Ask Haviv Anything
From Haviv Rettig Gur, on a Jewish state ...
Is it ok for Israel to be a majority Jewish state? I think so, given the centuries-long nightmare Jewish people have been subjected to in other countries, from Roman domination to the crusades, to the Inquisition, to forced expilsions, to ghettos, to the Holocaust, and the continuing anti-semitism that exists today (Persecution of Jews).
Some in my political party have argued that Israel should not exist as a Jewish state ... people like Zohran Mamdani and Ezra Klein. They say that the US example of a country not built on blood or soil, but on ideas of freedom and equality for all, no matter what religion or race, are superior.
Of course I am for those ideals, but before we pat ourselves on the back for being so pure, let's remember that America was not always thus, and often still isn't. We are able to embrace multiculturalism now because we originally did not.
The Founders, those that the conservative "heritage Americans" harken back to, were certainly not the original occupants of this land. Native Americans were decimated by war, disease, and immigration, with many of them now living in povery on reservations. And it's not all that long ago that we basically stole Hawaii from its original people and rulers. Our "higher form of society" rests upon its opposite.
But back to Israel ...
Jewish people are a tiny bit of the world's population - about 0.2%. I don't think it's bizarre that they would want to preserve their religion and culture and a homeland any more than I think it's bizarre that Native Americans might want to.
The idea Mamdani puts forward is that people in Israel are not treated equally, depending on their religion or race, but that's not exactly true. All citizens, whatever race or religion, have the same rights. What people like Mamdani actually don't like is that not everyone can automatically become a citizen, and that is true, to different extents, in every single country of the world.
Is it ok for Israel to be a majority Jewish state? I think so, given the centuries-long nightmare Jewish people have been subjected to in other countries, from Roman domination to the crusades, to the Inquisition, to forced expilsions, to ghettos, to the Holocaust, and the continuing anti-semitism that exists today (Persecution of Jews).
Some in my political party have argued that Israel should not exist as a Jewish state ... people like Zohran Mamdani and Ezra Klein. They say that the US example of a country not built on blood or soil, but on ideas of freedom and equality for all, no matter what religion or race, are superior.
Of course I am for those ideals, but before we pat ourselves on the back for being so pure, let's remember that America was not always thus, and often still isn't. We are able to embrace multiculturalism now because we originally did not.
The Founders, those that the conservative "heritage Americans" harken back to, were certainly not the original occupants of this land. Native Americans were decimated by war, disease, and immigration, with many of them now living in povery on reservations. And it's not all that long ago that we basically stole Hawaii from its original people and rulers. Our "higher form of society" rests upon its opposite.
But back to Israel ...
Jewish people are a tiny bit of the world's population - about 0.2%. I don't think it's bizarre that they would want to preserve their religion and culture and a homeland any more than I think it's bizarre that Native Americans might want to.
The idea Mamdani puts forward is that people in Israel are not treated equally, depending on their religion or race, but that's not exactly true. All citizens, whatever race or religion, have the same rights. What people like Mamdani actually don't like is that not everyone can automatically become a citizen, and that is true, to different extents, in every single country of the world.
posted by crystal | 11:40 AM
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