Jim Rosenthal
Supporter
I remember years ago finding out that the Israelis sold Uzis and other weapons to countries/regimes/governments who were decidedly not democratic, and, as an American Jew, being very disappointed at that. (I was a kid, I was naive, of course) I asked my dad how they could do this. His reply, which I think is still valid and useful, was that nations overproduce weapons and ammunition with the intent of selling both of them and in this way they support their own militaries, as well as their own commercial industries. He cautioned me that nations do things which are in their national interest, chiefly financial, although they may give other reasons, and that it is naive to expect nations to behave in moral ways. They do things that are politically and financially/economically expedient for them.
The state of Israel should not be viewed as a Jewish state, really. First, many people who live there aren't Jews; there is a substantial population of Muslim and Christian individuals who are citizens of Israel. Second, although Judaism may be the religion of the state of Israel, that state will act in political and economic ways that serve its interests, not from religious convictions, although all states which have state religions will use those religions as a cover. The appearance of piety or righteousness may be useful, but it should not be confused with actual piety. Osama bin Laden, for example, professed piety, thereby giving both piety and Islam a bad name.
My point here, which I am probably not making very well, is that the actions of the Jewish state should not be seen as 1) representing the views of all Jews, even representing the views of all Israeli Jews, because they do not represent those views 2) they should not be viewed as actions that have much of anything to do with Judaism, because honestly they don't have much to do with it. What they have a great deal to do with is the state actions of a country determined to survive and prosper like all of them, and willing, like most of them, to step on others to do it. We are in the 21st century, and arguably in some ways better off as a species than we were in, say, the 15th century, but nations still pretty much make their own rules, and as you all can see, it takes a great deal to even bring on the censure of MOST of the world's nations, let alone all of them.
Thanks for listening.
The state of Israel should not be viewed as a Jewish state, really. First, many people who live there aren't Jews; there is a substantial population of Muslim and Christian individuals who are citizens of Israel. Second, although Judaism may be the religion of the state of Israel, that state will act in political and economic ways that serve its interests, not from religious convictions, although all states which have state religions will use those religions as a cover. The appearance of piety or righteousness may be useful, but it should not be confused with actual piety. Osama bin Laden, for example, professed piety, thereby giving both piety and Islam a bad name.
My point here, which I am probably not making very well, is that the actions of the Jewish state should not be seen as 1) representing the views of all Jews, even representing the views of all Israeli Jews, because they do not represent those views 2) they should not be viewed as actions that have much of anything to do with Judaism, because honestly they don't have much to do with it. What they have a great deal to do with is the state actions of a country determined to survive and prosper like all of them, and willing, like most of them, to step on others to do it. We are in the 21st century, and arguably in some ways better off as a species than we were in, say, the 15th century, but nations still pretty much make their own rules, and as you all can see, it takes a great deal to even bring on the censure of MOST of the world's nations, let alone all of them.
Thanks for listening.