Intermarriage and Anti-semitism

 What can inter-marriage and anti-Semitism have in common. After all non-Jewish persons who marry Jews are not usually candidates to be branded anti-Semitic. I have read many articles about the perfidy of Jews, and most are of no value in any way, no matter how much leeway is given to stretching the truth, but one insight of the anti-Semite does make sense.  It concerns the charge by anti-Semites of the exclusiveness of the Jews.  Measure that word “exclusiveness” very carefully.  I believe Jews, most of whom are especially sensitive to the charge, treat non-Jews as fairly as can be expected  under normal circumstances.  But as I look at my own life carefully over the years, my closest friends are fellow Jews.  Jews I met at school, in the Jewish neighbourhoods in which I lived or at university.  As far as living in a Jewish section of the city,  that is no different than the Greeks or Italians.  Why are my closest friends Jews?  I have thought about this situation at length but I have no answer.  It appears to be the same for my contemporaries.  However my children and grandchildren have many more friends of all faiths and origins probably due to the fact that where Jews now live, the neighborhoods are more diverse.  Intermarriage is on the rise, a problem for many Jews.

Intermarriage has to be addressed on its own merits.  Throughout our history, our people, it would be correct to say,  preferred to marry our own.  When you count that we are only 15 million it seems to make sense.  Or does it?  In recent months I am looking at intermarriage differently.  I was shocked to see the extent of anti-Semitism in Europe, the home of the holocaust. Nothing has changed in Europe.  With only 15 million world-wide, “JEWS NEED ALLIES”.  People who know and respect us. I still prefer Jews to marry within the faith, but if two individuals, one of whom is  Jewish, fall in love and want to marry, take advantage of a relationship that cannot be changed, and make the non-Jew welcome in Judaism.  Remember, the non-Jew has relatives and friends who will have the opportunity to see Jews at close range. Many non-Jews who admit to  being anti-Semites, have never even met a Jew. Welcoming the non-Jewish partner can lead to a conversion, and the children being brought up Jewish. We have to add to our supporters any way we can, and while not necessarily the desired way, it can work, as it has in the past.

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