Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Zionism: An Appreciation and Criticism
Dr Gaster's statement in the chapter on Judaism, a National Religion, ' in Zionism and the jewish Future, is illogical. 'no one can be a Jew who does not belong to the Jewish faith, and he who belongs to the Jewish faith belongs to the Jewish nation. A Jew who changes his faith is torn up by the roots. There is no longer any connexion between him and other Jews. He has practically died. This is the common ground on which Jews are united. There may be degrees in the strength and quality of the faith which each one acknowledges as binding on him. But we have no inquisition. As long as a Jew has not publicly renounced his faith and embraced another, he belongs to the Jewish nation. It is of extreme importance to realize that this alone constitutes a Jew - that the nationality of the Jew depends on his faith; for Judaism is a national religion (p. The moment a Jew has forsworn his faith he has lost everything that is Jewish. A Christian can change his faith, and yet remain a member of the nation. A Protestant English man can become a Roman Catholic, and still remain an English man and so with every other nation. Not so with the Jews (p. It is impossible to speak of degrees and quality of the faith in one who professes atheism and attacks all religion, Judaism included. And yet such a man has no difficulty in becoming a member of the Zionist organization, and in being recognized as a Jew and one of the nation.
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