Views on the News 5.3.21

Five Jews, six opinions. 

I read the news that interests me. Even the news I engage with, has intricacies way above my attention span and responsibility. However, everyone is entitled to my opinion and I welcome yours in the comments below (which will be moderated). 

1. Do we trust Joe Biden?

I'm going to be brave here and say that I honestly didn't care about the results of the US elections. All my friends in the US, Israel, and in the UK were congratulating each other and breathing a huge sigh of communal relief when Trump lost. He wasn't very eloquent and often sounded like a bumbling idiot. There were also serious aspersions about his character and some very worrying accusations. 

On the other hand, I'm sitting in the Middle East where four more Arab countries have made peace agreements with Israel, to add to the cold peace we already have with Jordan and Egypt. This is the nearest we have been to peace in the Middle East since, well since ever. 

Meanwhile there are reports about Biden's cognitive health which, I admit could all be propoganda from the opposition - I wouldn't know. I do know that the first international action he's taken in office is to bomb Syria. At least Trump kept America out of any wars for four years.  

2. The Meghan Markle Debarkle (mispelling intended).

Enough has been said across the board about Harry and Meghan, the as yet unseen Oprah interview, the accusations of bullying, the strangely fluid definition of words such as privacy, compassion, service, and victimhood. I am left wondering only one thing. How did a woman with such privilege, wealth, beauty, connections, and eloquence (you have to admit that she makes a very impressive word salad), and with aspirations to follow her late mother-in-law's dream of being the Princess of People's Hearts, turn herself into one of the most hated women in the world in the space of three and half years (since the engagement)? There has to be some serious delusion and inability to understand human nature to pull this off. 

3. Brexit Turned Out Handy. 

Whether you were Remain or Brexit before 2021, you have to admit that the UK's independent political status has behoved it regarding the speedy and efficient vaccination of its citizens. Whilst Europe is mired in delays, misinformation, and bureaucracy, the UK is well on the way to being optimally vaccinated with a plan to be back to normal (within it's borders) by the summer.  

4. Define Ethnicity.

A great debate broke loose in the UK last week as to whether Jews are an ethnic minority or not. Imo, ethnicity cannot be accurately defined in a way appropriate to all minorities. There are so many questions. The main one being whether ethnicity is about culture or biology. 

You can convert to Judaism but you can't convert to being Black. Are all Black people of one ethnic group anyway? Are the Pygmies of the Congo Basin the same ethnicity as the Masai of Kenya and Tanzania? That seems a bit racist to me as they are only grouped together is because of skin colour. And yet all people of European descent are called White when, for example, the swarthy Greek bares no resemblence in skin colour to the red-headed (and often pastey skinned) Celt. And what does Asian mean when it covers everyone from China, through India, to Arabia? 

So is it a cultural definition, including religion and/or way of life? What difference what God you believe in, if any? Growing up in London, I had more culture in common with my Indian and Black classmates than I woud have had with rural sheep farmers in Yorkshire. Or, with the few Jews left in places like India, Afghanistan and Morroco. 

I understand that ethnic intelligence is designed to help minority groups by providing for their needs in the places they live, and also to guard against discrimination. However, maybe we should stop labeling people according to race or ethnicity and just ask, when it's appropriate, which cultural groups they affiliate with. This would be a matter of choice, open to more than one option, and fluid.