I am making this comment a post as a reminder that the internet is not a private converation. Furthermore it does provide the opportunity to discuss issues with those that you don't normally meet in your daily routine. I do appreciate the fact that this commentator did take the time to send us his observations. For a related issue see Hasbara - Army of bloggers And Facebook battleground.
Just a gentle reminder to everyone that all comments require a name other than anonymous. I made an exception in this case.
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Anonymous [ has left a new comment on your post "Should Jews hate Arabs?":
Jersey Girl, I would like to show my support to you. I'm of Muslim and Arab background. It makes me happy to see that are some decent Jews who have compassion and understanding. In history Jews lived under Arab/Muslim ruler in relative peace and harmony example the golden age for the Jews in Spain before the Christians took over and forced the population to convert to Christianity or die. What is happening Israel/Palestine is sad and tragic. And for the Muslim on the street supporting Hamas - well who should they support when there are innocent civilians being killed, and no democratic government is doing anything to stop it. Zionism turned to terrorism pre 1948 killing many innocent people.
To the anonymous poster who says things like "...Zionism turned to terrorism pre 1948 killing many innocent people" -- a verey false claim vecause ther was PLENTY of Antisemitism in the Arab world.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should get ALL your facts straight before you preach tae against Zionism and by infernce against Israel, Israelis and Jews.
You know, the Internet is a marvelous thing, even an anti-Zionist Jew-hater could read up the facts on Wikipedia.
Here's a key article relating to this subject that you must read, ok:
"Jewish exodus from Arab lands
The Jewish exodus from Arab lands refers to the 20th century expulsion or mass departure of Jews, primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from Arab and Islamic countries. The migration started in the late 19th century, but accelerated after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. According to official Arab statistics, 856,000 Jews left their homes in Arab countries from 1948 until the early 1970s. Some 600,000 resettled in Israel. Their descendants, and those of Iranian and Turkish Jews, now number 3.06 million of Israel's 5.4 to 5.8 million Jewish citizens. [1][not in citation given] The World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) estimates that Jewish property in Arab countries would be valued today at more than $300 billion[2][3] and Jewish-owned real-estate left behind in Arab lands at 100,000 square kilometers (four times the size of the State of Israel). [1][3]
Reasons for emigration
While violence and discrimination against Jews in Arab countries started to increase several years before 1948, it escalated significantly starting in 1948 despite the fact that Jews were indigenous and for the most part held Arab citizenship. Sometimes the process was state sanctioned; at other times it was the consequence of anti-Jewish resentment by non-Jews. Harassment, persecution and the confiscation of property followed. Secondly and in response to mistreatment of Jews in these countries, a Zionist drive for Jewish immigration from Arab lands to Israel intensified. The great majority of Jews in Arab lands eventually emigrated to the modern State of Israel.[4] Activist groups such as JJAC and JIMENA claim that there was a collusion among Arab states to persecute Jews as part of their struggle against Israel.[5]
The process grew apace as Arab nations under French, British and Italian colonial rule or protection gained independence. Further, anti-Jewish sentiment within the Arab-majority states was exacerbated by the Arab-Israeli wars. Within a few years after the Six Day War (1967) there were only remnants of Jewish communities left in most Arab lands. Jews in Arab lands were reduced from more than 800,000 in 1948 to perhaps 16,000 in 1991.[4]
Some claim that the Jewish exodus from Arab lands is a historical parallel to the Palestinian exodus during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, while others reject this comparison as simplistic.[6]
History of Jews in Arab lands (Pre-1948)
Jewish settlement all over the Fertile Crescent, which is now divided into several Arab states, is well attested since the Babylonian captivity. After the conquest of these lands by Arab Muslims in the 7th century, Jews, along with Christians and Zoroastrians, were accorded the legal status of dhimmi. As such, they were entitled to limited rights, tolerance, and protection, on the condition they pay a special poll tax (the 'jizya'). In return for the tax, dhimmis were exempted from military service. Dhimmi status brought with its several restrictions, the application and severity of which varied by time and place: residency in segregated quarters, obligation to wear distinctive clothing, public subservience to Muslims, prohibitions against proselytizing and marrying Muslim women (according to Islam, a Muslim woman can only marry a Muslim man), and limited access to the legal systems. Notwithstanding these provisions, Jews could at times attain high positions in government, notably as viziers and physicians. Jewish communities, like Christian ones, were typically constituted as semi-autonomous entities managed by their own laws and leadership, who bore responsibility for the community towards the Muslim rulers. Taxes and fines levied on them were collective in nature. However, a level of political autonomy and civil courts for resolving community disputes was not rare.
