Diaspora Jews keep making the same mistake

Herzl would recognise all too well the tragic fantasy of assimilation

Theodor Herzl, 1897

A perverse feature of the Jewish people is that they make one particular mistake over and over again. They are persecuted; they frantically try to assimilate into their host community in the belief that this will avert future persecution; they are persecuted again; they frantically assimilate again.

This week saw the publication of the…