[NGFP-BookClub] Fourth and last week...

[Mafovries at aol.com]

 =

Let me first answer the 5 questions (like Pessach?) the way I see  it:

Q 1. =

Globalisation has always helped Jewishness as we always  benefited from =

cross-firtilisation of the different groups. The Jewish  communities in Ger=
many =

after the war were without a future - the smaller  communitioes would be =

desolved once their members did an aliah - and it was  assumed that most wo=
uld =

not stay in the country where their families were slain.  I do believe that =

borders are a thing of the past - just like nationalism. We  are living in =

a global environment with Shingener contracts between European  countries. =

Only 5 years ago you had to go through 4 border posts (showing  passboards, =

etc.) when travelling from Germany to Spain - now there isn=B4t a  single =

passborad control boarder!
 =

Q 2. =

A.B. Yehoshuah believes that there is a fuller Jewish life in  Israel than =

anywhere else in the world. That very much depends on where your  family an=
d =

friends live. It isn=B4t the country that counts - it is the people.  Borde=
rs =

and countries are man made. Families and humans are G"d send. I do  believe =

it is easier to keep to Chalachah laws in Israel - but only just. In  =

England where I studied, I could use 4 different synagogues within walking  =

distance. The Jewish population In the UK is thriving. There is - however- =
one  =

major point in favour of Yehoshua=B4s point of view: The chance of finding =
a  =

Jewish partner for life is far greater in Israel than in the diasporah. Thi=
s =

-  on the other hand - very much depends on each individuals priorities. I =

have a  friend who has found his partner in Israel - and she is Christian. =

In a nutshell: I believe Yeoshuah is wrong (especially for UK and US) -  he =

cannot generalise that way - it truely depends on individual circumstances. =

 Without the diasporah we would loose our advantages gained from global  =

reach.
 =

Q 3.
Statism is what Herzl was looking for. Israel or any other country (e.g.  =

Uganda) he didn=B4t care that much. The Balfour declaration was also =

indifferent  to that. We do have a State of Israel. Jews in the US have to =
plead their =

 loyalty to the US - do US Jews have loyalty to US and Israel? I believe =

loyalty  has to be adressed to the country and system you live in - otherwi=
se =

you will  loose social ties and will find it difficult to become part of =

that society.  Some people believe that Israel should join the United State=
s as =

a new state.  When travelling through modern Israel the difference between =

LA and Tel Aviv is  not that great. From that aspect, Israel only has =

borders to keep Arab terrorist  out. =

My vision: A Shengener contract with all Arab neighbours so all cisticens  =

of Israel are free to travel within the Middle East. Forget states - it is =

the  people within that matter.
 =

Q.4
We need spokesmen/spokeswomen who understand our problems and desires and  =

will handle politicians accordingly. Although each country needs =

representatives  to ensure their voices are heard this can be overcome by h=
aving a =

2-tier  representative body:
Tier 1: a local representative body for each country in the diasporah  =

incl. Israel
Tier 2: voted from that body a 6 figure head association to coordinate  the =

local associations. =

I do not believe a single CEO would be as good as a speaker voted from  =

this supra-national body. That speaker would "sell" the decisions of the  =

assembly to all leaders. Unlike the Pope, the spaeker has no power on relig=
ious  =

matters.
 =

Q.5
Globalisation will happen - there is no way to stop development. Even in  =

todays crisis, where we can hear leaders becoming nationalistic and  =

globalisation has been partly blamed for that, we can=B4t turn the clock ba=
ck. no  =

developed country can isolate itself by hampering goods coming in to help i=
ts  =

industry. Obama and Sarcocy have both adressed their citicens telling them =

to  buy American/French cars. They have both pulled back. In the end it is  =

globalisation that has braught progress to all. So it is with Jewdaism. We =

have  always been asdmired for our global network. Jewdaism cannot thrive =

without it -  economically, morally (it enables an open mind) and religion =

itself (Jewdaism is  enriched by the different customs).
 =

Regards
 =

David de Vries




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ngfp.org/pipermail/ngfp-bookclub/attachments/20090706/d7b=
0d0ab/attachment.htm