Mass murders of Jews and deaths due to political instability did however occur in North Africa throughout the centuries and especially in Morocco, Libya and Algeria where eventually Jews were forced to live in ghettos.[7] Decrees ordering the destruction of synagogues were enacted at various times in the Middle Ages in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Instances exist of Jews being forced to convert to Islam or face death in Yemen, Morocco and Baghdad.[8]
This situation, wherein Jews both enjoyed cultural and economical prosperity at times, but were then widely persecuted at other times was summarised by G.E. von Grunebaum as follows:
It would not be difficult to put together the names of a very sizeable number of Jewish subjects or citizens of the Islamic area who have attained to high rank, to power, to great financial influence, to significant and recognized intellectual attainment; and the same could be done for Christians. But it would again not be difficult to compile a lengthy list of persecutions, arbitrary confiscations, attempted forced conversions, or pogroms.[9]
In 1945, there were between 758,000 and 866,000 Jews (see table below) living in communities throughout the Arab world. Today, there are fewer than 8,600. In some Arab states, such as Libya (which was once around 3% Jewish), the Jewish community no longer exists; in other Arab countries, only a few hundred Jews remain.
Jews flee Arab states (1948-)
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the exodus of approximately 711,000 (UN estimate) Arab refugees (see the Palestinian Exodus), the creation of the state of Israel, and the independence of Arab countries from European control, conditions for Jews in the Arab world deteriorated. Over the next few decades, most would leave the Arab world. Their departure and its motivations are covered country by country below.
Soon after the declaration of the establishment of Israel in 1948, over 45,000 Jews had emigrated from Arab countries to mandatory Palestine. Although some of the Jews emigrated because of the influence of Zionism that proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to return to their homeland, most Jews came to Israel as a result of persecution by Arab countries.[29] Gilbert (1999) maintains that Israeli officials were instrumental in facilitating population transfers from Muslim countries, known in Israel as the gathering of the exiles, because there was a shortage of manpower in Israel after 1948.
There are controversial claims about the methods employed by Israeli officials. Gilbert (1999) and Hirst (1977) write that Israeli agents planted bombs in synagogues and Jewish businesses in an attempt to stimulate emigration to Israel, but that view is rejected by others. Historian Moshe Gat contends that, in the most famous case in Iraq, the claim that the bombings were carried out by Zionists is contrary to the evidence, and in any event the impetus for the Jewish-Iraqi exodus was the imminent expiration of the denaturalisation law, not the bombing.[30] According to Norman Stillman, "[n]either side, however, has provided truly convincing evidence, and for any detached observer the point must remain moot."[31]
The United Nations Resolution on the partition of Palestine in November 1947 and the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948 led to anti-Jewish actions in Arab countries. At the same time, several Arab countries began to take a severe attitude against Jews who operated Zionist activities within Arab borders, further encouraging Jewish emigration to Israel.[32][33] Arab pogroms against Jews appeared to spread throughout the Arab world, and there were intensified riots in Yemen and Syria in particular. In Libya, Jews were deprived citizenship, and in Iraq, their property was seized. As a result, a large number of Jews were forced to emigrate and they were not allowed to take all their property. Between 1948 and 1951, tens of thousands of Jews from Iraq and Yemen arrived in Israel by the airlift operation arranged by the Israeli authorities and local communities.[34].
By 1951, about 30 percent of the population in Israel was accounted for by Jews from Arab countries and about 850,000 Jews emigrated from Arab countries between 1948 and 1952. During this time 586,269 Jews came to Israel from Arab countries, and 3,136,436 people live in Israel today including their offspring, which account for about 41 per cent of the total population.[35]
Algeria
Almost all Jews in Algeria left upon independence in 1962. Algeria's 140,000 Jews had French citizenship since 1870 (briefly revoked by Vichy France in 1940), and they mainly went to France, with some going to Israel.[36]
Following the brutal Algerian Civil War of 1990s there – in particular, the rebel Armed Islamic Group's 1994 declaration of war on all non-Muslims in the country – most of the thousand-odd Jews previously there, living mainly in Algiers and to a lesser extent Blida, Constantine, and Oran, emigrated. The Algiers synagogue was abandoned after 1994. These Jews themselves represented the remainder of only about 10,000 who had chosen to stay there in 1962
Only a small number of Algerian origin Jews moved from France to Israel.
