LETTER: Quo vadis Jewishness?

An aerial view shows Israelis holding hands as they form a human chain on the road to Jerusalem near Latrun July 25, 2004. File picture: Nir Elias/REUTERS

An aerial view shows Israelis holding hands as they form a human chain on the road to Jerusalem near Latrun July 25, 2004. File picture: Nir Elias/REUTERS

Published Apr 9, 2024

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This letter refers to “It’s wrong to conflate Zionism with Judaism: Genuine anti-racism means opposing both Zionism and anti-Semitism,”:

Anthony Fish Hodgson’s intellectual, if not confusing, reflection on anti-Semitism and Zionism was helpful in explaining how Palestinian (Islamic) Israelis are treated as lesser citizens than Jewish Israelis.

It would be interesting to have his views on why the State of Israel was formed by the UN in 1948 (was it to create a non-Arabic ally in the Middle East?), why Israel was attacked almost immediately by Arabs and Palestinians, why Israel has had to defend itself against subsequent attacks, why the Oslo Accords and other attempts at a political solution have failed, why Arab states have refused to welcome and embrace Palestinian refugees, and what his recommended solution is to the tragic turmoil currently afflicting the area.

If, as Hodgson says, Zionism “functionally depends on degrading the liberty and equality of Palestinians”, and Islam has as a central tenet the eradication of non-believers (infidels), where does it leave the Jews and their Jewishness?

* C Richards, Craighall Park.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

Cape Argus

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