Letters/Discussion Forums
Jews: live with other Jews in Israel
Yossi Bogacz
The main aim of keeping kosher is indeed to keep us, Jews, apart from non-Jews and (for us) not to mix or interact with them. That is called racism. That is the root of anti-Semitism; in turn, anti-Semitism has brought upon us the most terrible tragedies and unbearable sufferings all along our history.
We are the most hated people in the world. Is that something to be proud of? Isn’t it time to become more sociable and relaxed with non-Jews? In the main, French keep to French, English to English, Greeks to Greeks, etc.
That happens because each nationality is concentrated in its own territory. Naturally they live together. There is no racist ideology involved.
If Jews want to live together with other Jews, they should go and live in Israel. They cannot live in other countries and continue to try to live as a closed group, as much separate from the owners of that land as possible. We tried it and it didn’t work.
I would like our Chief Rabbi to explain to us why Jews in the US are assimilating at a rate of more than 80 per cent and in Latin America at more than 90 per cent.
It is obvious that in about 100 years, the Jewish Diaspora will disappear.
Regarding Chabad and their promotion of kashrut: Is that intended solely for Jews, or also for the general population? I noticed a black man on one of their billboards.
Yossi Bogacz
Highlands North, Johannesburg
David
April 25, 2015 at 10:38 am
‘The premise of ‘keeping kosher is racism’
It is very hard to believe that keeping kosher can be seen by any person as racism particularly by a fellow Jew.
It is a tradition inspired initially by cleanliness or food hygiene, that eventually has expanded into being synonymous with Judaism and religious beliefs in following the traditional menu. Also ho
By the way , are the percentages of assimilation stated above qualified or verified, by any text or report based on meaningful proven information? ‘
Choni
April 27, 2015 at 11:43 am
‘David, Yossi’s figures might be exaggerated but there is one indisputable statistic that proves that the Diaspora is doomed. The Jewish population of the U.S. which had the vast majority of Jews, was 6 million after WW2.
At a conservative birth rate of 1.8 children per family, the number of Jews in 2000 should have been close to 30 million. How many Jews are there in America today? Less than 5 million of which it is estimated half of them are not halachically Jewish.
Jews are assimilating at the rate of 60000 young men and women each year. No amount of so called Jewish education is going to prevent this silent Shoah.
In my opinion the only answer to this disappearance of Diaspora Jewry is mass Aliyah amongst the youth.
‘