"New Israel" , a not so modest proposal

[wnylib]

132. There are a few problems with that.

One is that Judaism is not only a religion. It is an ethnicity. That merging of religion with ethnicity is a characteristic of many tribal societies and the identity of being Jewish/Hebrew/Israeli evolved first as a tribal society. The religious rules, customs, and ways of relating to the world around them (natural and man made) give the people a cultural identity. You are Jewish, in both religious and ethnic identity, if your mother is Jewish. When establishing a nation for themselves, it appears that the ethnic definition transferred to what it meant to be Israeli.
It's possible to convert to Judaism, but the accepted path to conversion can differ between sects within Judaism.

Second, there ARE non Jews who are Israeli citizens. Some are Christian. Some are Muslim. Or some other religion. Some are atheists. (Side note: Since Judaism is an ethnicity as well as a religion, you can be both Jewish and an atheist.) Some Muslim Arabs stayed in Israel when it became a nation. They are a minority, but they are there.

Multiple identities and religions pose a unique problem for Israelis. The nation was founded as a safe haven for Jews. Centuries of persecution, forced conversions, and attempts to end Judaism through assimilation, culminating in the Holocaust, made it necessary to have a place all their own. If Israel admits into citizenship too many people who are not ethnically Jewish, they could become a minority in their own country. If that happens, they will no longer have a safe haven for themselves. Imagine if Christians or Muslim Arabs had enough votes to place some restrictions on Jewish holidays, kosher restaurants, building new synagogues, etc. It could happen. Christians could complain that Jewish holiday celebrations interfere with their business operations. Or, that they want less kosher restaurants and more non kosher to serve their own choices of menu. So, with enough votes, they restrict the number of licenses for kosher restaurants. They might want more non Jews admitted as immigrants and complain that making Jews automatically eligible for citizenship discriminates against Christians and Muslims. Eventually, the safe haven is gone. Resentments of Jewish culture grow and lead to Jews becoming a minority and facing anti Semitism in Israel.