As you say, Librarian, this is a very moving account. If I may make a suggestion, could you put the author and source of the material into the subtitle, or somewhere at the beginning? As every human has a story, every story has a motive. The people whose stories are chosen and the narrative selected from a life and distilled into a few lines always serves some purpose, some meta-analysis.
In this case, it's Shlomo Sand coming to the place of curiosity in examining the historicity of Israel as the home of the 2000 yr wandering Jew. Putting it in context, he amply follows my (personal) formula that expository writing should be at least 70% facts, 20% logic or anecdotes that illustrate the facts, and 10% conclusions.
Shlomo writes, "Please note: the present work ... proposes that the Jews have always comprised significant religious communities that appeared and settled in various parts of the world ..." as opposed to an ethnicity. What that doesn't account for is the animosity against this group, unless we accept that all other people are irrationally bigoted and hostile against those who worship differently.
I had been thinking this morning that I would respond to your last response to me in my next post, if that's okay with you. I think that you, I and Shlomo Sand are asking the same question, although we word it differently--which is important. You ask 'What is the cause of anti-Semitism?', is that correct? It assumes the existence of anti-Semitism, a bias or hostility towards a particular ethnicity, and places the locus of the problem outside that ethnic group.
Shlomo says that Judaism is "an important belief-culture" and "appealing religion that spread widely until the triumphant rise of its proselytizing rivals, Christianity and Islam and then, despite humiliation and persecution, succeeded in surviving into the modern age.." So he places the locus of anti-Semitism in other people (not just institutions of power), who have an irrational bias and hostility against others who worship differently. But he also places the locus of the problem within a Judaism that confuses itself as a nation, a genealogy and a historical narrative.
I look at Yahwism (misleadingly called Judaism or Semitism) as a belief in a sociopathic god who teaches a twisted morality in which loyalty to a particular ethnicity justifies and even celebrates or rewards the most morally reprehensible behaviors. It's appealing in the way that superiority always is, whether that's 'chosen people' or 'American exceptionalism.' There is no common ethnicity, only people who've been taught that it's their right to rule over others.
There is no anti-Semitism, only a rejection of the behaviors of a belief-culture acting in immoral ways.
Oh sorry, I must have missed it until I got to the end. Would you be offended if I responded to your last comment in a new post, Librarian? It seems to me that it's a crucial discussion.
As you say, Librarian, this is a very moving account. If I may make a suggestion, could you put the author and source of the material into the subtitle, or somewhere at the beginning? As every human has a story, every story has a motive. The people whose stories are chosen and the narrative selected from a life and distilled into a few lines always serves some purpose, some meta-analysis.
In this case, it's Shlomo Sand coming to the place of curiosity in examining the historicity of Israel as the home of the 2000 yr wandering Jew. Putting it in context, he amply follows my (personal) formula that expository writing should be at least 70% facts, 20% logic or anecdotes that illustrate the facts, and 10% conclusions.
Shlomo writes, "Please note: the present work ... proposes that the Jews have always comprised significant religious communities that appeared and settled in various parts of the world ..." as opposed to an ethnicity. What that doesn't account for is the animosity against this group, unless we accept that all other people are irrationally bigoted and hostile against those who worship differently.
I had been thinking this morning that I would respond to your last response to me in my next post, if that's okay with you. I think that you, I and Shlomo Sand are asking the same question, although we word it differently--which is important. You ask 'What is the cause of anti-Semitism?', is that correct? It assumes the existence of anti-Semitism, a bias or hostility towards a particular ethnicity, and places the locus of the problem outside that ethnic group.
Shlomo says that Judaism is "an important belief-culture" and "appealing religion that spread widely until the triumphant rise of its proselytizing rivals, Christianity and Islam and then, despite humiliation and persecution, succeeded in surviving into the modern age.." So he places the locus of anti-Semitism in other people (not just institutions of power), who have an irrational bias and hostility against others who worship differently. But he also places the locus of the problem within a Judaism that confuses itself as a nation, a genealogy and a historical narrative.
I look at Yahwism (misleadingly called Judaism or Semitism) as a belief in a sociopathic god who teaches a twisted morality in which loyalty to a particular ethnicity justifies and even celebrates or rewards the most morally reprehensible behaviors. It's appealing in the way that superiority always is, whether that's 'chosen people' or 'American exceptionalism.' There is no common ethnicity, only people who've been taught that it's their right to rule over others.
There is no anti-Semitism, only a rejection of the behaviors of a belief-culture acting in immoral ways.
I did put the book link at the very beginning. (You have it already from a link I left on a comment.)
thanks
Oh sorry, I must have missed it until I got to the end. Would you be offended if I responded to your last comment in a new post, Librarian? It seems to me that it's a crucial discussion.
You didn't miss it, I did it just now, after you said it. Sure comment on anything. I'll straighten it out if you misunderstand or I wasn't clear.