Jews by Choice: Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli: In the 19th century, some European countries were prepared to integrate their Jewish citizens on condition they obliterate their Jewishness. Baptism became a path toward acceptance by the majority. Thats how Karl Marx, Benjamin Disraeli and many other Jews became nominal Christians. Of course, the rabid racism of the Nazis proved such efforts tragically futile. Being as good as a Christian wasnt good enough for them, according to The Star. In recent decades, being Jewish has become more acceptable, especially in North America. Some descendants of European immigrants who had hidden their origins and hadnt even told their children they were Jews acknowledged their roots when they discovered the truth. Madeleine Albright, the former U.S. secretary of state, is one of them. Perhaps they should be called Jews by surprise to differentiate them from Jews by birth and Jews by choice and I get occasional compliments of the kind, You re as good as a Christian. Its often well-meant but never well-received. I have the highest regard for Christianity, but I m a Jew and I bristle at the confusion between equality and sameness, whether unconscious or deliberate. When people praise me for being like them, they re praising themselves. I want to have equal rights even though I choose to be different. In the Holocaust, some Jews were helped by Christians to conceal their identity as a way of saving themselves from the gas chambers. Occasionally, families, monasteries and similar institutions provided shelter. After the Second World War, most returned to Judaism, sometimes having to overcome Christian disappointment, even resistance. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.