I write in response to Greg Berces’ well written My Turn piece. Mr. Berces makes a very convincing argument, based on his reading of Jewish sacred text, that Jerusalem is the rightful capital of Israel.
Unfortunately Mr. Berces’ argument suffers from a fundamental flaw. The belief in any religion and its sacred texts and interpretations is based on faith. As any dictionary tells us, faith is not subject to proof.
I believe that we humans need to care for our spiritual needs as each of us sees fit. This may involve any religion or no religion at all. Each of us may choose a spiritual path; this is an intensely personal choice. But remember, faith is not subject to proof; we cannot expect anybody else to believe as we do, because we have no independent proof that we are right.
Our nation’s founders understood this all too well. The Europe from which they came was wracked by religious wars. Thus the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The expectation that all people in a country must believe in the same religion is a perversion of the human spirit.
Mr. Berces believes in his interpretation of Judaism. Would he be happy having to accept the tenets of Buddhism, Christianity, atheism or any other faith system? I think not. I hope that I have shown that democratic governments cannot be driven by any particular religious belief. How then shall it be decided whether or not Jerusalem is the capital of Israel? It is up to the parties involved to learn how to make peace and then decide the matter among themselves.
Obviously this is not an easy task, but peace can never be accomplished if one particular belief system is shoved down the throats of the parties to the conflict.
Stanley Bernstein
Greenfield