Jewish identity
Peace be upon you, the Holy Father.
In your article on Jewish identity in our generation, at the end of the discussion, you wonder what is important in this whole discussion, but you yourself will explain it: who is this entity called the Jewish people that seeks ownership of the land over a thousand years of Muslim history?
1. In that article, you brought up a system of people who see a collection of Israeli actions as a criterion for Judaism, enlistment in the IDF, reading Amos Oz, etc. You criticized each of the criteria, but I, the little one, think that supporters of this system mean that the above-mentioned person does all the criteria, or at least most of them, and only he is called a Jew, not a few.
2. According to Rabbi Schach’s method (which you seem to be quite inclined to at a certain level), the Jewish people are not a nation or the like, but only a religion. Therefore, it must be made difficult whether a religion should be given a state. Furthermore, why is the Jewish religion superior to the Islamic religion in terms of the right to the land because it was there first? The Muslims were also there before the Christians in Spain. What does this mean?
3. There is no doubt that the Jewish people is a unique phenomenon among peoples. The Jewish people migrated to Babylon, the Islamic countries, the Balkans, Europe, India, the Caucasus, Ethiopia. As a result, it is very diverse and characterized by a myriad of identities that make it an Arab, Moroccan, Yemenite, Russian, Romanian, Hungarian, German, Turkish, and the only thing that characterizes it is its unique religion, from which, with all the differences, similar customs and culture have been derived. There is no escape from saying that the Jewish people are both a nation and a religion that are intertwined.
4. Nevertheless, in recent times the Holocaust has been an unparalleled melting pot for the Jewish people, when the Nazis themselves were forced to decide who is a Jew. Does the rabbi think the Holocaust has any bearing on this debate (although of course Hitler does not have the authority to decide on the matter).
5. Finally, I think that the essence of Judaism is the race, like any other people. The Jews are a race that has preserved its genetic ethnicity. That Jewish race is entitled to inherit its historical country. What can we do about genetic studies showing that Jews have one common origin with a common religion that preserved its national identity in the Holocaust? As I defined earlier, genetics covers up religion and religion covers up genetics (genetics, genetics, after all, these are completely different people, only their common religion, on the other hand, is a breed, not just any religion like Christianity or Islam, but one that belongs to a particular people with common genetics). So what about the various Gerry Tzedeks? I think that every people can determine how foreigners can join them (mainly by accepting their national identity, as Gerry Tzedeks do). And what about Jewish-Christians? I think that if they are blocked, it is clear that they should be given a place in the country like the rest of the Jews. And what about the claims of Sand and his ilk that the Jewish people are foreign immigrants? There is an excuse that even if a significant part of European Jewry is The Khazars of the Soviet Union assimilated into the European Jewish communities and became part of them, and are now Jews for all intents and purposes.
6. What does the rabbi think about Gandhi’s article “In India, two peoples live, Hindus and Muslims,” therefore they should be given two states? Was he right? Two religions in the same nation and culture can become two nations?
- I think I addressed this in that article, and I even gave an example from a psychiatric or medical diagnosis in which 4 out of 7 characteristics must be present for a person to be diagnosed with something. There are several such cases. Still, I tend to think that these diagnoses are pointless and incorrect. For example, a Druze who reads Amos Oz and serves in the army and pays taxes would not be called Jewish. What remains as the exclusive criterion that is agreed upon by everyone is the ethno-biological criterion (who was the mother, and what was her relationship to Abraham and Sarah or, according to Halakha, conversion). All the rest are games that come to answer hardships (read here in a parallel thread with Doron: https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9A/#comment-16197).
- A small correction (both with regard to Rabbi Shach and me, and indeed we completely agree on this): This is a nation that is defined by its religion. And today by its religious origin. A nation deserves a state, and not every nation that deserves a state must be defined on a cultural-secular basis as is customary. Certainly when we accept the Palestinian nation, which has no objective definition (except that it wants to kill us all and throw us into the sea so that we can join in killing each other) as a nation.
- You are repeating what I said from section 2. Just a correction: a nation defined by religion.
- I didn’t understand the question. How is the Holocaust supposed to affect anything in the discussion here? Unless you’re trying to propose a “Palestinian” definition of the Jewish people: The Palestinians define belonging to the Palestinian people as anyone who wants to murder Israeli Jews. And you propose: A Jew is anyone whom the Palestinians (or the Nazis) want to murder.
- Here I saw a night of statements mixed with unclear questions. In any case, I think they were answered in what I wrote so far.
- Why not? Anything is possible (just as our definition is different from the conventional one, where religion defines a nation).
4. An interesting definition, which gives a philosophical basis to my views, but is a bit circular - if I (as a proud Palestinian) am defined only by wanting to destroy all Jews - who in turn are the ones that a Nazi/Palestinian wants to destroy - this is a real anti-paradox, when a cat chases a mouse we can say that the mouse is Jewish and the cat is Palestinian, which I don't think!
Who will save me?
I can only say that a horse will not save you.
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