FAIR Christians for Fair Witness on the
Middle East
WITNESS 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1960
New York, New York
10115
(212) 870-2320
www.christianfairwitness.com
Why Is Jewish
Nationalism Singled Out
For Condemnation?
Recently
some voices within our churches have been attacking the very existence of a
Jewish state, or Jewish nationalism, as inherently “racist.” But one does not hear these same voices accusing
Irish nationalism of being racist, or any form of African nationalism, or
French or Palestinian nationalism. Only Jewish nationalism is deemed racist. Why
is it that what is permissible, even laudatory and universally accepted for all
peoples in the world – self-expression, self-determination, independence and
sovereignty --- is unacceptable when it comes to Jews?
What Is Nationalism?
• Nationalism is the ideology that asserts that a “people,”
defined in terms of a shared history,
ethnicity, religion, language and/or culture, has the right to
constitute an autonomous and sovereign political community. The nation-state
is intended to guarantee the existence
of a people, to preserve their distinct identity, and to provide a territory
where their national culture and ethos are dominant.
• Since the days of the American Revolution, hundreds of
national, cultural, and ethnic expressions of collective identity have
flourished.
• The latter half of the 19th century and the first half of
the 20th century saw the rise of nationalism in Europe. Much of European
history in the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th
century can be understood as efforts to realign national boundaries with this
concept of “one people, one nation.”
• Before 1914 Arab nationalism was limited primarily to
intellectual circles among Christian Arabs, who saw it as a ticket out of their marginal position as non-Muslims in
the Ottoman Empire. But with the fall
of the Ottoman Empire, Arab nationalism began to rise, receiving an enormous
boost when the Cairo-based British Arab Office
encouraged Arab nationalism to motivate anti-Ottoman sentiments.
• In the middle half of the 20th century, African
Nationalism rose to reclaim Africa for Africans.
• Despite the recent trend towards globalization, we still
live in a world of nation-states and nationalism. To feel kinship with a certain community is natural and can
inspire people to unite around noble concepts such as democracy, freedom and
liberty.
Jews, Like Any Other
People, are Entitled to a National Homeland.
• In the late 19th century, in response to anti-Semitic
persecution in both European and Arab nations and the global upsurge in
nationalism, the Jewish people began to transform their centuries old yearning
to live as a free people in a nation in their ancestral homeland into reality.
Why Do Voices In Our
Churches Single Out Jewish Nationalism for Condemnation ?
• Frequently the very same people who hurl the accusation of
racism at Jewish Nationalism extol other forms of nationalism as liberation
movements and as heroic.
• Other nationalist movements -- African, Palestinian, Irish
-- are rightly seen as liberation
movements. Why then is Jewish
nationalism seen as oppressive and racist?
• Unfortunately, the habit of unjustly accusing Jews has a long and troubling history in
Christian culture. This is always a
possibility that must be vigilantly guarded against.
• So we must ask -- is a culturally ingrained habit of
thinking unfavorably of Jews at work when some American Christians apply a
different standard to the Jewish people and the State of Israel than they apply
to every other people and nation?
• Why are the Jews
the only people in the world today who some would deny the right to a
homeland?
To Question the
Jewish People’s Right
to National Existence
and Freedom is to Deny Them a Right Which is Taken for Granted
and Accorded to Every Other People in the World