EJ,

There are more Israelis born in Israel than Palestinians.

Dear David,

If the Israeli diplomats who happily paid for Pollard's information were that innocent, why have they fled back to Israel the moment Pollard was suspected? And the payment for the information - did it come from their own pockets or from the government of Israel?

I wish you and your family much happiness together.
Relating and living together is often not easy, but should be commended so long as it is entered into voluntary.

Dear Yuyutsu,

When did I maintain that the Israeli diplomats that connected with Pollard were innocent? In a post dated Sunday, 1 January 2017 5:58:35 AM I wrote "If Israel had been a proper ally they would have informed the US when Pollard offered to spy for them. The US would have sacked Pollard, and he could have gone to Israel." The diplomats were out of reach of US law, but Pollard wasn't.

Small enclaves can demand more conformity and obedience to authority than metastates. An Amish community and an ultra-orthodox Jewish community can live within the US and to a large extent maintain its autonomy and ideals. I have read material written by former members of such communities who found the experience of leaving the community and living in the wider society most liberating.

A Bildungsroman is a story of the growing up of a sensitive person who looks for answers to his questions through different experiences. Generally, such a novel starts with a loss or a tragedy that disturbs the main character emotionally. He or she leaves on a journey to fill that vacuum.

During the journey, the protagonist gains maturity gradually and with difficulty. Usually, the plot depicts a conflict between the protagonist and the values of society. Finally, he or she accepts those values and they are accepted by the society, ending the dissatisfaction. Such a type of novel is also known as a coming-of-age novel.

Those novels often incorporate the journey of the young seeker from a small town to a big city. They rarely if ever go the other way.

Shadow Minister: "There are more Israelis born in Israel than Palestinians."

And they have every right by birth to live there. As equal individuals along with the rest of the people born in Palestine, together with the involuntary Palestinian exiles from the invasion (Naqba) and their families who wish to return home.

There were also a number of ethnic Jews there before the Naqba. One of them (now deceased) was a good friend of mine. His opinion of the terrorists who established Israel, and of their racist state, was one of deadly hostility matching that of the Hamas Resistance movement though he didn't share their Islamic cult.

EJ,

Are you referring to the Arab invasion of Israel in 1948, 1967, or 1973?

Dear David,

Some of the groups that require the highest conformity and obedience also produce the greatest satisfaction to their members. Take a choir or an orchestra for example: you are even told when to breathe and when not to, but if you identify with the group's purpose then you are happy and it doesn't upset you in the least.

It is clearly a liberating experience for people to leave a community where they feel that they do not fit - just as it is for people who fit to remain.

Look at the tragedy of the Scots: had Scotland been independent from England, then they wouldn't be forced to leave the EU where they feel good, whatever be their reason.

«Finally, he or she accepts those values and they are accepted by the society, ending the dissatisfaction.»

So "1984" is a Bildungsroman? It ends with:

”But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother”