Reflections of a Nonpolitical Jew
Whoever would aspire to transform Germany into a middle-class democracy in the Western-Roman sense and spirit would wish to take away from her all that is best and complex, to take away the problematic character that really makes up her nationality; he would make her dull, shallow, stupid, an un-German, and he would therefore be an antinationalist who insisted that Germany become a nation in a foreign sense and spirit. - Thomas Mann, Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man The above applies equally to Israel, both state and nation. The most prevalent form of modern Jewish nationalism, middle-class liberal Zionism, is really antinationalism. Is the final goal of Zionism for Israel to be "a nation like all other nations"? Which nations then, Belgium? Slovakia? America? Shall we be satisfied with McDonald's in Hebrew, Israel in the E.U.? I don't claim to have all the answers, but it is precisely the "problematic character" of Jewish existence that grants greatness to...