Truly food for thought. In response to the other commenter, I've discovered that there are people from every culture who excel at everything, given even the smallest amount of resources. We don't hear about them, for various reasons. My decision to post about a different unsung person of African ancestry every day a few Februaries ago led to a wealth of knowledge. I also listen and learn when the ladies of The View spotlight AAPI, Native American, Hispanic, and ______ people during their history months. This isn't to downgrade the accomplishments of Israelis. I also suspect he doesn't mean to imply cultural superiority.
An associate of mine who is a Zionist (thought she has never been to Israel, and I'm unclear about whether her parents were raised there--maybe?) commented on the treatment of Ethiopian Jews, disputing that they faced discrimination. A friend who was stationed in Ramallah by the Canadian government for two years confirmed that yes, that article I read was correct. The associate (who was never quite a friend) said that the Ethiopians weren't being discriminated against, but rather, that they kept holding on to their customs from Ethiopia, rather than assimilating completely. I think this anecdote supports your point about the fierce determination to maintain as much cultural purity as possible (if I'm paraphrasing that correctly. Am I?). The problem with that is...well, Dina said it plainly. You have to persecute the people who don't conform to even try to achieve this goal. The idea that "others" are equally human with valid ways of doing things that should be welcomed, even in our backyards would change the world, if adopted. (Obviously, I'm ruling out "things" that cause physical harm or destruction of property).
Anyway, this is already longer than I planned, and since I don't have time to edit it properly, I should stop. Especially given your editorial eye...
I’ll leave the moral and political commentary to others. I would point out that Israel doesn’t just excel in technology. It excels in art, music, literature, humor, and all of the arts. In the past few years, I’ve seen wonderful dance performances in America that were choreographed by Israelis including Ohad Naharin’s choreography for the Hubbard Street Dance Company and another Israeli choreography for the Martha Graham Dance company. Naharin’s dances have been performed worldwide.
Truly food for thought. In response to the other commenter, I've discovered that there are people from every culture who excel at everything, given even the smallest amount of resources. We don't hear about them, for various reasons. My decision to post about a different unsung person of African ancestry every day a few Februaries ago led to a wealth of knowledge. I also listen and learn when the ladies of The View spotlight AAPI, Native American, Hispanic, and ______ people during their history months. This isn't to downgrade the accomplishments of Israelis. I also suspect he doesn't mean to imply cultural superiority.
An associate of mine who is a Zionist (thought she has never been to Israel, and I'm unclear about whether her parents were raised there--maybe?) commented on the treatment of Ethiopian Jews, disputing that they faced discrimination. A friend who was stationed in Ramallah by the Canadian government for two years confirmed that yes, that article I read was correct. The associate (who was never quite a friend) said that the Ethiopians weren't being discriminated against, but rather, that they kept holding on to their customs from Ethiopia, rather than assimilating completely. I think this anecdote supports your point about the fierce determination to maintain as much cultural purity as possible (if I'm paraphrasing that correctly. Am I?). The problem with that is...well, Dina said it plainly. You have to persecute the people who don't conform to even try to achieve this goal. The idea that "others" are equally human with valid ways of doing things that should be welcomed, even in our backyards would change the world, if adopted. (Obviously, I'm ruling out "things" that cause physical harm or destruction of property).
Anyway, this is already longer than I planned, and since I don't have time to edit it properly, I should stop. Especially given your editorial eye...
I’ll leave the moral and political commentary to others. I would point out that Israel doesn’t just excel in technology. It excels in art, music, literature, humor, and all of the arts. In the past few years, I’ve seen wonderful dance performances in America that were choreographed by Israelis including Ohad Naharin’s choreography for the Hubbard Street Dance Company and another Israeli choreography for the Martha Graham Dance company. Naharin’s dances have been performed worldwide.