David,

I am still searching for that article that I read based on the Rambam's law-of-kings, explaining that nowadays, even if Rabbis had the power they may only prosecute, beat with a stick and execute in the 4 traditional manners, those Jews that break the commandments in public, but when Messiah comes, he will also prosecute those who offend in private.

Leviticus 19:18 refers to the "Ger" (convert or half-convert who accepts the Noachide laws and Jewish sovereignty), not just any stranger. This is the common rabbinical interpretation: you are much more open-minded (and so was Jesus), so yours is a much better interpretation, yet not the common Jewish one. It is similarly wonderful that some, already in the 19th century, replaced the human-king-warrior concept of Messiah from the dark-side of Judaism with "kingdom of truth, justice and peace”, yet by doing so they broke one of the Rambam's basic and unambiguously-written 13 principles that form the Jewish credo, which you probably recite every morning in the "Yigdal" prayer, followed 3 times a day by the prayer for the human Messiah, "Et Tzemach David Avdecha mehera...".

Once you forsake the dark side of Judaism and embrace your own enlightened ideas, you are no longer a Jew, but what Gideon Levy termed "Jew-lite". Clearly people like you are not dirty dogs, you just sadly fail to see that the group you blindly identify with does not follow your own ideals, and the differences between you and them are much deeper than skin/eye/hair colour.

Keith,

The answer is 'No'.
("Isn't this what the Israelis have been doing to Palenistians for oh about the past 60 years")
some may do it, but:
1) it is only SOME Israelis, not ALL (I start wondering whether you have the capacity to tell the difference); and
2) whatever those Israelis do or don't is not an answer to you doing so here.

Israeli Arabs are actually discriminated in favour in Israel: they are exempt from conscription. This freedom is worth more than anything! (yet they can still do national-service and get first-class privileges if they choose).

Dear Yuyutsu,

Christianity has a very dark side. "The Dark Ages" dated from 380 to about the 17th and 18th centuries. We can date the beginning of the Dark Ages easier than we can its end because a particular event marked its beginning. The beginning was on 27 February 380 when Theodosius declared "Catholic Christianity" the only legitimate imperial religion. "The Closing of the Western Mind" by Freeman tells how the spirit of enquiry that existed in the classical world was criminalised at that point. In 384 Theodosius prohibited haruspicy, the inspection of the entrails of sacrificed animals, on pain of death, and unlike earlier anti-pagan prohibitions, he made non-enforcement of the law, by Magistrates, into a crime itself. Priscillian was the first person in the history of Christianity to be executed for heresy in 385.

Constantine’s Sword by James Carroll tells how the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire changed Christianity to a religion of war and Jew hatred. Then followed a period of great violence as Christianity imposed its religion on most of Europe. With the exception of Ireland this was effected by bloodshed. eg. Charlemagne gave the pagan Gauls the choice between beheading and Christianity. Richard Fletcher wrote "The Conversion of Europe from Paganism to Christianity: 371-1386" describing that bloody process.

From Eighteenth Century Europe, page 233

"For the philosophes, Christianity had been an historical disaster, destroying a tradition of civilization in Greece and Rome that had sought to live by reason. In their view the Middle Ages were truly "the Dark Ages." It seemed to them a time when religious myth was the chief source of authority. Medieval learning was dominated by the church and was designed to lead people toward God, while medieval science and historiography were devoted to discovering God's purpose and interventions in the universe. The philosophes felt that it was essential to revitalize these areas of learning, to extrude myth from Western thought and direct it back to reality."

However, I do not call those Christians who are not burning people at the stake Christian-lite.

Dear David,

As I told Keith, blaming a 3rd-party is not an answer.
Many Chrisitians actually, distanced themselves from the Roman-Catholic church: it's true they don't call themselves "Christian-lite", but they use a variety of other names instead to convey that they no longer identify with the church which burned people at the stake.

Probably all religions leave a trail of blood at some stage or another, but what's more important is not the past, but future intentions. Islam has Jihad, and Judaism has the (clearly-human version of) Messiah.

