Q&A: Israeli Jew
Israeli Jew
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
I'm hearing more people today asking to define themselves after 10/7 as Jews and less as Israelis. Why? Does the Rabbi think that if we were more Israeli it would make it harder for us to deal with our enemies? If so, what is the rational explanation for that? I understand that Israeli-ness is an identity with a very thin layer and not rooted deeply enough, but is the goal of strengthening Jewish identity in order to create a meaningful common denominator within Jewish society?
Answer
This is a well-known psychological phenomenon, and not a new one. Many say that because of the Holocaust they see themselves as Jews (regardless of belief in God). When you are persecuted for your Jewishness, that strengthens your consciousness of being Jewish. Clearly there is a dimension here of collective survival (the survival of the gene and not of the individual, as the honorable Rabbi Professor Richard Dawkins, may he live long, put it). If we do not cling to our Jewish identity and defend it, then we will be destroyed and/or scattered around the world (if I am being persecuted for my Jewishness, why shouldn't I give it up and erase it?). Psychological phenomena do not need philosophical justification. Maybe an evolutionary one.
Discussion on Answer
I already wrote that there is no point in looking for justifications for psychological phenomena.
Beyond that, you are also not necessarily right that it didn't help. It didn't always help. The claim that it never helped strikes me as religious propaganda meant to strengthen the camp and the insiders.
In closing, I think that Dr. Micah Goodman also wrote about this in his latest book, The Eighth Day: that in order to defeat our enemies we need the broadest possible common denominator in Israeli society, and apparently that common denominator is Jewish identity. Also, in my opinion, it creates a stronger connection to the Land of Israel. What does the Rabbi think about that?
Maybe. The topic doesn't especially interest me.
Thank you. You write: "if I am being persecuted for my Jewishness, why shouldn't I give it up"? But historically we've seen that this didn't help. That is, even though there was an attempt to assimilate, the Jews were still persecuted.