Israeli governmnet formation

Recent NYTimes article on current Israeli politics.

Alfred Dreyfus

Writer's Almanac from Feb 23, 2009 (listen)

On this day in 1898 the French novelist Émile Zola was found guilty of libel for writing "J'accuse," in an open letter to the French government. It accused the government and the military court of deliberately mishandling the case of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer who was wrongly accused of giving intelligence information to Germany. People were eager to convict a Jewish man, and Dreyfus was given a life sentence and sent into solitary confinement on Devil's Island. Soon after, the government found conclusive evidence that another man, Ferdinand Esterhazy, was actually guilty of the crime. But to save face, the military and the government produced false evidence to acquit Esterhazy and confirm Dreyfus' guilt.

Émile Zola was a prolific novelist and a well-respected public intellectual. Two days after Esterhazy was acquitted, his 4,000-word letter took up the entire front page of the French newspaper L'Aurore, with its one-word title, "J'accuse!" ("I accuse!"). Zola took apart the case, proved Dreyfus' innocence and Esterhazy's guilt, exposed the government cover-up, and directly accused government and military figures of anti-Semitism and abusing the justice system.

Zola was well-known outside of France, and "J'accuse" brought the Dreyfus case to the attention of the international community. After reading it, most believed that Dreyfus was innocent. Zola was arrested for libel, and his trial got a lot of media coverage. In the courtroom, people screamed and got in brawls, and mobs tried to attack Zola as he left each day. He was convicted on this day in 1898 and ordered to spend a year in jail. He escaped to England, where he lived in exile. But in less than two years, a new court reversed Dreyfus' sentence and dropped the libel charge against Zola. Both men returned to France, and in 1906, Dreyfus was reinstated in the army.

Judaism

Judaism can not simply be defined as a religion, a culture or a race; Judaism can have different meanings for different people, and these meanings can tie two or more of these identifications together. Many Jews identify themselves with the Jewish faith. Practicing these rituals, along with upholding the expectations of the Jewish god is what gives Judaism its culture. Because of the demands of this belief system the way of life for Jews may be singular in that this way of life separates them possibly making them feel that they have each other. They identify themselves with their culture and religion thus bringing the feeling that Judaism is also a race. To me it seems that because of the beliefs and culture of Jews they have a tight knit community which creates a solid culture. This solid culture may make it easier to live with or get along with other Jews since there way of life is similar to each other, just as any religious groups may be. In sum I believe that the different parts of Judaism have made it so the meaning can change depending on the person and how they live their life and which part of Judaism they identify themselves with.

Judaism Response Paper # 1

The definitions of religion, ethnicity are complex on their own as it is. To categorize something as either one of them is even more difficult due to their interrelatedness. Similarly, Judaism can neither be called solely a religion or an ethnicity. It started as primarily a religion and ethnicity but has evolved as more of a culture that is a product of the two.

The fact that at an early stage Judaism embodied Jews—at time an ethnic group—who according to the Torah were the “chosen people” and directly contacted by YHWH shows that being Jewish was more religious. It would be safe to say that the percentage of Jews who believed in a supernatural power who asked to call Him their God and Him only was more compared to that of today. Judaism at that point focused more on the literal fulfilling of the covenant between YHWH made and the Ten Commandments He put forth them. In addition it included only descendants of the tribe that was “chosen”; portraying that Judaism in its roots was also an ethnicity.
However, the fact that the Ten Commandments came after the covenant shows that Judaism had started becoming less of a merely an ethnicity, encompassing instead a moral code for living (giving a framework to the expected behavior of follower, characterizing the functioning of a group or organization—a cultural trait). Unlike the covenant that required only circumcision and loyalty to YHWH, the Ten Commandments included more specific rules that a follower must follow on a daily basis. Judaism being maternally inherited has become a lesser known fact about Jews which shows the deteriorating importance of the once set rule and deviation from Judaism as an ethnicity.

Even though Judaism has not become evangelical, Jews on the whole have become relatively more acceptable to converts proving that Judaism has become less of an ethnicity. This might be due to the increase in the number of secular Jews which is another proof to how Judaism has become less of a religion and perhaps more of a culture. The fact that Jews have a nation of their own gives Judaism a nationalistic identity. This identity however is one that has been acquired from the cultures of the lands which Jews have encountered and have at times emerged themselves in. However since so much of their culture depends on the historical events that they went through as a religious ethnic group, Jews collectively have started defining Judaism as a product of both religion and ethnicity. Judaism though can not be defined as a race since Jews have physical features of nearly every race.

