Politics, Practicum, and What About the Jews? Living in Israel is not easy. Very little is a given. Your every step is called into question, either by other Jews, living in or ouside of the state, or by our "enemies." Who wants to live with enemies? Sometimes it seems that it would be easier to ease out of that struggle and go away. Ultimately, I think that some things are good enough and important enough that you have to fight for them. The fact that other people don't want me to have my freedom, is not in itself reason to abandon it.

Left/Right, Secular/Religious

The Jews are in an interesting hiatus in their history. For the past 200 years, since the Jews of the West began the period called the Haskala, or emancipation, and the religious oppression by Christian Europe has begun to ebb and change, Jews have been struggling to figure out whether they want to just be Western Citizens, of the Mosaic or Jewish religion, or whether there is something truly unique and worthy of maintaining in their lifestyle. Call it being a Jew. That the word 'jewish' is the norm, not 'jew' in English, is itself telling. 'Jewish,' as in, something else, with a touch of jew in it. One of the motivations behind Israel was to emerge from the 'ish' into full Jewdom.

There is an excellent, recently published book by Yoram Hazony called The Jewish State, The Struggle for Israel's Soul, where he illustrates the battle that began even before the State was founded, between Jews. Some felt that Judaism was an idea and an ideal, and wasn't meant to be contaminated with actual physical power. The Holocaust quieted them for some time, but again today there are powerful forces within Israel that feel that having power has corrupted us.

If you want a broader shot on how I see the world, try this.

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