Choosing Outside the Chosen

Perhaps the dilution of Jewishness and the fading of self-identified Jews is punishment for our failing to live the rabbi's assertion that the pursuit of justice is both political and religious. Having survived an attempt to exterminate us does not entitle us to subjugate and deny justice to others --- Palestinians. Having spent time in Israel and visited the West Bank, I am profoundly troubled and embarrassed by Jewish behavior there and the support of that behavior by us American Jews. Occupation, confiscation of land, etc. will rot our soul.

For myself, being the mutt that I am, I think it's wonderful. I never truly liked the tradition of forceful encouragement to marry within the religion or ethnicity, I guess I can understand where the sentiment comes from. But I also feel in our polorized world that we would be better off if we were all a little more invested in one another. My sister married a hispanic american, my brother married a japanese girl. They did not set out to find a partner from a different ethnic background, it's just the way their hearts led them. I firmly believe in marriage for love between two souls, not marriage for the sake of one's ethnicity.

Perhaps the dilution of our Jewishness and and the fading number of self-identified Jews is our punishment for not living the rabbi's assertion that the pursuit of justice is both a political and religious act. Having survived an attempt to exterminate us does not entitle us to subjugate and deny justice to other people --- Palestinians. As a Jew who has spent time in Israel and visited the West Bank, I am profoundly troubled and embarrassed by the behavior of Jews there and the support they receive from us American Jews.

Does this mean that we might finally find the courage to say we were heros for winning World War II, but we made a realpolitic and basic-decency mistake by forcing Muslim-Arabs to give way for Christian-Europe's loutish treatment of Jews?

Or do we have to provoke the Arabs for next 100 years with our little buddy-state forced in their unwilling belly, until some pair of suicide bombers set off a couple car-nukes and ends the whole 6 million Israeli Jew population?

If we have the courage to admit our 1 big and lingering error of WWII, then maybe we can get our minds around providing US citizenship to all Israeli Jews who might desire it, and get on to the rightful and righteous business of supporting a single state called Palestine.