If Israel were a real democracy with separation of state and religion and no second class citizens the present conflict could end. A state connected with a particular ethnicity or religion is an undesirable anachronism and a focus for unrest. I speak as a Jew happy to live in an Australia that is not a complete democracy but is more of a democracy than Israel or the UK. Religion should not be the business of government and vice versa.

S 116 of the Australian Constitution: "The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth." should apply to all governments that call themselves democracies.

Go for it Mr Singer, you'll possibly get Russia and China to agree with you? The rest are clearly listening to you as is the PLO. Good luck with your HKOP.
Alan B.

Dear David F.,

I am disappointed that you respond to this robot.
Responding to it only encourages the continuation of its weekly spew.

Otherwise, your criticism of Israel deserves merit and I am also dismayed at what is going on there, yet you aim at the wrong culprit: religion rather than nationalism, in this case Jewish nationalism but any nationalism is essentially like that, whether or not it includes any god(s) as its symbol(s) and tool(s).

Those presently in power in Israel want non-Jews out so that their tribe can inherit the whole land as well as to prevent non-Jews mingling with Jews. For that, they try to make their lives miserable, to encourage them to emigrate. You know what, they don't like liberal Jews like yourself to live there and mingle with them either, they only want those who fully identify with their tribe.

What we seem to disagree about, is whether this has anything to do with religion.

Can a modern intelligent person like yourself truly believe that by trying to rid the country of non-Jews, that tribe truly serves [a non-existent] God?
Can a modern intelligent person like yourself truly believe that that tribe is behaving the way they do, to grab that land and isolate themselves there, because [a non-existent] God commanded them so?

What you now see in Israel's new government is nationalism on steroids. That is the culprit, not God or gods.

Contrary to popular lore, God, or even the Jewish god, is not the central theme of the Bible. The old testament is all about the Judaic people, the lineage of their kings and their official [faked] history. 'god' only comes into the picture where and when it conveniently serves their national ambitions. That god is not truly the master of the universe, but the servant of their dynasty!

The meaning of a word depends on its usage (or popularity) not by what you want it to mean. You want it to have a connection with your imaginary deity. That's not the way things work. One cannot separate religion from nationalism. They interact. We define religion differently. My definition depends on the common usage of the word because that's the way language works.

I agree with much of what you say, and I prefer not to argue about God. We both responded to this robot. Generally, religion is just another manifestation of tribalism. I responded to this robot because I wanted to. I identify generally with my tribe, but not the particular part of it at present in power in Israel.

Dear David F.,

«We both responded to this robot.»

Actually I didn't, I responded to you - I didn't even glimpse at the article. The point is, if someone is first to respond then the article will be listed in this forum's main page. If nobody responds, then only few would find this article and know it exists, so when I responded to you, the horse already bolted out.

«I identify generally with my tribe, but not the particular part of it at present in power in Israel.»

Out of curiosity, why would you want to identify with a tribe when you do not even follow its laws and customs and knowing from science that the premise for its historical existence was fraudulent?

«You want it to have a connection with your imaginary deity.»

Not at all: imaginary deities may be used as a religious technique, or not, depending on personal taste. There are plenty of other religious techniques to suit others who don't like to connect with a deity.

«One cannot separate religion from nationalism. They interact»

This is like a judge claiming that one cannot separate the rapist and his victim because they interact, thus sends them both to jail. What kind of justice is that?

We fully know what causes the racist ill behaviours of Israeli governments, we know that to be nothing but nationalism thus have no need to look any further for supernatural explanations.

«My definition depends on the common usage of the word because that's the way language works.»

Yes, a popular but arbitrary and unscientific definition which stems from common misunderstanding.

«religion is just another manifestation of tribalism»

I am a Hindu by faith, I do not belong to or identify with the Hindu/Indian tribe.

Dear Yuyutsu,

You are good at making faulty and inappropriate analogies. It is much more difficult to determine the culprit in the interaction between religion and nationalism than between rapist and rapee.

Ever the romantic. Hinduism is a complex system which you may appreciate, but will Hindus think of you as a Hindu? To be a member of a tribe it is best to be accepted by other members as belonging.

I should have known better than to comment on your post. I am a foolish, old man. However, I will try not to respond if you comment further.