Norman Finkelstein - Political scientist - BBC HARDtalk, May 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 9:03AM Gilad Atzmon Introduction by Gilad Atzmon:
According to Norman Finkelstein, American Jews fall out of love with Israel? In this BBC Hardtalk exchange he argues that they are now so unhappy with what Israel is doing that they want to distance them from the country.
But is Finkelstein telling the truth here? I think that he is dead wrong! Diaspora Jews are actually more attached to their tribal identity than ever. For the time being, Israel is the one and only Jewish secular symbolic identifier (culturally, spiritually and nationally). Even the so-called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists identify collectively with Israel by the means of negation. Israel is at the heart of the Jewish collective universe. Most Jews feel strong affinity towards the 'Jewish State' and just a very few claim to oppose it.
I would argue that for Jews to move away from Israel or Zionism a new Jerusalem is needed, I don’t see it happening voluntarily.
The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics
The book can be ordered on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
