Well - there are some large portions of the book that are from the perspective of one of the most secular members of the expedition, is why I say that, and while she expresses what she feels about religion, in specific, and she spends a lot of time thinking about whether or not she wants to go for other reasons, the author never even has her consider that ethical aspect. If it had only been from the perspective of the Jesuit characters, I wouldn't have noticed it so much.


*grins* Well, I'm not saying that Jews don't hold ancestral grudges at all, because . . . well, as Rym said, we do; it's part of it being a long-standing culture as well as a religion. But (in my experience, and I don't speak for everyone) the longstanding grudges tend to mostly come out in those areas where problems have have continued - for example, I can't imagine anyone I know saying, "I can't work with that Russian guy because of the pogroms!"