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[Opinions] Re: Israel... (M)
It's fine, but I don't really understand why/how people would want to actually use it for a baby in the US (where I live) right now. Seems like there must be some kind of statement behind it - religious, ethnic, political? I don't think I could know, nor do I really care nor mind. It's kind of like Zion: I'm not sure what it's supposed to be alluding to, it might "mean" different things to different people and I won't assume anything ... but it seems unlikely that people would choose that name over all others, only because they thought it sounded nice. I can't totally discount the possibility that they did, though.- mirfak
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Do you think Zion is as readily associated with Zionism as Israel is associated with the country? I’m ask genuinely, as a non-American. I feel the context/history could pass people by here.
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That's the thing about it that I meant to emphasize - I truly wouldn't be able to tell easily what association was intended. By some people it would be readily associated with Zionism (which itself could have a variety of different positive connotations, for different people). But I think a lot of other people have other associations too. So it's probably loaded with some meaning, but you just can't be sure what meaning ... and ultimately I think it doesn't matter except to the parents. That's how I feel about Israel as a name, too.
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There's a lot of churches in the US called Mount Zion ______ Church, and it's mentioned in the Old Testament as a sacred place, while in the New Testament, it's used as a metaphor for heaven; I'd guess that use of it as a name is mostly inspired by those associations and that people who use it don't know much about Zionism.

This message was edited 1/5/2020, 6:56 PM

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There was a professor at my old university, born into a Jewish emigre family in a little South African country town, whose given name was Ben-Zion. This was long before the Second World War, let alone the founding of the state of Israel. And, given that Ben means 'son' or 'son of', I think the message was pretty clear and that his parents knew rather more about Zionism than anyone needs to in today's world, where it has become synonymous with right-wing Israeli nationalism. For the record, he was a lawyer and specialised in ethics, opposing the apartheid government with such skill that they could never lay a finger on him.
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I can see that. I was giving my impression of why most Americans would use it, during the time it's been popular. It correlates with popularity of Heaven and Eden, to me.

This message was edited 1/6/2020, 12:30 AM

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