Church and State: Getting the Balance Right

Being a dual citizen is usually quite easy – I love having both Guy Fawkes Day and Thanksgiving in my November diary. (Of course, July 4 is a bit tricky when I have to decide whether to celebrate American Independence Day or mourn the breaking away of the Colonies.) Yesterday, however, was one of those days when my dual identity forced me to think hard about which country’s policy is the one that best furthers the Jewish contribution to larger society. We had the pleasure last week of welcoming Andrew Stunell OBE MP to JHub for a visit with his staff. In the course of showing him around JHub and watching him interact with our residents, I began to question whether America’s insistence on a separation of Church and State is such a wise policy after all.