One could possibly remain a real Jew if they drive on the Sabbath (that would merely render them a sinner), but just like "a Christian who does not believe in the Holy Spirit", not if one were to deny any of the basic 13 principles of Judaism - in this case, the faith in and hope for the Messiah arriving any moment, in real history and affecting the whole Middle-East.

Dear Yuyutsu,

Protestants also burned people at the stake. Calvin's Geneva, Massachusetts' Salem and many other Protestant groups murdered people for heresy, being a witch etc. One can distance oneself from the Catholic Church and still follow a Christian religion that has murdered people. Fundamentalist Christians are still murdering people at abortion clinics. Many Christians have an unfortunate tendency to resort to violence. Denis Rohan, an Australian Christian nut set fire to one of the most holy sites in Islam – the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Look up http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/features/rohan/

There is only one statement of faith in Judaism. "Hear, O, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Belief in a messiah is a matter of choice. None of the basic principles are an article of faith. In my Orthodox Jewish education I was never told the messiah was something we had to believe in. Christianity has a multiplicity of creeds that Christians of various denominations subscribe to. I doubt that many Jews in the world today believe in the messiah. My grandmother used to say "When the Messiah comes." By that she meant 'never'.

Future intentions are more important than what has happened in the past. One big reason that there is not peace in the Middle East is "Christians United for Israel." They support the most reactionary aggressive elements is Israeli politics and have poured money in that direction to elect them. In the last US election most of them supported McCain. 80% of American Jews voted for Obama. Look up CUFI on the net.

We have some joyous festivals. On December 11 we will meet to celebrate Chanukah. The last get together was a Scottish night. This will be a Russian night with potato pancakes, savoury meat, salad and doughnuts. There will be tea from the samovar, coffee and Russian punch along with songs and music. At Temple Shalom we are for peace.

Some warlike Jews have fought for Australia. General Monash led the Australian forces in WW1. General Chauvel led the Australian Light Horse at Beersheba. Read about it at http://www.lighthorse.org.au/histbatt/beersheba.htm.

Yuyutsu,

I really don't need you or anbody else to tell me whether I am a Jew or not.

I am a secular humanist with considerable knowledge of Jewish history in particular the history of World War2. It is this history, my heritage, my culture, the way I think and the way I feel that makes me a Jew

Dear David,

So you are a reform-Jew? that's obviously a form of Judaism-lite, trying to select out of Judaism only that which is lovely and humane. That is probably why you never learned about the 13 principles of Judaism, of which the Messiah is #12. I wonder whether your community still includes the prayers for the Messiah in their Siddur (and if so, why)?

Did you know that Real-Jews excommunicate people like you who do not expect the Messiah: See http://www.panix.com/~jjbaker/MadaT.html , Chapter 3, item 6?

(note that while the translation says "one that denies that there will be a Redemption", the original Hebrew says "one that denies the coming of the redeemer")

Probably not in Australia, but in Israel (and in Brooklyn) there is a vast number of Jews who totally believe in and hope for the Messiah to arrive. In fact, this is why they settle in the occupied territories, following Rabbi Kook's convoluted method which claims that settlement in all of Eretz-Yisrael hastens the coming of the Messiah.

I don't want to spoil your pancakes, go ahead and enjoy, but did you learn about the meaning of Chanukah? and the true story behind it? The official Jewish position is that there was a successful Jewish rebellion against the Greek because they forbade the observance of the Jewish commandments.
Other historical sources, however, indicate that in fact it was a civil-war, where fanatic-zealot Jews, despite being a minority, won and slaughtered the liberal/secular/humanist Jew-lites who adopted aspects of the Greek empire's life-style. I wouldn't like to celebrate that!

It seems that you (and most of your reform-community) identify with Judaism out of ignorance and habit.
It is no different in principle to siding with a football team, rain or shine, and passing it down the generations without even remembering why.

I am not saying that you should forsake Israel - on the contrary, but realize that Israel is currently held captive by the Jews (the Real-Jews), which bring it misery and shame. I suggest that if you want to fight for Israel, save it from the Jews first!