I have my own ideas on this topic, but I am wondering what the general consensus on the most prominent talking points critiquing the problem with an overly secular government which shys away from the Jewish roots of the Jewish people. I am debating a friend, and I find sometimes my words are overly long [at times I wish I was more concise].
I would also like to know what are some of the terrible things Ben-Gurion did? I have heard that he really tried to secularize the Yemenite Jews, even making them cut off their peyot under the guise of a "health hazard". I have even heard that he would have religious Sephardic Jews babies taken from them and given to Ashkenazi secular Jews so the babies would be raised w/o a love of Judaism [forgive me if this is just conspiracy theory, I don't know a credible way to research this topic, but I have heard it before].
I'd also be interested in hearing what other religious failings, and attacks on religion other PMs have participated in.
toda raba
It is well known in Israel that under Ben Gurion's govt and health ministry officials, doctors were ordered to steal Yemenite children from their parents and then tell the parents "sorry your child died." This happened to Sephardim too, but mostly to Yemenites and because Yemenites were perceived as weak and not willing or able to fight back or stop them. With Sephardim they tried but had more resistance and were less successful but they certainly victimized Sephardi Jews in this manner too.
When the parents asked to see the body, they had no response - no body to show you, he just got sick and died. This happened to thousands. The Yemenites were unfortunately weak and naive (they actually thought that fellow Jews are supposed to love each other and could not possibly do such evil to each other! Only muslims like the ones they lived with for thousands of years could do things so perverse! If only this were true, and they are right that it should be true), but they learned how evil some Jews can be. Many still-living Yemenites testify to this happening to them and their family members. A while back, they had a case where even phony "gravesites" were made for the stolen children of a particular family. After the Yemenite children affair broke in the news, the family was suspicious about what they had been told many years ago, so cameras and news crews followed the Yemenite family as they journeyed to the grave site to dig up the grave and see if bones were really inside. In all 4 graves checked on this television program, no bones were inside the fake gravesites.
Many yemenites were raised by ashkenazi couples who couldn't have kids - they were given to them as "adoption." But really the doctors were simply kidnapping them. Raised in the high-class and educated secular israeli style, many of these kidnapped yemenites want nothing to do with their real families and get angry when confronted by their real families who figure out it is them or recognize them or search the records.
All of this is well known in Israel by Sephardim and Yemenites who were not themselves kidnapped. The criminals have never been held accountable.
I know a certain case personally. They tell me that there were even "adoption" papers that they were able to dig up, which recorded this atrocity done to their family. On the adoption papers Shimon Peres signed his signature to make it the 'adoption' of this stolen child "official." They were so arrogant and viewed the Yemenites as so powerless and helpless that they thought they would always be powerless, that the ashkenazi establishment would always rule over them dictatorially, and so they, Shimon Peres in particular, were not afraid of having signatures on documents such as this openly. They thought they were untouchable. Well, they thought wrong. Now we have damning evidence. The only question is, will all the perpetrators die of old age before we have the chance to hang them?
Also, Menachem Porush (haredi politician extraordinaire) stated several times in his lifetime that he knew who the perpetrators were and who was involved and to what extent. He several times stated he could blow open the entire affair as he knew the involvement of various people and what they did, who approved it, etc. But he never let this information out, (including backtracking on what he knew when questioned in a formal setting) and he died a few months ago. The secrets may have died with him unfortunately. Because of this I will not elaborate further than to say I have mixed feelings about this man.