Q&A: Is There Value in a Secular/Atheist *Jewish* State?
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Is There Value in a Secular/Atheist *Jewish* State?
Question
Without a faith-based tradition, is there any reason to unite in an ingathering of the exiles of the descendants of those who were exiled from here 2,000 years ago? In your opinion, is heritage—even if atheists think it is not true from the period of the monarchy onward (the books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible)—a good enough reason for there to be a Jewish state here?
I do not mean that if, say, most of the country were atheists, we would continue living here. That would obviously happen. The question is whether we would simply become a group of people like the United States, or remain an ethnic nation.
Answer
I don’t understand the question. If people want to, then there is a reason; and if not, then not.
Why does it seem obvious to you that this would happen?
According to current demographics, atheists are going to disappear from the Israeli map in the coming decades. An atheist has no reason to stay in an expensive country plagued by wars, where the percentage of religious people keeps rising. That is aside from the fact that he barely has children at all.
The truth is that this is going to happen in Europe too, not only in Israel. Ironically enough, evolution is playing in religion’s favor…