Mea Culpa
I have been taken to task several times for a sentence that I wrote a few entries back: “Jews have a right to live wherever they want.” My critics are correct. The sentence was inartfully phrased.
As I later explained, what I meant was that religion (or for that matter, race or ethnicity) should never be a disqualifying characteristic in determining where or whether people may live. No one should ever be evicted for being Jewish, any more than anyone should ever be evicted for being Black, Muslim, Chinese, White, or Arab. No zone should ever be declared off-limits to Jews, nor should any zone be declared off-limits to Muslims, Christains, Hindus, Buddhists, or Atheists. I was responding to the widespread sentiment that Jews had no right to live in Gaza. Few (if any) sources ever stated this view in terms of either citizenship or policy preferences; invariably, it came out as ethnicity and rights. As a liberal, I am shocked at the casual racism that seems acceptable only when applied to Jews. As a Jewish American, I take it somewhat personally--despite my own lack of desire to live in Gaza and my belief that Jews who choose to do so are unwise. My response may have leaned too far in the opposite direction. To the extent that my poor choice of words suggested that I meant more than I did, I apologize and hereby retract all implications that I never meant to make. Mea culpa.
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