Totally. For Americans, the European nationality of their ancestors is nowadays distancing, if not exculpatory. And then for so many Israelis, the European nationalities of their ancestors must be erased in order to ‘root’ them in the land.
In both cases, continuity and distinctness are both present in that history of evolving identities. And in both cases, the continuity is severed in favor of the distinctness so that whichever details are favorable can be retained/emphasized and the others can be discarded/minimized, in both cases to create a self-serving myth of national innocence and right.
Totally. For Americans, the European nationality of their ancestors is nowadays distancing, if not exculpatory. And then for so many Israelis, the European nationalities of their ancestors must be erased in order to ‘root’ them in the land.
In both cases, continuity and distinctness are both present in that history of evolving identities. And in both cases, the continuity is severed in favor of the distinctness so that whichever details are favorable can be retained/emphasized and the others can be discarded/minimized, in both cases to create a self-serving myth of national innocence and right.