Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast
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From: adams@bellini.berkeley.edu (Adam L. Schwartz)
Subject: Re: Israel: An Apartheid state.
Message-ID: <1993May10.233023.2806@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
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References: <1smbma$8mr@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu> <1993May10.211316.28455@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> <1smllm$m06@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu>
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 23:30:23 GMT
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In article <1smllm$m06@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu> aap@wam.umd.edu (Alberto Adolfo Pinkas) writes:
>In article <1993May10.211316.28455@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> adams@bellini.berkeley.edu (Adam L. Schwartz) writes:
>Which was my point. By converting to another religion I do not loose
>my cultural identity, I just loose my religious identification.
>I consider that defining the belonging to a nation that claims the 
>right to have a State based on religious belief is a form of racism.
>
>
>To be a part or not of the Jeish Nation is defined by my culture and not
>by my religion. Actually, if I am an atheist, which is in fact like 
>converting into a non-Jewish in terms of religion, I am still considered as
>part of the Jewish Nation.
>I can be proud of my Jewish culture while not giving any importance to the
>Jewish religion. Or, even more, I can be proud of my Jewish culture while
>still be convinced that the real god is another one.
>I do not know anyone who lost his memebership to the American nation 
>because he changed of god.

Alberto, you've repeatedly misunderstood my postings.  You are now making the exact point
that I've made several times but with a different definition of religion.  You don't not
have to believe in the "religious" aspects of Judaism to be a Jew (this would confine
Judaism to be just a religion in the sense of a Christianity.).  So, by converting out of
Judaism, I don't mean just not believing in the god of Judaism.  I mean voluntarily
removing yourself from the Jewish nation.  I am an agnostic but still consider myself
Jewish because of my cultural heritage.  (I admit that many religious jews would argue
that I am not completely jewish because of my lack of faith, but Judaism is a religion of
dissent and debate isn't it?).  The fact that one can opt to become Jewish simply by
converting to Judaism makes the nation of the jewish people the *least* racist and most
open nation.  We have no quotas!

So I will once again make my point.  Defining a member of the Jewish nation by religion
(not, as you say, religious belief) is NOT racism.  You come to your incorrect conclusion
because you use a different definition for religion when you define the law of return and
when you define judaism.

-Adam Schwartz

