Jewish smarts

Whatyall think of this?
http://www.slate.com/id/2177228/nav/tap3/

I see so much discussion out on the regular, secular bandwidth that I read about Jewish smarts. A lot of it is because may journalists and editors are Jewish, and they are interested in themselves. But still, it makes me feel funny. Too many people are thinking too hard about Jews for my comfort level it seems.

I still have Holocaust dreams. I expect many people do, especially Jews, when they are young and first find out about the terrible things that happened to the Jewish people in Europe halfway through the 20th century. I used to dream that it was happening again. Every once in a while I still have a dream like that, and I'm sure that somewhere deep in my subconscious, I fully believe that "Never Again" is only a hope and a prayer. So when people start talking about things like Jewish smarts, it makes me feel uncomfortable.

I think that I partly moved to Israel for this reason. I don't want to live anywhere but our own country, and can trust no one by my own Jewish brothers to defend me and my family. On the other hand, one of the first things we did when Eden was born was go and get her US passport. And I hold on to our US passports tight. Because I know that if Israel was ever under nuclear attack, I do not know what I would do and if I would have the courage to stay. I may indeed feel the need to take a trip back to the states, for a little while.

A while ago, I had a discussion with friends about tattoos. Never mind the halachic aspects, I don't like the idea of anything permanent on my body that God did not put there. (OK, OK I put the cake and cookies on my hips, but hopefully that's not permanent.) The idea of a Jewish looking tattoo came up - I mean what could be wrong with that? What a great idea, identify yourself permanently with your the Jewish people.

I did not like the idea. It made me so nervous - what if you got trapped behind enemy borders? What if you had to pass as Aryan? Or Arab? Or anything, anything but Jewish. But you had this great Jewish star on your shoulder, or your elbow, or hip, or of all things on your chest. In yellow. How many gays get a pink triangle tattoo?

This coming from me, who dreamed about living out on a hilltop in a caravan, with a strong and swarthy Jewish husband with a gun sitting outside my door. Or it would be both of us sitting outside that door with guns, protecting our babies inside. Whose first glimpse of her husband was a picture of him in uniform, holding his M16. It was love at first sight.

I'd like to think that if push came to shove, I'd be stronger than this. But really, I don't like to think about it at all. Which is why Jewish star tattoos and articles about Jewish smarts give me the heebeejeebees. Just being honest here.