Detractors of President George Bush love to insinuate that he is no Einstein.
They may have a point.
Speaking of the “promise of God” for a “homeland for the chosen people” in Israel, Bush told the Knesset after a visit to the Roman-era Jewish fortress at Masada: “Masada shall never fall again, and America will always stand with you.”
Clearly not Einstein-like.
Albert Einstein described belief in God as “childish superstition” and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.
The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fuelled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.
As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they “have no different quality for me than all other people”.
“The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”
So there you have it. Bush is indeed no Einstein, at least on this matter.
Thank G-d for that.
Update: Yes I do realize President Bush’s insistence on a palestinian state is at odds with his professed beliefs. But how can we expect the President of the US to be more Right wing than the government of Israel, which itself accepted the idea of a palestinian state long ago?
