As for you argument about Basque separatists and Spain, the comparison doesn’t work. Spain is actively trying to stop these separatists from creating violence and havoc.  Hezbollah not only seemingly runs Southern Lebanon, but are part of the government. They are also an agent of foreign governments.  It would have been good if the Lebanese government was strong enough to kick Hezbollah out of the country, but instead they (along with UN observers) let a steady flow of weapons to come in from Iran to attack Israel.

Why do I not hear one word of blame for Hezbollah or Iran for all the violence?

I would agree with Nelumbo, in part. Certainly, France’s influx of Muslims, especially Arab Muslims, would be one reason why Chirac’s position is what it is. However, I would disagree that it is the only reason. In his outstanding book, Constantine’s Sword: A History of the Church and the Jews, former Catholic priest and Harvard Divinity School fellow, James Carroll, explains the intolerable history of the church and the European Jewish community. A history, which he contends, culminated in the ability of the Nazi regime to arise and engage in the ultimate pogrom, the Holocaust. While many people have moved beyond the blood libels and anti-Jewish slanders of the past, I think it would be short-sighted to assume that they are eliminated from the European consciousness and don’t, at times, affect European policy, particularly towards Israel, the Jewish state. Indeed, France has a very recent history of a rise in anti-Semitism (and by that, I mean the historically understood use of that term as anti-Jewish), so much so that it led Ariel Sharon to take the extraordinary step of encouraging French Jews to make aliah. So, while Chirac may be pandering in part, I doubt that it is his only motive.

Another interesting thread that has spawned from this post is whether Jews are a religion, a culture, etc. I’ve always found that issue particularly facsinating. Indeed, the question is one that is even addressed in a museum in Israel, the Diaspora Museum. But, ultimately, the conclusion I’ve taken from history is that Jews are properly recognized as a nation.

It is only a recent development, in historical terms, that religion spans international boundries. In ancient times, each geographical region or state had its own religion. And ancient Israel was Jews.

While many of those regional religions were killed off or converted, after the destruction of the First and Second Temples and into the Diaspora, Jews retained their religion. And although Jewish culture has many permutations (such as Ashkenasi, Sephardic, Ethiopian, etc.) it has retained some uniform characteristics (characteristics that many nations have attempted to outlaw or outright destroy).

So while it is correct to refer to Judaism as a religion, to relegate it solely to a religion doesn’t really express or convey the culture and nationalism the Jewish community has developed from this history. And, for many Jews, including myself, the state of Israel is the realization of the culmination of that nationality, the return to the Jewish homeland after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple and the expulsion of much of the Jewish community.

Neil, thanks for another fabulous and thought provoking post.

And yes, I’m reading this days later. Blog posts, like pizza, are sometimes better a few days later, especially when comments get crazy like this.

Would you negotiate the safety of your own families with people who have written, explicit mission statements to destroy you, to totally wipe you off the face of the Earth? Oh I’m so mad all over again so I will stop!