Extended Footage: The Paradox of Home
In this Story of the Jews outtake, Simon Schama considers the state of Israel with Israeli author David Grossman.
“Yes, there is a paradox. It’s one of the many paradoxes of Israel. First of all, that we are still a democracy — and I do not forget it for a moment, you know. People who came here to Israel in 48 and later, even before they came, from places that had no idea what democracy is. I mean they came from Poland and Russia. They came from Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen. What did they know about democracy there? What did my grandfather who came from Warsaw know about democracy or equality or, you know, one voice for one person? They knew nothing of that and yet we have created here a democracy.”
In this Story of the Jews outtake, Simon Schama considers the state of Israel with Israeli author David Grossman.
“Yes, there is a paradox. It’s one of the many paradoxes of Israel. First of all, that we are still a democracy — and I do not forget it for a moment, you know. People who came here to Israel in 48 and later, even before they came, from places that had no idea what democracy is. I mean they came from Poland and Russia. They came from Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen. What did they know about democracy there? What did my grandfather who came from Warsaw know about democracy or equality or, you know, one voice for one person? They knew nothing of that and yet we have created here a democracy.”
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