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Does Japan Have a Right to Exist as a Japanese State?

[Wall Street Journal] David E. Bernstein - A reader, sympathetic to Israel but troubled by its existence as a "Jewish state," asks: "Can you point me to any case where you would say '[Country A] has the right to exist as a [Race B] or [Religion C] state?'" Actually, many countries have an official religion, including liberal bastions such as Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (all Lutheran). By contrast, Judaism is not the official religion of Israel. Israel's Law of Return is based on ethnic (not racial) heritage and grants anyone with a Jewish grandparent automatic citizenship. Several other countries recognize a "right of return" similar, but often broader, than Israel's. If one of your grandparents is an Irish citizen but none of your parents was born in Ireland, you may be entitled to become an Irish citizen, and similar laws apply in Armenia, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, and elsewhere. Israel has less of an explicit religious identity than many countries and Israel is hardly unique in basing immigration and citizenship policy at least partly on ethnic heritage. The writer is a professor at the George Mason University School of Law.
2006-08-25 01:00:00
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