OK, it’s only Columbia, SC, so who cares? I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on this:
http://www.free-times.com/News&comm/newsmain.html
(It’s the second story on this page, I think.)
Very interesting…
Compatitive Question: Are there any other Holocaust Memorial-type things in the country and how do they deal with the Jewish Star, if at all?
Can of worms Questions: Since Judaism is a race as well as a religion, would the Star of David possibly be considered a symbol of the race that fell vitim at the holocaust instead of just the religion?
Whereas a cross is all about religion only, right?
This is a good one… I am firmly for SOCAS, but the questions above might be a way to make this constitutional… Any ideas, kids?
Yer pal,
Satan
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In view of my own objections to the Ten Commandments placed in front of a school, I’d have to say that this one is dangerously close to being the same. I look forward to the debate that will surround this issue.
I need to cogitate on this one for a while. The Holocaust was sufficiently evil whereby it deserves memorials to keep it in the public memory. All of this might be better on private property. Remembering the gypsies and the liberators of the camps helps to pluralize the theme of this monument, but it may not be enough to alleviate the religious aspect of the Star of David. Satan made a good point that the symbol is one of an entire race and not just a religion, but this one is certainly a tricky proprosition.
Does it strike anyone elses as…I don’t know, odd that Concilman Osbourne decribes the monument as Zionist? From the description, it doesn’t mention Israel. There is no political component. The question of whether a Star of David necessarily amount to promoting the Jewish religion is a legitimite one, but…it’s not Zionist.
There’s also the issue that the Nazis forced all the Jews they rounded up to wear big yellow Stars of David. A case could be made that the display of a Star of David at this memorial was meant to symbolize this “branding” of the Jews in the concentration camps.
Which begs the question: Why is there no upside-down pink triangle on display? That was a Nazi invention, too; homosexuals in Nazi-controlled areas were required to wear pink triangles, just like Jews were required to wear yellow Stars of David.
The Nazi’s made jews wear the star of david as a mark. If they had made christians wear a cross or a fish, I would also consider that an apropriate memorial for those who had fallen. The star of david in this case is very similar to the role of the pink triangle.
Well, there is one reasonable part of the dispute. The “Holocaust” killed a LOT more than just Jews. And these others have too often been overlooked. Maybe a million Gypsies, many Gays, and possibly up to 7 million Slavs, also died in those concentration camps. My people too. Certainly, a Holocaust memorial is approp, and it is good that the others have been mentioned, but it seems that if the Star of David was VERY prominent (and i do not know how prominent it was) then it would appear to minimize those other deaths. That does not mean that a Star of David would be innapprop., as, Lord knows, the Jews seemed to be hated with a intensity perhaps unique, and certainly they suffered greatly. It is just that one of my pet peeves is seeing the other victims either ignored, or footnoted. So, in my mind it would depend on the prominence of the Star.
Interesting.
A couple comments.
First, the Star of David is not really a religious symbol. It is indeed a symbol associated with Judaism, but not the way the cross is associated with Christianity. In other words, when you walk into a synagogue, you don’t see a big honkin’ star that you bow down to or anything.
That said, I can see how people would be concerned about this as a religious display. It is obviously (well, obvious to me on reading this, anyway) not meant to be a display like the 10 Commandments one we are discussing in another thread, but it is on public land and the like. I suspect that if somebody tried to erect a big cross to remember all the Christians who died as a result of communism, it could be seen as a SOCAS problem.
Thus, even taking into account the difference between the star and the cross, I think the situation deserves further consideration from the SOCAS perspective.
Now, as for the guy calling it a “Zionist memorial,” I find that rather bizarre, but suspect the guy doesn’t know what the word “Zionist” actually means.
And as for Satan’s statement:
Judaism is not a race. It is a religion. I cannot “convert” to become an African-American. You can, however, convert to become a Jew. Yes, it has “laws” on who is a Jew based on your heritage, but those are, well, religious laws, not recognized by biologists or anthropologists or any of the other -ologists who might study race (let’s, for a moment, ignore the fact that some people say there really isn’t any such thing as a “race” anyway).
David B wrote:
That’s funny, she don’t look Jewish. 
Well, the purpose of the monument is clearly not religious in nature if that means anything.
The use of the word “Zionist” sets off an alarm in my brain.
It seems to me that the religious nature of the monument is incindental.
There is a monument at Normandy to the American soldiers that died there. This monument is on French soil, but it is specifically to American soldiers. Clearly the purpose of that monument is not to endorse America in genral, or American politics, or interests, but to recognize the sacrifice that Americans made.
The purpose of this monument seems likewise. It is not to endorse Judaism or Jewish interests or the Jewish religion. It is to recognize the horror of what occured, and to remind us that it must never happen again.
If necessary perhaps additional notice can be made of the other groups that were also victims.
To me it would be a shame if this thing could not be done simply because it incorporates a religious symbol.
This is one of the things that is more important.
I don’t think so. If we were discussing a large Star of David that is to be displayed in front of a school that every student has to walk past every day, I would find the two situations similar. But I don’t see anyone objecting to crosses in Arlington cemetary. Seems to me that this is closer to the latter than the former.