re: #6 Bob Levin

Most people in the world have never met a Jew, maybe one, maybe two. There aren’t that many of us to go around. And yet, many of those same people who have never met a Jew will feel some type of animosity towards Jews, because it is so easy to abstract or stereotype those people who you don’t know. (That is another full-time job for many people, creating or sustaining highly negative stereotypes about Jews).

Well, having lived in NYC and NJ access to Jews isn’t a problem, heh. Still, I’ve only had maybe 2-3 friendships that could be considered somewhat close.

Growing up, Jews & Israel simply weren’t on my radar at all. I remember my dad hated Arafat with a white hot passion, but other than that it wasn’t something we discussed aside from touching on the horrors of the Holocaust as my dad was a WW2 vet (South Pacific fighting the Japanese, not Europe). He occasionally mentioned people he knew who were Jewish, but it was just sort of in passing, i.e. I don’t recall it being said in a tone of approval or disapproval, it was more of a an ethnic identifier (we’re talking about the 1960’s through mid-1970’s here). I don’t think I ever hear my mom mention Jews except in relation to the Bible.

I remember seeing a synagogue or two, the (very) occasional Orthodox man or woman, and I was aware that there were a few kids in school who were Jewish…I can actually remember three to be exact—David in elementary school, Bernice in elementary & middle school, and Amanda also in elementary & middle school. That’s it. Looking back, I’m sure there must have been others, but if so, they were silent about it.

So what it gets down to, CL, is how are your interactions with Jews? Part of human psychology is generalizing. Maybe that is the real obstacle to peace in the world. You can’t meet all Jews, but you certainly can meet some Jews. You can talk to some Jews. That’s what it’s like to live in Israel, minus the intense baseline survival mode.

My real life interactions with Jews have been mostly positive. It wasn’t until I became Muslim in my late 20’s that the existence of Jews & Israel became something I was actively conscious of. Even then, I didn’t really pursue additional knowledge. Partly because I was busy learning how to be Muslim, and partly because there still weren’t a lot of people around me who were observably Jewish. When I arrived in NY/NJ things changed considerably as I had by then developed a basic working knowledge of Islam and figured out how to make it work in my life and still be “me”, you know?

Now there’s a shortcut through all of the politics, and I’m hoping we get to this point in our discussions. What we should be talking about, you and I, and possibly all religious Jews and Muslims, is trying to understand what Abraham knew about the world that no one else knew. In our terrible religious schools, they teach us that Abraham knew that there was one GD. This is ridiculous because all twenty generations before him, especially Noah, knew this too. So, spiritually, Abraham is still a mystery. And that is most unfortunate.

In order to properly have that discussion, think of everything we have to work through.…

Ah, yes, now we’re talking about the other bits I think…the stuff the mystics of all the traditions have been quietly trying to teach us since time immemorial. But in order to get to that place we have to get past ourselves first. Not an easy task, but definitely a noble effort to at least try. :)