Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
But why give up I ask? Sure, secular Jews are obsessed with Israel. Yes, you're right to question the meaning of a secular identity grounded in past suffering. But why use that as a reason to throw in the towel? Why not use it to build something positive? Why not do what so many other Jews have done and construct a new form of identity? One based on the rebels and mavericks that so many left-leaning Jews draw upon."Because they died," he snaps back, interrupting me during my question. "At the beginning of the 21st century most of my generation have become shitty, reactionary conservatives. And the people that I identified with are now on the margins of the Jewish community and establishment, too weak to fight it."By this stage Sand and I are arguing. His tone shifts between angry and solemn, loud and quiet. At times he's seems exasperated with me. Since an extract of his book was published in the Guardian a few weeks ago, he's been inundated with emails, many of them from Jews unable to accept his resignation.It's the same later that evening, at a lecture he gives at SOAS. One member of the audience accuses him of hypocrisy, another slams him—rightly in my opinion—for an incredibly slanted section on Jewish ethics that gives comfort to those who root Israel's crimes in Jewish identity.At the beginning of the 21st century most of my generation have become shitty, reactionary conservatives.
Advertisement
Advertisement