[blind-democracy] Re: Bob's Remarks About The Distinction Between Jews And Zionists

From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2018 09:20:31 -0400

There's a subgroup of Conservative Jews called Reconstructionist Jews who
believe that God is the good within each person, but who follow Jewish
religious tradition because they believe that Jews will always be identified by
non Jews as different and will always be potentially under attack. Therefore,
they choose to embrace their Jewish identity to the fullest, and to them, that
means following ritual which is traditional, even if they may not believe in
its efficacy. I remember reading the book by its founder when I was in college.
I can't remember his full name. His last name is Kaplan, I think. It laid out
the case for Reconstructionisdt Judaaism. I had become intrigued because the
rabbi at Hillil house at Queens College was a reconstructionist Jew. I remember
that he scolded me because I had attended a meeting of the Anthropology
Sociology Club rather than attending the Hillel Hanukah party. It was, he said,
my duty as a Jewish woman, to attend the Hanukah party. I came from a secular
Jewish home and all I knew about Hanukah was what was read to me in a
children's book when I was growing up.

Miriam

-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Kane Brolin
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2018 8:54 PM
To: Bob <ebob824@xxxxxxxxx>
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Subject: [blind-democracy] Bob's Remarks About The Distinction Between Jews And
Zionists

On 3/19/18, Bob <ebob824@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

... Judaism is a monotheistic faith. ... Zionism is a movement of
world Jewry that arose late in the nineteenth century with the aim of
creating a Jewish > state in Palestine. ... Back to Jewish thinkers
who are against Israel and even lay individuals. I believe they should work
on publicising their entity a bit more.

Bob makes some good points here.

For one thing, Jews and Zionists are not necessarily the same thing.
Neither are Jews and Hebrews necessarily the same,  An educated woman of Jewish
ethnicity once explained to me that the term "Jew" describes ethnic origin,
whereas the term "Hebrew" refers to those who practice Judaism.  It seems that
Albert Einstein, for instance, although he was proud of his Jewishness and a
firm believer in the modern state of Israel, was theologically a skeptic or
agnostic.  He did not believe in the literal, personal God of the Hebrew Bible.
Neither did Karl Marx.  Inversely, certain well-known Gentile American
entertainers of the 20th century, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis Jr.,
came to practice the Hebrew faith but were not born of Jewish ethnic origins.

Just like Muslims and Christians today, religion is not the central
theme of their scheme. Typical citizens of Israel are commonly Atheists.

I find this to be true also.  Having met and interacted with lots of Jewish
people in the past 25 years of my life, I was surprised to find that many of
them, even though they go to the synagogue on High Holidays and observe the
Passover and sometimes eat kosher, don't necessarily believe in God.  So why do
they do these ritual observances?  Because it sets them apart as Jewish.  It's
about self-identification with a proud ethnic heritage, and in many cases it's
about laying claim to the land of Israel upon which their cultural traditions
were founded.

It should be noted that not all Jews--and not all religiously practicing
Hebrews--are Zionists who believe in the validity of the
modern-day nation-state of Israel as it is being carried out.   Look
into the works of American, Jewish journalist Max Blumenthal, who is extremely
critical of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians.
https://www.amazon.com/Max-Blumenthal/e/B002A550HQ

Not all evangelical Christians today, even in America, believe in the sanctity
of the modern-day, secular state of Israel.  This quotation comes from a
Christian source which is Zionist.  But even as he defends Zionist
Christianity, this author Dexter Van Zile freely
admits:  "In 2004 and 2005, a group of five liberal Protestant (or
“mainline”) churches in the United States broadcasted a narrative that
portrayed Israel as almost solely responsible for the violence of the Second
Intifada.  ...  The materials published by these churches depict Israel as
unable to make the sacrifices necessary for peace because of a flaw in its
national character. Commentators from these churches are also harshly critical
of Israel’s Christian Zionist supporters in the United States, portraying them
as intent on bringing about Armageddon.  ...  For the past several years, a
group of five Protestant churches – the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United
Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – have legitimized the increasingly
virulent anti-Israel movement in the United States.  ..."
http://jcpa.org/article/mainline-american-christian-peacemakers-against-israel/

... Jews fooled Martin Luther of Germany, and made him the leader of
what Protestants now call, Church reformation. It is demonstratively
fallacious as to how gravely they are deceived.

Not sure about this one, though.  I think it is indeed true that Martin Luther
did not invent Reformation ideas about salvation by grace alone through faith
alone, using the Bible alone as foundational proof text.  Many others
throughout Europe were cultivating the same ideas; it's just that Luther
survived to publicize these ideas broadly, thanks to the beneficence of
Frederick the Wise of Saxony who protected Luther from being martyred.  I've
never seen evidence that Jewish theologians or scholars were behind Luther's
inspiration.  To the contrary, Luther came to detest the Jews.  See the linked
article from Christianity Today magazine.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-39/was-luther-anti-semitic.html

Incidentally, Martin Luther had some things to say about Islam.  See the book
entitled "Martin Luther and Islam: A Study in Sixteenth-Century Polemics and
Apologetics" by Adam Francisco, found in Google Books.  Unfortunately, new
e-book seems to be available for this.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=SJxuK8TQcaYC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=related:z1nxK8R8L9DU3M:scholar.google.com/&ots=Miv4FNQixF&sig=8wF4hwchVtiEqgqPfaqaKhl_qwg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Cordially,

-Kane

References:
- [blind-democracy] Bob's Remarks About The Distinction Between Jews And Zionists
  - From: Kane Brolin

[blind-democracy] Re: Bob's Remarks About The Distinction Between Jews And Zionists

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