Israeli Cabinet has approved a Muslim minister

There are only three countries that have been created, whole-cloth, out of cultural pluralities: Australia, the US and Israel. In two of them, the separation of church and state has been a crucial point of contention. In the US, government and religion are meant (in theory) to run on parallel tracks. Not so much in Israel. And I worry about that because I believe that the US blueprint is the most durable one. Whether or not Israel can retain her cultural identity (let alone her independence) should she somehow follow that blueprint, remains to be seen. But that's a discusison for another time.

I was reminded of all of this when I read that the Israeli Cabinet has approved a Muslim minister. The Israeli government has always included Arab lawmakers. But only one other Arab has ever been a cabinet minister. As you might expect, Israeli public opinion is all over the place on this:

the appointment of Raleb Majadele, mired for weeks in political infighting and charges of racism, drew renewed criticism from hard-liners who said the move was little more than political expediency. Even Arab lawmakers dismissed the development, saying the government has little real interest in improving the lot of Israel's Arabs.

Majadele told AP Television News that his goals as a Cabinet minister would be "promoting coexistence between the two peoples inside the state, and promoting dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis toward negotiations and political agreement."

P.S. When do you supposed the Iraqi government will include a Jewish cabinet official? Or Iran? Or Egypt? Or Afghanistan?

P.S.S. We already know what happens when a Muslim Congressman gets elected to the US House.