I found obi's explanation of his affinity for Israel very interesting, a little confusing, and a bit sad. As a person who has never felt particularly strong family, tribal, or national feelings, I find the entire idea of favoring one group of people over another based upon their address, their birthplace, or their DNA a little strange. And I think such tribalism, nationalism, and jingoism is at the root of a lot of awfulness in the world, along with some nice things. So to hear an American Jew express any greater affection for Israel than, say, Poland or Russia is strange to me. Furthermore, I find it interesting that obi refers to Israel as a Jewish state, with Jewish soldiers, etc., when there are in fact a fair number of non-ethnically Jewish and non-religiously Jewish citizens of the state, however "apart" they must feel in their own country, even Arab IDF troops. If Israel and its supporters want to continue to frame criticism of the actions of the Israeli government as evidence of anti-Semitism, then perhaps they should cast aside any pretense of being a liberal, secular state, strip non-Jews of their citizenship, and at least get rid of one obvious counter to that oft-repeated claim.
But mostly, I just wish people would stop saluting colorful rags or, worse, using them as blindfolds to keep from seeing some of the horrible things done in their name.
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