The Letter of the Day is was "J".

"J" is for Jewsylvania. In a response to letter from an Egyptian reader, Meryl ponders if a different name might have helped to get the concept of a culturally Jewish state accepted.

Judaism is a religion, yes. But Jews are also a people, a culture. It's the most difficult part of trying to get others to understand what being Jewish entails. I can be an atheist and still be Jewish. Some people say I can convert to Christianity and still be Jewish. (At the very least, I was still born a Jew.) Perhaps if we never called ourselves Jews to begin with, if we had called ourselves Israeli for the past several thousand years, or perhaps if we called Israel "Jewland" or "Jewsylvania" or something like that, people would get that you can be a Jew and not be religious. Egyptians are mostly Muslim, but many are Christian, too. And while we're on that topic: How many practicing Jews do you know of in Egypt? Did you know that it is illegal to practice anything but Islam in Saudi Arabia? When was the last new church built in Egypt? Did you know the laws there forbid a church to be built within a certain distance of a mosque, or if the locals object to it, or if the government decides that there aren't enough Christians to support the building of a new church? Go ahead, try to get a new church built in Cairo.

It's a well written letter and a very well written and elucidating response. Go read and enjoy.

Posted by: Jim at 06:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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