Zionist state, indicating that the Zionist role has ended in the initial establishment of the state, and at this stage comes the empowerment of the state Judaism.