Dr Pipes could you please explain?

Submitted by Durendal (Netherlands), Dec 2, 2007 at 11:10

What makes a state Jewish? And what would not make it one? Is it language , religion, or ethnicity, that decides what makes one Jewish and therefore allowed to reside in Israel? Does what makes one Jewish change? These concepts are debated in Europe as politicians try to establish what for example qualifies a person to be German or French or Dutch. And i wonder if you have the correct formula to recognise and determine what makes a person one of these things.What sort of parameters should one take into account to accurately describe a person being Jewish,Dutch,French,or German?

So far people seem to come up with ..certain cultural traits, language being a major one but even here..language is not set into stone and even this changes over time.Or do you feel that it is irrelevent what makes a person Jewish,Dutch German etc as long as they consider themselves as such?

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