Shlomo Sand, The Invention of the Jewish People - Rafapal

THE DISTINCTION 313
extent is Jewish Israeli society willing to discard the deeply embedded image
of the "chosen people," and to cease isolating itself in the name of a fanciful
history or dubious biology and excluding the "other" from its midst?
There are more questions than answers, and the mood at the end of this
book, much as was the case in the personal stories at its start, is more pessimistic
than hopeful. But it is appropriate for a work that has hung question
marks over the Jewish past to conclude with a short, impertinent questionnaire
about the uncertain future.
In the final account, if it was possible to have changed the historical
imaginary so profoundly, why not put forth a similarly lavish effort of the imagination
to create a different tomorrow? If the nation's history was mainly a dream,
why not begin to dream its future afresh, before it becomes a nightmare?