>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Seth Kulick" <skulick at seas.upenn.edu>
>-What other country is so concerned, in such a respectable
>-way, with the "demographic problem"? It's just another way of saying that
>a
>-certain segment of the population breeds too fast, as Edward Said once
>-characterized Peace Now's position.
>
>What other countries? Most of Europe worrying about birthrates by north
>africans and other immigrants, the US worried about latinos, and a whole
>range of other countries. There's absolutely nothing strange about Jews in
>Israel worried that they'll lose their essential national characteristics to
>demographic changes.
>
>-I spent many years in New Jewish Agenda in the 80s, in which friends who
>-were active in the Middle East work repeated slogans about wanting a
>-"democratic Jewish state". I look back in some kind of amazement at how
>-long it took before it dawned on me that that made no sense at all. Or
>about
>-as much as a "democratic white/black/Christian/Islamic/whatever" state.
>
>Very true. Just as much sense as India electing a party like the BJP
>worried about losing the essential Hinduness of that country, or Arab
>countries that import Indians to do most of the work but would never think
>of letting them have citizenship. Governments all over the world are
>incredibly conscious of demographics and the relation of population to
>national identity.
>
>In the ideal, I'm against all borders, but given the reality of them, why
>are Jewish borders so much more suspect than every other nationalities? I
>condemn Israel's occupation of its territorities, but understand their
>nationalism as much as the Kurds in Iraq who really want their own country
>have centuries of living under the yoke of other groups.
Nathan, the counter-examples you point to range from the alarming to the repulsive. Calling India essentially Hindu would be a very controversial position for lots of Indians. And I do wonder how the BJP would react to Hindus migrating to India from other countries and claiming a piece of their essential Hinduness, whatever that is.
Doug