Bahrain
Bahrain's tiny Jewish community, mostly the descendants of immigrants who entered the country in the early 1900s from Iraq, numbered 600 in 1948.
In the wake of the November 29, 1947 U.N. Partition vote, demonstrations against the vote in the Arab world were called for December 2-5. The first two days of demonstrations in Bahrain saw rock throwing against Jews, but on December 5 mobs in the capital of Manama looted Jewish homes and shops, destroyed the synagogue, and beat any Jews they could find, and murdered one elderly woman.[37]
Over the next few decades, most left for other countries, especially England; as of 2006 only 36 remained.[38]
Relations between Jews and Muslims are generally considered good, with Bahrain being the only state on the Arabian Peninsula where there is a specific Jewish community and the only Gulf state with a synagogue. One member of the community, Rouben Rouben, who sells electronics and appliances from his downtown showroom, said “95 percent of my customers are Bahrainis, and the government is our No. 1 corporate customer. I’ve never felt any kind of discrimination.”[38]
Members play a prominent role in civil society: Ebrahim Nono was appointed in 2002 a member of Bahrain's upper house of parliament, the Consultative Council, while a Jewish woman heads a human rights group, the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the active Jewish community is "a source of pride for Bahraini officials".[38]
In Bahrain's 2006 parliamentary election, some candidates have specifically sought out the Jewish vote; writer Munira Fakhro, Vice President of the Leftist National Democratic Action, standing in Isa Town told the local press: "There are 20- 30 Jews in my area and I would be working for their benefit and raise their standard of living."[39]
Egypt
See also: Jewish exodus from Arab lands 2000 years ago, Egypt was home to one of the most dynamic Jewish communities in the Diaspora.
There was periodic repression under Muslim rule. Caliphs in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries CE exercised various repressive policies, culminating in the destruction of the Jewish quarter of Cairo in 1012. Six recorded blood libels took place between 1870 and 1892. Under British control Egypt was friendly towards its Jewish population, though Egyptian nationality was usually denied to Jewish immigrants. Jews played important roles in the economy, and their population climbed to nearly 80,000 as Jewish refugees settled there in response to the increase in European persecution. A sharp distinction had long existed between the Karaite and Rabbanite communities, among whom traditionally intermarriage was forbidden. They dwelt in Cairo in two contiguous areas, the former in the harat al-yahud al-qara’in , and the latter in the adjacent harat al-yahud quarter. Notwithstanding the division, they often worked together and the younger educated generation pressed for improved relations between the two.[15]
Individual Jews played a role in Egyptian nationalism. René Qattawi, leader of the Cairo Sephardi community, endorsed the creation in 1935 of the Association of Egyptian Jewish Youth, with its slogan: 'Egypt is our homeland, Arabic is our language.' Qattawi opposed Zionism and argued that Palestine would be unable to absorb Europe's Jewish refugees.[16] Zionism was also popular in Egypt. Karaite Jewish scholar Murad Beh Farag (1866-1956) was both an Egyptian nationalist and a passionate Zionist. His poem, 'My Homeland Egypt, Place of my Birth', expresses loyalty to Egypt, while his book, al-Qudsiyyat (Jerusalemica, 1923), defends the right of the Jews to a State [17]. Al-Qudsiyyat is perhaps the most eloquent defense of Zionism in the Arabic language. Farag was also one of the coauthors of Egypt's first Constitution in 1923.
Another famous Egyptian Jew of this period was Yaqub Sanu, who became a patriotic Egyptian nationalist advocating the removal of the British. He edited the nationalist publication Abu Naddara 'Azra from exile. This was one of the first magazines written in Egyptian Arabic, and mostly consisted of satire, poking fun at the British as well as the Monarchy which was a puppet of the British. Another was Henri Curiel, who founded 'The Egyptian Movement for National Liberation' in 1943, an organization that was to form the core of the Egyptian Communist party[18]. Curiel was to play an important role in establishing early informal contacts between the PLO and Israel. [19]
In 1937, the government annulled the Capitulations, by which permanent resident minorities (Syrians, Greeks, Italians, Armenians among them), had been granted immunities from taxation, and this affected Jews as well. The 1936-1939 Palestinian-Arab revolt and the rise of Nazism affected Jews in Egypt[20]. Local militant nationalist societies like Young Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood were sympathetic to Fascist propaganda, organized themselves along similar lines and were antagonistic to Jews.
