Suffering is not a contest. Yes, Jewish people like myself have endured prejudice and violence for thousands of years but so have others. Unfortunately, the history of humans is rife with genocide, destruction of cultures, and cruelty to others.
Precisely, why do Jewish people think they've cornered the market on prejudice and suffering? In Buddhist teachings, the First Noble Truth is "Life is suffering." No exemptions are allowed...
It is also a very bad way to run a country. If the “Jewish people” are as diverse and multicultural as stated, then a Jewish state is just a myth. It is time for Israel to join the modern world and become a secular nation.
You might level that charge at pretty much every Muslim country in the world, not to mention Japan and china, all ethnic monocultures. But you’re too busy with your “why do Jews..”
Israel is a democracy, not a theocracy, according to every definition of both. You twist language to your own purposes so that you can do the same to reality. Muslim countries are theocracies, persecute religious minorities, kill and torture dissidents, as happened in Gaza just a few days ago. But you don't care--its only the Jews and Israel you hate.
The point of my comment is that many Jewish people, including me, believe that prejudice and suffering is common and happens to many, particularly marginalized groups. By writing "why do Jews think..." you are perpetuating a stereotype and prejudice against Jewish people. Jewish people are an extremely diverse group spanning many cultures, countries, and beliefs.
Well as someone of Polish Jewish origin I can confirm that there are many other cultures that also believe they have a monopoly on suffering. I remember a conversation many years ago in communist Poland where I was trying to explain to a friend what was going on in Guatemala, the murder of thousands of peasants, he stopped me and exclaimed: That is Nothing, compared to what we have suffered in Poland! WWII was not long past and the isolation of Poland because of the communist state created an ignorance of events that were ongoing. The Russians carry a similar rubric about their suffering in the last war. All of this is a honest acknowledgment until it turns into a monopoly of suffering.
Yeah, I have an ex-son-in-law who is Native American and a visit to the Reservation left me amazed at how tenaciously they cling to suffering as a foundation of their identity. Diseases of despair were rampant and their economy depressed.
I recently visited his son, my grandson, who escaped a life of suffering by enlisting in the military. He is stationed in Hawaii and we noticed the same dynamic of 'suffering-identity' with much of the Native Hawaiian population clinging to a Stone Age culture unfit for survival in a globalized world. The sociological and economic fallout was woefully identical.
I am sure there are all sorts of psychological research and theories about the dynamics of suffering identity. A therapist friend of mine called it "narcissistic-masochism" - displaying suffering as a sign of martyrdom and superiority. Frankly, it is not a good way to win friends and influence people...
Suffering is not a contest. Yes, Jewish people like myself have endured prejudice and violence for thousands of years but so have others. Unfortunately, the history of humans is rife with genocide, destruction of cultures, and cruelty to others.
Muslim countries are not religious states? How many Jews are there in Syria or Iran? What happens to other faiths in those countries?
Can Muslims worship in Israel? Of course
Precisely, why do Jewish people think they've cornered the market on prejudice and suffering? In Buddhist teachings, the First Noble Truth is "Life is suffering." No exemptions are allowed...
“Why do Jews” is a very bad start to any sentence. You might reconsider that approach.
It is also a very bad way to run a country. If the “Jewish people” are as diverse and multicultural as stated, then a Jewish state is just a myth. It is time for Israel to join the modern world and become a secular nation.
Non sequitur.
You might level that charge at pretty much every Muslim country in the world, not to mention Japan and china, all ethnic monocultures. But you’re too busy with your “why do Jews..”
Ethnic monocultures are not the same as religious states. As mentioned, Israel is multicultural and being “Jewish” is not a monoculture.
As long as Israel identifies as a theocracy, it will be embroiled in the other theocracies in the region. The modern world is secular for good reason.
https://johnhardman.substack.com/p/never-waste-a-good-crisis/comments
Israel is a democracy, not a theocracy, according to every definition of both. You twist language to your own purposes so that you can do the same to reality. Muslim countries are theocracies, persecute religious minorities, kill and torture dissidents, as happened in Gaza just a few days ago. But you don't care--its only the Jews and Israel you hate.
The point of my comment is that many Jewish people, including me, believe that prejudice and suffering is common and happens to many, particularly marginalized groups. By writing "why do Jews think..." you are perpetuating a stereotype and prejudice against Jewish people. Jewish people are an extremely diverse group spanning many cultures, countries, and beliefs.
Well, you certainly proved my point…
Well as someone of Polish Jewish origin I can confirm that there are many other cultures that also believe they have a monopoly on suffering. I remember a conversation many years ago in communist Poland where I was trying to explain to a friend what was going on in Guatemala, the murder of thousands of peasants, he stopped me and exclaimed: That is Nothing, compared to what we have suffered in Poland! WWII was not long past and the isolation of Poland because of the communist state created an ignorance of events that were ongoing. The Russians carry a similar rubric about their suffering in the last war. All of this is a honest acknowledgment until it turns into a monopoly of suffering.
Yeah, I have an ex-son-in-law who is Native American and a visit to the Reservation left me amazed at how tenaciously they cling to suffering as a foundation of their identity. Diseases of despair were rampant and their economy depressed.
I recently visited his son, my grandson, who escaped a life of suffering by enlisting in the military. He is stationed in Hawaii and we noticed the same dynamic of 'suffering-identity' with much of the Native Hawaiian population clinging to a Stone Age culture unfit for survival in a globalized world. The sociological and economic fallout was woefully identical.
I am sure there are all sorts of psychological research and theories about the dynamics of suffering identity. A therapist friend of mine called it "narcissistic-masochism" - displaying suffering as a sign of martyrdom and superiority. Frankly, it is not a good way to win friends and influence people...