Well, for starters, Zionism doesn’t have to claim that the Jews are uniquely ‘entitled’ to land, any more than the Germans have a right to East Prussia. If your claim that Zionism doesn’t “mesh well” with rationality isn’t grounded in Zionism being religious, then why doesn’t it?
Zionism doesn’t have to claim that the Jews are uniquely ‘entitled’ to land
OK, though this seems like splitting hairs.
If your claim that Zionism doesn’t “mesh well” with rationality isn’t grounded in Zionism being religious, then why doesn’t it?
I was referring to your identity being both too large (include a lot of people most of whom are not like you, don’t know you, don’t care about you, have different customs and ideas from you, and probably genetically are quite different from you) and too small (why not include the rest of humanity, if you are casting as wide a net?).
Not at all. I’d say there’s a big difference between the two.
As for my identity, I don’t see why not. I identify as Jewish more than anything else. Israelis, granted, are genetically diverse, but their customs are very much the way I was brought up, and Jews (for the first time in 2,000 years) have a shared reference that isn’t merely mythological. The fact that I’m a product of a Sephardic-Ashkenazi marriage doesn’t hurt my ability to understand Israeli society, either.
OK, I think I understand, though I still think that your allegiances are mostly driven by your upbringing, not by any rational thought. Anyway, having at some point learned three languages fluently by partial immersion (with half-life of about 3-5 years if not practiced), I recommend it over anything else.
… I don’t see how our definitions differ...
Well, for starters, Zionism doesn’t have to claim that the Jews are uniquely ‘entitled’ to land, any more than the Germans have a right to East Prussia. If your claim that Zionism doesn’t “mesh well” with rationality isn’t grounded in Zionism being religious, then why doesn’t it?
OK, though this seems like splitting hairs.
I was referring to your identity being both too large (include a lot of people most of whom are not like you, don’t know you, don’t care about you, have different customs and ideas from you, and probably genetically are quite different from you) and too small (why not include the rest of humanity, if you are casting as wide a net?).
Not at all. I’d say there’s a big difference between the two.
As for my identity, I don’t see why not. I identify as Jewish more than anything else. Israelis, granted, are genetically diverse, but their customs are very much the way I was brought up, and Jews (for the first time in 2,000 years) have a shared reference that isn’t merely mythological. The fact that I’m a product of a Sephardic-Ashkenazi marriage doesn’t hurt my ability to understand Israeli society, either.
OK, I think I understand, though I still think that your allegiances are mostly driven by your upbringing, not by any rational thought. Anyway, having at some point learned three languages fluently by partial immersion (with half-life of about 3-5 years if not practiced), I recommend it over anything else.