Getting Back To Our ABC's

Recently, the famous writer A.B. Yehoshua has written an article "Why do we insist on a 'Jewish' state?" It is an intelligent article, but however, deeply flawed.

"Israel is the original and universal name used by all the peoples of the world in their religious texts, while the term "Jewish" is not uniform, and changes from language to language, even among Jews who speak different languages.

Ah..not so quick! Israel is certainly not universal. The State Of Israel had a different meaning to virtually every one. If fact, there is no consensus about what the State Of Israel actually means. Perhaps, the opposite is true-the word "Jew" has a universal meaning-a person of the Jewish faith. However, Israel could mean Jacob, the State Of Israel, a man's name, or the Land Of Israel-a word that doesn't have a uniform connotation. Yehoshua says, "'Israel' is a name that holds within it more history and culture than the name 'Jewish.'" Then he says "In many cases, the word for "Jewish" depends on the interaction, usually negative in nature, with other peoples." The first sentence suggests that Israel is a more complex, multifaceted idea and "Jewish" has a more universal connotation-exactly what I claim. Therefore, the author contracts himself.

"Incidentally, any future Palestinian state would have a similar law of return, and rightfully so, to collect all the Palestinians scattered around the world."
Huh? Here our secular Zionist is speaking about how great the word Israel is, and now he is, it the same paragraph, laying down the "rules" for a "Palestinian State." That goes to show what became of secular Zionists-advocates for Israel's Arab population!

"In the spirit of the ironic remark made by MK Ahmed Tibi "the state of Israel is Jewish for the Arabs and democratic for the Jews"
Yep-dead on!

"The first problem has to do with the word "Jewish" which holds within it a basic ambiguity that is a source of confusion. The term "Jewish" is a term that signifies national identity rather than religious identity. Even in the Halakha (Jewish law), it is said that a Jew is anyone who was born to a Jewish mother, and nowhere does it require a Jew to believe in the Torah to be considered a Jew."
Not even close, A.B. Let's get back to our ABC's! This statement contradicts itself. The fact that you quote Jewish law confirms that there is, according to you, a uniform definition of who a Jew is. In addition, there are cases, like יין נסך (wine what is used for religious rituals), where a Jew who doesn't keep Shabbat is considered to be like a non-Jew. Also, remember that Esau had a Jewish mother and wasn't Jewish. It does say in the Talmud:

Shabbath 146a
Why are idolaters lustful? Because they did not stand at Mount Sinai.

The one single definition of a Jew is that a Jew is someone whose soul was present at Mount Sinai for the giving of the Torah. Otherwise, Abraham himself wouldn't fit the halachic definition!

"The Jewish faith is an optional part of being a Jew, just as Catholicism or Christianity is an optional part of being an Italian or English, or the way Islam is optional for Egyptians. This has been absolutely proven over the last 200 years of Jewish secularism."
Oh my! Observance is optional? Has Jewish secularism proven anything? Since the advent of Jewish secularism, Jews have assimilated in great masses (whether Jews want to admit that or not), the Holocaust took the lives of at least 6 million Jews, and we have fought endless war with Arabs-which still continue. The secular Jewish identity has been an abysmal failure! Even now, in the USA, where the largest body of exiled Jews dwell, the population of Jews is going down 5% every decade and some of those considered to be Jewish are not according to Torah law. Have gentiles suffered as Jews have? Why? Because of their adherence, if shallow at times, to Judaism. That Talmud says:
Shabbat 55a:

There is no death without transgression, and there is no suffering without sin.

This idea reinforces the connection between Judaism and the Jewish identity, even though Jews may do everything they can to escape being Jewish through "Israeliness."

"The state of Israel is governed by its citizens, and not by any religious body."
We both know this is not true. Maybe Hertzl dreamed of this, but it never came to fruition. As of the moment, secular marriage doesn't exist-is that not a governing action?

The attitude of Christianity towards this issue is telling-Israelites were something of the past-nomads who walked through the desert to form a temporary empire. The Jew, with his empire now safeguarded in the form of books, was and is something to contend with!