… For more than a century there has been an ideological conflict between Haredi and secular Jews. At the core lies the Zionist elite on one side, offering or indeed hoping to replace all religious Jews and Haredim in particular, with a new Israeli or Canaanite figure. Opposing them stands the Haredi narrative claiming that Jewish existence over time cannot exist without a total and immersive commitment to Torahand mitzvoth.

Just visiting a site like the Israel Museum that can offer artisitic expression to both populations shows that even if it is still difficult to contemplate a constellation of Haredim and secular Jews – if not Haredim and Canaanites – living together, carrying out some form of mutual dialogue or at least co-existence, then at least in the Museum is one place that proves it is possible.

And this on its own is a cause for optimism.