To support or not to support

Regarding “Defining a nation” (October 5), it seems to me that the connection made between the way the Jewish nation is defined and the fact that Diaspora Jews have to celebrate festivals four days a year more than their Israeli brothers do is reductive.

First, many Jews don’t define themselves as per the festival days, whether in Israel or in Diaspora, and this does not make them less Jewish.

Second, the Jewish Diaspora is much more than only American Jewry. The gap between “Israel and the Diaspora” is in fact only a gap between “Israel and the American Jews.” Even though the second festival day is celebrated by religious Jews all over the world, it does not change the way they feel toward Israel.

Third, many Reform congregations have decided to cancel this second festival day and it didn’t reduce the gap between them and Israel… maybe quite the opposite.

The gap between the Diaspora and Israel is under the control of the Jews who decide to remain there. Any Diaspora Jew can decide by himself how close he wants to be to Israel and how much he wants to belong to this people whose gravity center moves increasingly toward Israel. If he is not happy with the way Israel turns, he can become an Israeli citizen literally overnight and be part of this vibrant democracy.

Until then, his choice is reduced to supporting Israel as it is, or not supporting. That is the Jewish Shakespearean question. LAURENT CUDKOWICZ Jerusalem