My Roots in the Game
Reflection on my ancestors' insecure past
This is Dirk Willems, a Dutch Mennonite (not a relative). A soldier came to his door to arrest him and Dirk ran for it. While the soldier chased Dirk across the ice, the heavily armed soldier broke through. Dirk turned to help him, was arrested, and later burned at the stake. This is perhaps the most famous Mennonite icon in existence.
How Jewish Am I?
By halacha, I am the daughter of a Jew, inasmuch as my father's maternal grandmother was Jewish. Around 1880, my great-grandmother Jennie Bolster married a Catholic, and they raised their children as Protestants in an intensely Protestant part of the country. So, by goyisch standards that makes me 1/8 Jewish. By halachic standards, that makes me 0% Jewish but my father 100% Jewish. Given his background, I've always wondered whether he would have a right of return as a Jew to Israel.
Incidentally, I rejoice in these ties, and feel very connected to all of my roots. I rejoice that I am1/8 Jewish, 1/8 Catholic, a descendant of Hans Graff, the first Swiss Mennonite to arrive in the United States (1703), as well as 5th cousin twice removed of Milton Hershey, the man who invented cheap and awful chocolate. Finally, I am the descendant of three Mennonite bishops. These guys were fruitful, and they multiplied. I find the thought that I may be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob awesome and beyond my capacity to grasp fully. I think I really understand the historic sense of keeping on keeping on— which of course is what Mennonites and Jews have done for generations that are hard to count.
I have always viewed Israel as a land embroiled in perpetual war—as a war zone, never as a safe place. Before Israel came into existence, generations of Jews have chosen to dwell in the Diaspora, with great wisdom to my way of thinking. Mennonites also made this choice when faced with the prospect of being sold as galley slaves or the death penalty in Switzerland—there are very few Mennonites left in Europe today. My ancestor George Weber is described in the Mennonite Martyr's Mirror, as someone jailed for his faith with his property confiscated. He left Switzerland for a temporary refuge along the Rhine, and his grandson sailed for America.
I think the safest place in the world for Jews is the United States. I see a good and long future for our country, because we have a concept of nationhood that simply cannot be beat. The rowdy, confused, anti-intellectual members of the American family have had MANY crazy moments, but we have gotten through them.
The Palestinian Authority allows the Israeli army free access to the West Bank for security purposes. Israel won the Golan Heights fair and square from Syria in the 1967 war. If Israel removed all settlements from the West Bank, I think the residents of Gaza (not Hamas) would eventually want to be part of a blessed peace.
May it be so, Amen.
I was just imagining how different the Holy Land region would be today if instead of attacking returning Jews that fellow Semite Arabs welcomed them? The Palestine region has no history of self governance and was part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Their economy at the time was subsistence agriculture and woefully low tech. It remains such today.
If they had partnered with the Jews and founded a non-secular Israel with equal rights for all faiths, imagine how advanced the Arabs in the region would be today. Rather than being ghettoized and walled off to prevent violence, they could have been a vital part of a dynamic 21st century Israel-Palestine. Instead, they are one of the poorest "nations" in the world. Israel in contrast ranks among the highest and are leaders in science and technology.
Zionism and Islamism are radical poisons at the heart of this chaos and need to be addressed. There is no reason that secular Jews and secular Muslims cannot get along. They have more similarities than differences. But, both of which have become radicalized escalating into a battle of biblical proportions: Jehovah vs. Allah. In this battle of biblical titans there are no winners and only humans will lose. Until Israel becomes a secular state welcoming both Arab and Jewish citizens then the conflict will continue. Any argument over "one state", "two state", or even "three state" is irrelevant until the gods are put to rest. How does one do that in the Holy Land you might ask. That is above my pay grade, but it is the question that needs to be asked.
I don't think that peace is ever possible in Israel. It will always remain a militarised society. Tomas Puyeo had an incredible blog series on current conflict. Israeli regime of 1990s was most amenable to peace but current nationalist and religious faction believe that time is on their side in terms of demographics, wealth and power asymmetry.
And it is in Israeli's national interest to form a greater Israel geographically.. maybe forceful reallocation of Palestinians to North Africa and Arab states by paying those govt. like the UK govt. is paying Rwanda to accept her refugees is the way to go. Although scale is massive and Saudis, Jordans and Egyptians have made it clear that they won't be accepting any refugees.