If one associates all Jews more with their Matzo Ball soup rather than circumcision, then it is evident that Judaism has become more overtly a cultural identity.

Judaism Response Paper

It is hard to define Judaism because people who define themselves as Jewish define Judaism differently. However, the different definitions of Judaism all have common features of basic religions and share the same fundamental religious beliefs; that there is one God who works in and through historical events and has chosen the Jews as an agent. They also follow the same “absolute law” provided by their God, the Ten Commandments, and myths in the Torah. Judaism can also be characterized as a religion by the many common features it shares with basic religions. These features include taboo, sacrifice, myths, rituals and rites of passage. Judaism also provides answers to the fundamental questions of human existence and the reoccurring misfortune in Jewish history.

Judaism is not necessarily an ethnicity because some who practice Judaism are not “ethnically Jewish,” and some who have Jewish parents do not practice Judaism. All those who practice Judaism identify themselves as Jewish, regardless of ethnicity, but those who don’t practice Judaism don’t necessarily identify themselves as Jewish. Because of this, it seems that Judaism is primarily a religion. Although there are arguments about it being an ethnicity, or culture, those ideas could have formed as a result of the stories of this religion and how the Jewish following developed.

Judaism Response Paper

Though Judaism is a multilayered concept, it is first and foremost a religion. The Israelites were an ethnic group in the Middle East like countless other tribes that have been lost in time. However, the Israelites became prominent in history because they developed the first monotheistic religion, Judaism. This monotheistic religion enabled the Israelites to maintain faith and not assimilate to other cultures when the Romans created the Diaspora. It was the Israelites faith in their one god that saved the traditions of Judaism despite the exile and lack of a cohesive cultural or central home. Judaism remains today because of the strength of its follower’s devotion and therefore it should be considered primarily a religion. In addition, Judaism is rich with religious traditions such as Yom Kippur, Passover and Hanukah and has a spiritual doctrine known as the Torah both of which are characteristics important to many religions.

Judaism does have many important secular facets, however they are not strong enough forces to replace religion as the definition of Judaism. Judaism has strong ethnic and cultural ties that are based out of its origin from a tribal society. Because Judaism is so ancient, it has some remaining traditions that were important historically to provide unity and tribal loyalty. However, these traditions are not at the heart of what Judaism is but remnants of the society they evolved from. In addition, in the modern world it would be impossible to classify Judaism as an ethnic group because Jewish culture varies depending on the place. For example, bagels are considered culturally Jewish in the United States, but are considered American in Israel. Therefore though in traditional Judaism, you can only be Jewish if your mother is Jewish there is no real cultural unity that would support the ethnic group that would create. In addition, Judaism is not divided into groups based on its culture in different places around the world but instead of religious beliefs. Lastly, Judaism has a political element because of its influence in the creation of the state of Israel. However, Judaism can’t be considered a nation because there are more Jews living in New York City than in Israel. This statistic would therefore eliminate many of the individuals that make Judaism such a powerful force in the world.

Judaism Response Paper # 1

Judaism can be referred to all culture, race, and religion. It is hard to distinguish between all three categories because from different aspects “Judaism” can have a different definition. Judaism is a culture that developed the world oldest monotheistic religion, and in ancient time the religion traditions was practice more actively in one race only other than open up to all races in the world. The culture and religion of Judaism are closely relative just like other religions, but now in the modern world it is hard to call Judaism a race anymore.
The founder of Judaism Abraham covenant with God and Moses Ten commandments are the foundation of Judaism’s values and believes as a culture and a religion. Following the Ten Commandments, believe in YHWH as the god and go though circumcised, can have in exchange of powerful nation and protection. To say Judaism is also a culture and religion because a group of people shares the common understanding, values and practice same traditions. However, it is hard to define Judaism as a particular race because a person can be a Jew but not born in a Jewish family. In addition, a person how is born s a Jew can be secular, who doesn’t follow the Jewish traditions. Judaism is still some how related to race because the children who’s mother is a Jew than children will be a Jew also. Judaism is a great example to see the development of a religion change thought out the time.