hrb
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Re:Are my thoughts un-Jewish? - 2007/10/28 15:30
Firstly, I'm also very uncomfortable about the way that Israel has treated the Palestinians. I am pro-Israel but I don't understand why Jewish leaders won't publically condemn some of the stuff that goes on there. Everyone knows its going on, and everyone knows it is wrong.
I am not trying to vilify Israel at all. I agree that much of the time the media is biased and does not always report the truth about what is going on there and I am well aware of some of the good things the Israeli government has done to improve the lives of palestinians, refugees from other countries. etc.
I appreciate the need not to undermine Israel in public and I would never go on an anti-Israeli march or anything like that. But the fact is that Muslim leaders have condemened Terrorism, and plenty of Jews I know **know** that there are bad things going on in Israel and yet no Jewish rabbi or member of the "establishment" will come out and condemn it. It would probably reduce a lot of anti-semitism if they did. A lot of Jews have stopped practicising due to this issue and there is a perception (I'm not saying that it's reality) that you can't support the Palestinians without being seen as anti-semitic. Alot of Jews have left Judaism because they see as incompatible what is happening in Israel compared to what they beleive is right. This is obviously not true but it would help greatly if somebody was to say so.
It's a very difficult issue though and I understand completely why Israel is doing what it's doing. I still think Israel has a right to exist but I personally don't want to go there until the government is better. This will probably make me unpopular with some people but I would be very unhappy with visiting right now.
I don't think this view is incompatible with Judaism. Judaism is a religion and not a political ideology. What reasoning did the person give for saying that your views are incompatible, because while I have heard that it is wrong, I'm not sure what justification could be given according to halacha. What reason did the person give for saying this? You're not advocating the murder of Jews or saying that Israel shouldn't exist (and some Jewish sects hold this position but strictly speaking they're not "heretical" - not in that sense anyway!)
You are absolutely right that some Jews may have converted to Islam for whatever reason but I don't think they/their descendants would now be considered Jewish although they'd probably have the right to return to the faith without having to go through too much of a lengthy conversion process. However I think Judaism has at its centre the notion of respect for others, whether they are Jews or not and unfortunately I don't think the state of Israel always obeys this.
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