Shlomo Sand, The Invention of the Jewish People - Rafapal

INTRODUCTION 5
"In Barcelona."
"Then we'll write 'nationality: Spanish.' "
"But I'm not Spanish. I'm a Catalan, and I refuse to be categorized as
Spanish. That's what my father and I fought about in the 1930s."
The official scratched his head. He knew no history, but he did respect
people. "So we'll put 'nationality: Catalan.' "
"Very good!" said Dov.
Thus Israel became the first country in the world to officially recognize the
Catalan nationality.
"Now, sir, what is your religion?"
"I'm a secular atheist."
"I can't write 'atheist.' The State of Israel does not recognize such a category.
What was your mother's religion?"
"The last time I saw her, she was still a Catholic."
"Then I shall write 'religion: Christian,' " the official said, relieved.
But Dov, normally a calm man, was growing impatient. "I won't carry an
identity card that says I'm a Christian. It's not only opposed to my principles; it
offends the memory of my father, who was an anarchist and set fire to churches
in the Civil War."
The official scratched his head some more, weighed the options, and found
a solution. Dov left the ministry office with a blue identity card that declared
both his nationality and his religion to be Catalan.
Over the years, Dov took pains not to let his national and religious identity
adversely affect his daughters. He knew that Israeli schoolteachers often
referred to "us Jews," despite the fact that some of their pupils, or the pupils'
parents, might not be among that group. Since Dov was antireligious, and his
wife was opposed to his being circumcised, conversion to Judaism was not on
the cards. At some point he searched for some imaginary link to the Marranos
(forced converts) of Spain. But when his daughters grew up and assured him
that his being a non-Jew did not trouble them, he abandoned the search.
Fortunately for him, the graveyards of kibbutzim do not bury gentiles
outside the fence or in Christian cemeteries, as all other Israeli communities
do. Dov, therefore, is buried in the same plot of land as the other members
of the kibbutz. His identity card, however, has disappeared, though he could
hardly have taken it with him on his final journey.
In due time, the two immigrants, Shulek and Bernardo, shared Israeli
granddaughters. Their father was a friend of two men whose stories begin
here.