Letters, October 29, 2010
The purpose of the loyalty oath
THERE has been vigorous debate regarding Israel’s planned loyalty oath for new citizens, but it seems to me as if most people have missed the essential point of it all. Rather than focus on its intrinsic morality, I view the loyalty oath as having less to do with values that describe Israeli citizenship, and more about making a statement to the world that Israel is a Jewish state.
The Palestinians have declared that a future Palestine will be the world’s 57th Islamic state, but steadfastly refuse to acknowledge Israel’s Jewish nature.
Most observers have therefore understood for years that until the Arabs openly and formally recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people, the peace talks are essentially a waste of everybody’s time.
I think the loyalty oath is primarily designed for world consumption, notably the American Administration. It cleverly advances the issue of how Israel’s character is to be defined and concurrently exposes Palestinian hypocrisy regarding their participation in peace talks.
Alan Freedman
St Kilda East, Vic
Allegiance pledge is strategic weapon
IN the pantheon of critical good intentions towards Israel, the new pet objection, the loyalty oath to Israel, has emasculated the obvious, tangible reality in favour of vacuous “in principle” arguments.
Nowhere do the critics of this “undemocratic” measure seem concerned with the intrinsic peculiar existential crisis in Israel. Conversely, they seem obsessed with extrinsic notions of attempts at a democratic society. Irrelevant analogies with other democracies abound against a realistic context of an Israel like no other country, and I do not mean it only affectionately, but in bare terms of actual unparalleled problems of survival.
No-one could possibly engage in a discussion on variations to the democratic principles and practices in Israel without considering fundamentally its ponderous problems of addressing enmities from all quarters, including, unfortunately, some so-called Jewish ones. The oath is not just a reaffirmation of contributions to the very existence of Israel, but a necessary, complex, legal, ethical and strategic weapon against various columns of ill-intended dwellers of the still excessively democratic Jewish State.
Otto Waldmann
Bondi Junction, NSW
Who is really racist?
I AM appalled by various assertions (AJN 22/10) that Israel’s proposed loyalty oath is “racist”. Such epithet hurlers deny Jewish peoplehood and expose themselves as delegitimisers.
Declaring that a future Palestine will be Judenrein, making the selling of land to Jews a capital offence, stating that no international force on Palestine’s borders may have Jews and Palestinian Authority (PA) sermons describing Jews as “sons of pigs and apes” all escape the racist tag.
Israel as a nation-state for Jews was accepted until the deligitimisation phase of the war against it. Our people’s unique language, religion, culture, region of origin, history and genetics were recognised.
Israel recognised Palestinians as a people at Oslo, but the PA broke its promise to recognise Israel. Further, they have supplemented Islam’s replacement theology with replacement identity. Our identity.
Israelis who refuse to do national service, recognise Israel and identify with its enemies are alienated. Citizenship benefits and rights come with loyalty and responsibilities. All Israeli adults must take a loyalty oath.
Paul Winter
Chatswood, NSW
Future of Yiddish is under threat
AS a former student in the University of Sydney’s Yiddish program, I am deeply concerned to learn that the program may perish for lack of funding (AJN 22/10). The future of Yiddish is threatened, not only at the University of Sydney, but globally. This language, once the centre of European Jewish culture from Amsterdam to Vladivostok, was meant to be extinguished, like its speakers, in the gas chambers and crematoria. Fortunately, many Jews and their language survived, but the pressures of the current Diaspora, though more benign than those of the Nazis, are no less damaging to the language of the Jews.
Wittgenstein said it: “To imagine a language is to imagine a form of life.” The language that expresses that life form is on life-support, mainly in universities. It’s not a big earner, like IT or marketing, but it is necessary if Jews want to know and remember who we were and who we are. I urge the Jews of NSW to find and provide adequate funding for Sydney University’s Yiddish courses, so that future generations may understand the Ashkenazi heritage.
Arnold Goldman
Bondi Beach, NSW
Rallying to save mamaloshen
THE students of the Yiddish program at the University of Sydney are facing the imminent and total cancellation of our course (AJN 22/10). It will be closed immediately, leaving a number of students, myself included, without a core component of their studies and, therefore, unable to complete their degrees.
The program contributes to a wide variety of courses and departments at the university, including European studies, Jewish culture and international literary studies. With the cessation of this program, the students of these courses will lose access to the rich history and literature of the Yiddish tradition, such as Glikl of Hameln and Chaim Grade.
Though this heritage language has had adamant supporters in the community, most notably the Goodridge family — Dan and Nora — further support is needed, especially now.
Sean Sidky
Killara, NSW
Pollard is a victim of injustice
I HAVE written to the last three US Presidents on the occasion of their completion of term, when they have had it in their power to grant extrajudicial pardons, pleading that such a pardon be granted to Jonathan Pollard, who was treated overly harshly by the justice system. In vain.
It is now revealed (AJN 22/10) why this was so. An anti-Israel senator used his position to hound Pollard into perpetual darkness.
Pollard was convicted of spying for Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment with the proviso, “Never to be released”.
With frequent lynchings of African-Americans, especially in the southern states until well into the 20th century widely publicised, we knew  about the shortcomings of justice in America, but I do believe such unremitting hatred resulting in an endless jailing has not been meted out to a Jew before
It is interesting to note that at just about the same time as Pollard was tried and convicted, several American marines were found guilty of spying for the Soviets, a nominal enemy, unlike Pollard’s case where a friendly nation was involved: the marines got¬† three to six years jail.
I hope and pray that now Pollard’s case has been publicised and the real story told, those in positions to do so will campaign strongly for his release so he may be freed soon.
Adrienne Schwartz
Darling Point, NSW
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