Some in Israel are concerned by increasing religious Zionism

There is something quite pretentious about Desmond Fitzgerald’s description, (Letters July 7), of Israel as a “...successful, vibrant, progressive and equal state...” as, and not forgetting the billions of dollars of subventions from the US, the commentary from within Israel is somewhat different.

For example, Israel’s leading newspaper, Haaretz, has written that the Israeli military and its commanders “..have become more and more religious Zionist.”

This increasing sectarianism within Israel is also seen, says Haaretz, in a “..nationalistic and religious..” education system, while the laws and the courts have also “..become more religious Zionist.”

Haaretz’s most recent call for a Jewish “..cultural revolution in Israel..” would appear to be needed for the very survival of a Jewish state.

However, Israeli academics, like Prof Shlomo Sand, believe that religious Zionism cannot sustain a viable state, and many of its citizens agree, as Israeli surveys show that 70% of Israelis had approached, or intended to approach, a foreign embassy for citizenship and passport.

A US intelligence report, in 2012, said that Israel is like South Africa was in the 1980s, and also in 2012 the New York Post reported Henry Kissinger as saying that there would be no more Israel in 10 years.

Whatever about his timescale, if negotiations for Palestinian statehood fail, Israel will be forced to absorb five million more Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, forever ending its Jewish majority, and thus bringing about a single state by default.

Indeed, Prof Sand sees the unitary state coming and has said he then wants to be seen as a Hebrew-speaking Palestinian.

Charlie Murphy

Ludford Road

Dundrum

Dublin16