In an article exploring the meaning of the fast day of Asarah B’Tevet, Connor Wahrman asserts that the day serves as a warning, reminding the Jewish people against being assimilated into the types of foreign cultures that have turned against them in the past. He cites Jewish betrayal by the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Spanish, and, more recently, the Germans. This, he argues, is grounds to be wary of our American homeland. We should be “calling ourselves Jewish,” he says, instead of American. “Pledging ourselves to Israel,” rather than to the United States.
I vehemently disagree.
In recounting tales of Jewish suffering like the Babylonian exile, the Torah does not warn against assimilation; it warns against deviation from the morals and values expected of the Jewish people. The Jews had taken to idolatry and sin, even within their own enclave of Jerusalem, when Nebuchadnezzar moved against them. God punished the Jews from turning from their own culture, not for integrating into another.
It is important to note that becoming part of another culture and retaining one’s own are not mutually exclusive. I would argue that rather than being a weakness, the ability to incorporate is the greatest strength of the Jews. The Jews at the time of the Chanukah story would never have coexisted so well with the Greeks if they had not adopted Greek ways. The Greek aggression itself was, incidentally, a result of greed, not anti-Semitism. Failing to be assimilated certainly would not have helped the Jews. Are you more likely to oblige a polite or a stubborn child?
In modern times, our ability to mesh with society is even more evident. Jews hold prominent positions in government, law, finance and science. We have more Nobel laureates per capita than any other ethnic group.
Contrast our position with that of certain groups of Muslims, for example. In Europe and America, the Islamic population is singled out and distinguished from the rest of society far more often than are the Jews. This is wholly unjust and often is to the detriment of the entire society. Why are Muslims singled out when Jews are not? Especially in Europe, Muslims are much less willing to incorporate into surrounding society, preferring separate neighborhoods, self-enforced enclaves that have in some nations become analogous to the ghettos that Jews only populated when forced. By no means does this apply to all Muslims, but it does highlight the importance of adaptation.
The Jews have proven, by integrating many times over and remaining Jewish, our ability to retain our culture and ethics even when adopting aspects of others. Because it is so prominent in the conclusion of the article to which I respond, I will use the Jewish-American experience as a case study. Founded on ideals of political and religious freedom, America should not fall prey to the same sentiments and policies that Spain and Germany did before it. The mindsets that bore the Inquisition, the pogroms, and the dreaded Nazi camps were forged among homogeneous populations, societies in which virtually everyone was the same save for the Jews. The United States, by contrast, is a melting pot, seasoned with a healthy sprinkling of Cohens, Greenbaums and Blumes. The United States is the only country in history to treat the Jews as well as it does. Do we really want to say that this country and culture, the one that has given us greater opportunity than any other, the one to which we have arguably contributed more than any other, is debasing? No one else would treat the Jews so well, assimilated or not.
I am Jewish, and I am also an American. One does not prohibit the other. I celebrate Thanksgiving and Yom Kippur. Is that wrong? Does my reverence on Veteran’s Day detract from my reverence on Yom Ha’Shoa? Absolutely not. I was born in America, raised in America, educated in an American public school alongside WASPs, Catholics, Asians, blacks, Latinos and other Jews. I would not pledge myself to Israel over my own nation any more than my black friends should pledge themselves to Lesotho or the Ivory Coast.
I must also address the argument that because there is a risk of the US betraying us, we must turn to Israel now for safety. If there were a worldwide spike in anti-Semitism, do not think for one moment that Jews would be safer in Israel than in the United States. A country surrounded by hostile nations with unstable governments, terrorist groups and unsecured nuclear warheads is not a good place to concentrate an endangered population.
An additional note on Israel. Please recall that it is not just an idea. It is a foreign country, a state with its own politics and agenda. In any event, support of the U.S. does not preclude support of Israel. If we must turn to Israel as an example, though, please understand that they actually provide an example of assimilation and integration. Israel is a participant in world politics and society. An overwhelming majority of the population speaks English and wears Western clothes. Many are less religious than their American counterparts. If anyone has “forgotten” their religious roots, it would seem that it is these Israelis. Since they clearly have not lost sight of their culture and moral tradition, there is no reason to believe that American Jews have.
Finally, let us not be so elitist and rash as to call America “debasing.” America places emphasis on public and private education, liberty, equality, and moral character. Do the vulgar words of rap stars mean that America as a whole fosters immorality and an abandonment of ideals, Jewish or otherwise? The answer is an emphatic no. The culture as a whole is overwhelmingly positive, just as the Israeli culture is a peaceful one despite its somewhat aggressive and sometimes immoral policies.
It would be of little value for me to simply refute Connor’s article and contribute nothing else, so I submit my own interpretation of Asarah B’Tevet. It is a day to remember the resilience of our people. With the perspective granted by history, we know that despite the horrors of exile, the Jews eventually returned to Jerusalem. Despite setbacks, major or minor, we can always adapt. This day, rather than showing us that we should distance ourselves from the rest of the world, illustrates clearly why we should join together. Just as Jews recovered from the Babylonian Exile, the Greek onslaught, the Inquisition, the pogroms, the Holocaust and countless other manifestations of hatred throughout time, we as humans can recover from the challenges we face. From World Wars to the Great Recession from which we are still struggling to emerge, the world population including the Jews has been and must be united.
Joe Margolies, is a junior at Nicolet High School.
The above article is a student opinion piece and does not represent the views of the Coalition for Jewish Learning or of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Students with opposing viewpoints are invited to leave a comment or write a rejoinder for publication on this website (email JoAnne for more information). The Telling Our Stories website pays for student contributions.
The Coalition for Jewish Learning is the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
