My letter was published by the NYTimes! Link below (second one down). It reads: Dara Horn’s clever meditation on Jewish memory, while a delight to read, leaves the impression that Jews are distinct in their piety to history. This is nonsense. Religious holidays mark alleged historical events from Easter to Ramadan as much as Jews “stand again at Sinai.” Such commemoration cuts both ways. Serbian nationalists evoke centuries-old battles against the Turks to justify hostilities against Muslims, and Protestants march in Northern Ireland to commemorate victories over Catholics. A variety of religious communities are urged not to forget in order to justify present political decisions. Jews today fret about the pogroms of Passovers past, but Orthodox West Bank settlers also reimagine Palestinians as enemies from the biblical Amalek to Nazis. “Preserving” memory — often through misremembering — can be as dangerous as it can be pious.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 13:45:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015