Sunday, December 23, 2007
The top Catholic Cleric in Israel came out against Israel's Jewish character the other day -- contrary to Vatican policy which recognizes Israel as a Jewish State: Catholic cleric comes out against Jewish state
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah came out this week against the Olmert government's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state before peace talks can proceed.
"God made this land for all three of us so a suitable state is one who can adapt itself to the vocation of this land," said Sabbah, an Arab who was born in the northern Israeli town of Nazareth and who regularly officiates at religious events in the Palestinian Authority town of Bethlehem.
"If it's Jewish, it's not Muslim or Christian," he told reporters.
Sabbah had no word on whether a future Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip should not be allowed to favor Muslims given those territories' sanctity to Jews and Christians...
Most large and small Jewish organizations came out quickly to condemn Sabbah's words: Sabbah slammed for challenging 'Jewish state'
Both the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) attacked Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah for commenting last Wednesday during his annual pre-Christmas address that Israel should abandon its Jewish character in favor of a political, normal state for Christians Muslims and Jews...
So that's UOJC and ADL. Here's the Wiesenthal Center: WIESENTHAL CENTER URGES VATICAN TO REJECT THE LATIN PATRIARCH’S "INSIDIOUS CAMPAIGN TO DE-JUDAIZE ISRAEL". Christians for Fair Witness issued a statement: Fair Witness Is Dismayed By Latin Patriarch’s Statement:
Sr. Ruth Lautt, Fair Witness National Director, points out "Jews, like any other people, defined in terms of a shared ethnicity, language, history, culture and/or religion, have the right to constitute an autonomous, sovereign political community. We have been very concerned about recent attacks on the legitimacy of a Jewish state. It is dismaying to see Patriarch Sabbah jump on this bandwagon and take the position that a Jewish state is somehow inherently discriminatory."...
There's a good commentary about this in yesterday's Jerusalem Post: Sabbah's Hypocrisy
I haven't seen anything from the AJC on this fundamentally important issue. If anyone has, a link would be appreciated.
Vatican City itself is a state (and consisted of surrounding Papal states in what is now Italy into the 19th century) - so I look forward to Sabbah's recommendation for Vatican City, its form of goveranance and those admitted to citizenship.
I'm being a bit facetious, but there is a larger and absolutely fundamental point there nonetheless. People need to be secure, within reasonable parameters (e.g., excluding utopian and other unrealistic imaginings), in order to form their individual and collective identities. In broadly conceived civilizational terms, it is the great genius of the Westphalian conception of the nation/state that it leads to the potential and the ability - if by no means the guarantee - to form a relatively "safe haven" within which both personal/individual and broader collective identities can take shape in a relatively secure and stable environment. I won't presume to know Sabbah's motivations or the disposition of his heart and mind, but he is fundamentally flawed with what he is forwarding here and absolutely so.
Or to put it in even more stark terms still, one may as well ask the Green Bay Packers (the good guys) to allow some Chicago Bears (the bad guys) on their team with equal voting rights and other participatory rights as well. I. Don't. Think. So.
You aren't likely to see much of a response from the American Jewish Committee.
It's actually pretty tolerant of direct attacks on Israel like this.
Well, who can blame them after coming under a concerted attack from such respectable public figures like Carter, Tutu, Walt, Mearsheimer and a few others? My expectation is that silence from the Jewish community will only increase as these assaults become more and more mainstream. And frankly, it must be exhausting to fend off all these assaults all the time.