Minority Status

Belonging to the majority and not being a minority makes a huge difference in how you see the world. I have thinking about this recently for two reasons: I just read Alexandra Fuller’s book "Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight", the story of a white girl growing up in Rhodesia and other southern African countries. I’m also heading to Israel this week, where as a Jew I will have that rare experience of being in the majority.

Alexandra Fuller did not belong to the privileged white class that existed pre-Apartheid, but rather her family were more like the red-necks you might encounter in the southern US, those individuals that just barely survive on subsistence living and often experience abuse and alcoholism. The fact that she survived such an upbringing and wrote a best-selling novel about it is somewhat miraculous. What is even more miraculous is her undying love for the African continent despite the conditions of her early life there. Interestingly, she doesn’t dwell on the implications of her minority status, although it is quite apparent that their minority standing often worked against her family.

As a Jew, I am in one of the smallest religious factions in the world. The difference in this country is that I don’t wear a yellow star or any other identifying information that lets the world know that I am Jewish. Being in a religious minority in the US only becomes important when general laws threaten to impinge on your religious freedom or when vandals target a synagogue or a group of people who are more obviously Jewish, like the Chassidim.

But my minority status will change for 10 days on Wednesday as we travel to Israel. There I will be able to look around and know that most of the people who are not in domestic jobs are Jewish just like I am. I will find out what it is like trying to protect the Jewish majority in Israel from the terrorists that view the narrow country of Israel from all its borders in anticipation of a chance to attack. But inside Israel I will feel safe and happy to experience majority status.

The real irony is that in Israel I would not even "officially" be recognized as Jewish because of my Reform conversion. How confusing is that?

If nothing else, being a minority makes you aware of any limitations that are placed on you and makes you recognize the circumstances of your minority status – whether you are there by birth or by choice.