ON A REGULAR BASIS, the military theocracy which governs Israel hosts a gathering of prominent world citizens, including academicians and renowned intellectuals, for the presumed purpose of expounding the virtues of the military theocracy of the nation-state of Israel.
The world's most distinguished scientist, Stephen Hawking, decided to boycott this year's event, in protest of israel's continuing occupation of palestinian land which was conquered during the 1967 war, and the refusal of israel to permit the establishment of a palestinian homeland.
Wailing and gnashing of teeth, expressions of righteous outrage and indignation could be heard from tel aviv to the hallowed halls of cambridge university. Hawking has been accused of everything from anti-semitism to harboring scandalous political philosophies. Hawking himself seems unfazed.
It is not uncommon for liberal intellectuals to question the policies of conservative israeli regimes, just as it is not uncommon for conservative israeli governments to treat palestinian uprisings demanding a homeland with brutal harshness.
However, at least one young hasidic rabbi has posited the interesting notion that judaism is a religion, but neither a nation state, a military power, nor a political philosophy. Shocking revelation. Sometimes conservatives engender workable ideas.
But not always. Albert Einstein was invited to assume the presidency of the newly proclaimed state of israel in the late nineteen forties. He had the good sense to point out that his experience was in theoretical physics, rather than government administration.
Chalk another one up for the power of science to refrain from indulging a potentially disastrous mixing of science and sacred scripture based suzerainty, or, as T.S. Eliot said, memory and desire.
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