Obama is no more black than he is white, but he chooses to be identified as black. “White” is such an amalgam that it offers no distinction in itself. At one time that was very much desired so to “pass” was a ticket to success and something to be kept a deep secret – a main theme of that remarkable musical Showboat. But these days ethnic distinction is prized so the tide has turned in the other direction. How many whites proudly claim to have a native-American in their ancestry?

I think a big reason for the success of Jews in so many fields is the fact that the individual is prized, exemplified by the way the individual at a bar or bat mitzvah is invited to hold forth on what he or she thinks before the congregation. The whole thrust is “you are valuable as yourself, but responsible to others” If that is integral to the psyche then what amazing things are possible! So many Jews stood up to defend blacks legally in the bad old days and what a perfect way to assert the self and also responsibility to society! Self-doubt and insecurity are our worst enemies. Identification with a group of any kind is an attempt to put insecurity at bay but that association with a group in itself is not enough.

In the movie Dumbo, the racially stereotyped crows spoke the truth to Dumbo when they said “You’ve got to BELIEVE you can fly!”

Isn’t it ironic that in America I certainly can’t say ‘Haim isn’t white, he’s jewish’, but in Israel it is perfectly acceptable to say ‘Haim isn’t arab, he’s jewish’, even if Haim came from an arab country, spoke arabic and had a darker skin tone.

As you pointed out, these boundaries between self identifying groups, such as whites, jews and arabs, are synthetic and artificial constructs, and the reasons behind group inclussion or exclussion are political rather than scientific.

So what’s the story behind jewish and arab mutual exclusivity?