As Father Jack would call it. I went to a christening on Sunday in a Roman Catholic Church. One of the godmothers was Jewish. Seeing that neither of the child's parents was RC of a kind that Benedict XVI would find acceptable, it didn't seem to matter.
Over refreshments in the local public hall, I half-apologized to the said godmother for not wearing my pro-Israel badge. Actually I don't have one, but if I did I would wear it with conviction. She was dumbfounded, and incredibly, even embarrassingly, grateful for my support. I told her I'd feel the same way about any small liberal democracy seeking to defend itself against violently hostile neighbours.
She was appalled at the ignorance and prejudice of so many British people who blamed Israel for the recent conflict, and described the sinking feeling she usually got when meeting friends who verbally abused her homeland without regard for her own patriotic feelings.
It must have been like the feeling I had minutes later when she expressed her disgust at lesbian sexuality. I am the father of a daughter who counts herself a member of that sisterhood.
One thing I really envy about followers of Judaism is that they have a religion that ends in 'ISH'. Now that I like. It's so nicely vague. Jew-ish. It makes me want to come out as christ-ish, social-ish, anarch-ish, individual-ish, human-ish. Great idea!
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