Haviv Rettig Gur
This is true. In a similar vein, can’t really think Jewish nationalism is some radically new idea if you read how Maccabean and Bar Kochba rebels talked about themselves. We moderns are less a break from the past than we like to pretend.
Roy
The fact that national identity was somewhat different in the past doesn't mean that it didn't exist. People in the medieval and early modern eras were keenly aware of nation and ethnicity. They wrote about it! A lot! Italy was not invented in 1860! There were Italians in 1400!
