The result of Emancipation was to make Jewish identity a private commitment rather than a legal status, leaving it a complex mix of destiny and choice.
Seltzer, 1980
…
These are a swinging bunch of people. I mean I’ve heard of persecution, but what they went thorough is ridiculous! There wasn’t anybody who didn’t take a shot at ‘em. The whole world kept saying, “You can’t do this” and “You can’t do that,” but they didn’t listen. It’s beautiful. They just plain didn’t listen. They’d get kicked out of one place, so they’d just go on to the next one and keep swinging like they wanted to, believing in themselves and in their right to have rights, asking nothing but for people to leave ‘em alone and get off their backs, and having the guts to fight to get themselves a little peace. But the great thing is, after thousands of years of holding on and waiting and fighting, they finally made it.
Davis Jr., 1965
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