A Life (Un)Worthy of Living: Reproductive Genetics in Israel and Germany

Description

Discusses the Jewish/Zionist (mentions Zionism founder Herzl, who met with Pope St. Pius X) racist perspective on bioethics, which is contrary to the Catholic view

A free English version of pp. 124-126 of the French

• Poumier, María. Marchandiser la vie humaine. Aube: le Retour aux sources, 2015.

comes from parts of ch. 3 (pp. 29-61), "Getting to Know the Field of Reproductive Genetics in Israel and Germany," of Hashiloni-Dolev:

p. 57:

It is impossible to understand the cultural logic behind the uses made of medical genetics in both countries, without taking into consideration both countries’ scientific mentalité. Being political, moral and aesthetic, the discourse of scientific and medical-genetic risks is profoundly different in Israel and Germany. Whereas Germany is characterized by proliferation of risk discourse and a suspicious attitude towards science and progress, such discourse is almost completely lacking in Israel, where the public is generally trustful of science and “progress”

pp. 59-60:

Israelis generally adopt a positive attitude to scientific practices and technologies that are controversial elsewhere (such as stem cell research, genetic diagnosis, and cloning). This attitude is explained in terms of cultural, political and religious narratives, which construct biotechnology as crucial for the continuity of Jewish existence within the Middle East; indeed, the very survival of Israel in such a hostile environment is seen to be dependent on its modernity or in other words, on its scientific and technological superiority

p. 50:

rabbis never ban issues such as stem cell research, cloning or genetic experimentation on humans a priori. Rather, they try to find legal solutions, which enable them not only to tolerate such practices but also regard them as morally valuable. … Furthermore, while most Christian teachings consider humans to be subordinate to God in the process of creation, in Judaism there can be no accusation of “playing God” as human beings are understood to take an active part in God’s creation, which they are obliged to improve. Human dignity is thus understood to manifest itself in the willingness to alleviate suffering and in this way, to improve on God’s creation

p. 33:

a clear effort was being made by the scientists to shape and ratify the emergent Jewish national identity by genetically proving a shared biological origin for all Israelis, sometimes at the cost of somewhat biased research conclusions. … Trying to look for a common origin for the major Jewish ethnic groups in a context outside the Jewish state might have been perceived as using medical genetics to ask racist questions. However, this is not how it was seen in Israel and even today, similar studies into the “Jewish Genome” are being carried out …. Indeed, Rafael Falk (2002), a prominent Israeli genetics professor, reads the entire history of Zionism as a eugenicist project. He states that the understanding of Judaism as a biological essence became an integral part of Zionist thought towards the end of the 19th century. While most European Jews tried to fight against the idea of Judaism being a “race”, prominent Zionists such as Hess, Herzl, Bialik, Nordau and even Buber argued that the biological dimension of the Jewish “ Volk ” should not be overlooked. Similarly to Falk, Stoler-Liss, who writes about Zionist motherhood, also claims that in the 20s, 30s and even beyond, eugenic thought was prevalent among Zionist pediatricians, gynecologists, general practitioners and other types of experts and “advisors” in the Yishuv, who were trying to both quantitatively and qualitatively better future generations of “ Zabarim ”

p. 35:

while in the West and especially in Germany, “eugenics” became a word with “nasty connotations” (Koch, 2004; Paul, 1992), this is not the case in Israel

This book presents the findings of a study into the social shaping of reproductive genetics in Germany and Israel, two exceptionally interesting social settings, which share a traumatic history. Based on a variety of empirical materials (including in-depth interviews with genetic counsellors and survey data on their practices and opinions, as well as analysis of legal, religious, professional and media texts), the study reveals dramatic differences between the way that the German and Israeli societies address the question of a life (un)worthy of living: while in Germany, social, cultural, religious and legal conditions restrict the selection of embryos based on prenatal diagnosis, in Israel they strongly encourage it. A close comparative analysis of the ways that these two societies handle the delicate balance between the quality and sanctity of life illuminates the controversy around reproductive genetics in an original and provocative way. The study is also innovative in its use of contemporary social theory concerning the politics of life in comprehending the differences between two societies positioned at opposite extremes in their adoption of reproductive genetics. It thus offers an original cross-cultural discussion concerning present-day techno-medical manipulations of life itself.

"This is a unique and courageous book. Yael Hashiloni-Dolev studied the field of reproductive genetics in Israel and Germany, and found out that while in Germany social, cultural, legal and religious conditions restrict the selection of embryos based on prenatal diagnosis, it is strongly encouraged in Israel. This unexpected finding is brilliantly analyzed by the author. Thus this excellent book must be read and discussed by social scientists, human geneticists, genetic counsellors, bio ethicists and medical students."

Benno Müller – Hill, Dr. rer. nat. em. Prof. at the Institute of Genetics of the University of Cologne, Germany

"An important contribution of the book is the examination of the cultural, national, institutional and personal background and attitudes of genetic counsellors. … This is a very interesting and useful book exemplifying how two modern societies can employ scientific, legal, and ethical reasoning differently. … Overall, the book is written in an eloquent and easy-to-read way, and its contribution to the literature on the sociology of health and the study of cultural bioethics is more than evident."

Daniel Sperling, Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy, Vol. 12, 2009