Sunday, October 17, 2010
This is just a quick link to follow -- an "aside." These are links to interesting things that, for one reason or another, I didn't place into a full posting. Click the link to visit the full article. Go to the blog index for a regular listing of posts.
Jeff Jacoby: The undeniable Jewish state - '...The linking of national character with religion is a commonplace. Israel stands out only because its religion is Judaism, not Christianity, Islam, or Hinduism. Nor is democracy incompatible with ethnic distinctiveness. Ireland waives its usual citizenship requirements for applicants of Irish descent. Bulgaria's constitution grants the right to "acquire Bulgarian citizenship through a facilitated procedure'' to any "person of Bulgarian origin.'' It is not oxymoronic to describe Ireland as "Irish and democratic'' or Bulgaria as "Bulgarian and democratic.'' Israel's flourishing little Jewish democracy is no oxymoron either. It is something different: a beacon of decency in a dangerous, hate-filled neighborhood. If only its enemies could shed their malice, what an Eden that neighborhood could become.'
