Are you an extremist??? - Take-Home Test

Last week, after having been labeled as possibly being both controversial and extreme, I decided to write a post listing 10 of my beliefs relating to Israel and the Jewish People, which I then I left open to my readers to decide if in their eyes I was in fact extreme and controversial, or just a proud, idealistic Jew.

Well, it turns out that David Kimche of the Jerusalem Post was able to answer the question for me, without ever having visited my blog:

There was a time when wearing a kippa did not automatically suggest you belong to the extreme right wing of Israel's political spectrum. There was a time when being Orthodox did not suggest fanatical opposition to peace with our neighbors.

David Kimche establishes for us crystal clear criteria to determine if you are, in fact, an Israeli (Jewish) right-wing extremist:

1) You wear a kippa (most likely a knitted one).

2) You are an Orthodox Jew.

One can only assume that according to Kimche, a moderate, mainstream Jew in Israel is one who is secular, rejects the G-d of Israel and His teachings (Written & Oral Law), is in favor of making concessions (a.k.a: retreating) before those who seek the destruction of the Jewish State, and has no problem with expelling Jews from their homes.

I'm personally grateful to Kimche for clarifying that I am in fact an extremist. My only regret is at my not having realized from the start that the definition of who is an extremist would end up being a purely subjective and superficial one.

Instead of having taken the time to try and thoughtfully articulate my beliefs about the Jewish People and the Jewish State, all I really needed to do was look in the mirror.

Israel
Zionism
Judaism