Einstein, a Genius and a Jew

In the last year we have roamed the streaming services, watching recommended series' over a couple of months and then moving on. One series which we really enjoyed was Genius: Einstein, one of three dramatized Genius explorations with the others being Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin. We may get to the others but this one about the great mathematician and physicist gets the best reviews and is very well done. 

The acting in Genius: Einstein is excellent and so is the story-telling. I love to learn and I learned a lot through the episodes, yet the unfolding of Einstein's life is compelling rather than didactic.

One aspect I found intriguing was Einstein's Jewishness. He was not an observant Jew, and while from time to time he made passing reference to God his comments were vague enough to be open to broad interpretation.He was impressed by Mohandes Gandhi, but he described himself as a :"deeply religious non-believer" 

Einstein was German, however, and he saw firsthand persecution of Jews around him as the Nazis rose to power. He was determined to remain in Germany but eventually left because despite his international acclaim and Nobel Prize  he realized that he would not be immune to the threat which Nazism presented. He was encouraged to become involved in the Zionist movement and as the years went on he became more vocally a socialist, which drew the scrutiny and ire of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI in his adopted land.

Einstein once observed: "And the Jewish people  to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. ... I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."  It's unlikely that this outlook would have spared him if he stayed in Germany. 

Those who are adherents of different religions have been subject to persecution through the centuries in different settings, up to the present day. Christians are under threat in many countries and many die for their faith. The Genius:Einstein series was yet another reminder that Jews have been persecuted not only because of their practice but because of ethnicity and association. 

Humankind has found varied and convoluted ways to hate Jews even when they have chosen or been coerced into assimilation in their societies and even when they are recognized for their contributions in virtually every sphere of life. Anti-Jewish sentiment continues to be a poison in North America, including Canada, and we need to be aware of its existence and denounce it wherever it is evident.