By the 1940s, the situation worsened. Sporadic pogroms took place from 1942 onwards. The press attacked "foreigners" and in 1947, Company Laws set quotas for employing Egyptian nationals in incorporated firms, requiring that 75% of salaried employees, and 90% of all workers be Egyptian citizens. The law also required that over half of the paid-up capital of joint stock companies be Egyptian citizen's.
After the foundation of Israel in 1948, difficulties multiplied for Egyptian Jews. That year, bombings of Jewish areas killed 70 Jews and wounded nearly 200, while riots claimed many more lives.[21]. During the Arab-Israeli war, the famous Cicurel department store near Cairo's Opera Square was firebombed, probably by the Muslim Brotherhood. It was burnt down again in 1952 and eventually passed into Egyptian control.
The Lavon Affair of 1954, in which an Israeli sabotage operation attempted to blow up Western targets was harmful to the status of Jews.
After the Sinai campaign of 1956, on November 23, a proclamation was issued stating that 'all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state', and it promised that they would be expelled. Some 25,000 Jews, almost half of the Jewish community left, mainly for Europe, the United States and South America, but large numbers also emigrated to Israel, after being forced to sign declarations that they were leaving voluntarily, and agreed to the confiscation of their assets. Some 1,000 more Jews were imprisoned. Similar measures were enacted against British and French nationals in retaliation for the trilateral invasion. In Joel Beinin's summary: "Between 1919 and 1956, the entire Egyptian Jewish community, like the Cicurel firm, was transformed from a national asset into a fifth column."[23]
After the 1967 war, more confiscations took place. The eventual result was the almost complete disappearance of the Jewish community in Egypt; less than a hundred or so remain today. Most Egyptian Jews fled to Israel (35,000), Brazil (15,000), France (10,000), the US (9,000) and Argentina (9,000).[citation needed] Today, anti-Zionism is common in the media. The last Jewish wedding in Egypt took place in 1984.
Iraq
In 1948, there were approximately 150,000 Jews in Iraq. The community was concentrated in Baghdad, was well established and felt no urge to leave. However by 2003, there were only approximately 100 left of this previously thriving community.
In 1941, following Rashid Ali's pro-Axis coup, riots known as the Farhud broke out in Baghdad in which approximately 180 Jews were killed and about 240 were wounded, 586 Jewish-owned businesses were looted and 99 Jewish houses were destroyed.[40]
Like most Arab League states, Iraq initially forbade the emigration of its Jews after the 1948 war on the grounds that allowing them to go to Israel would strengthen that state. However, intense diplomatic pressure brought about a change of mind. At the same time, increasing government oppression of the Jews fueled by anti-Israeli sentiment, together with public expressions of anti-semitism, created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.[citation needed]
In March 1950, Iraq passed a law of one year duration allowing Jews to emigrate on condition of relinquishing their Iraqi citizenship. Iraq apparently believed it would rid itself of those Jews it regarded as the most troublesome, especially the Zionists, but retain the wealthy minority who played an important part in the Iraqi economy. Israel mounted an operation called "Ezra and Nehemiah" to bring as many of the Iraqi Jews as possible to Israel, and sent agents to Iraq to urge the Jews to register for immigration as soon as possible.[citation needed]
At first, the zionist movement tried to regulate the amount of registrants, until several issues relating to their legal status were clarified. Later on it gave up on that position and allowed everyone to register. Two weeks after the law went into force, the Iraqi interior minister demaned a CID investigation as to why the Jews were not registering. A mere few hours after the movement allowed registrations, a bomb attack injured four Jews at a café on Abu-Nawas street in baghdad.
In 21.8.1950, the Iraqi minister of interior threatened the company flying the Jews to have its license revoked if it does not fulfil the quota of 500 Jews per day. Later on, on 18.9.1950, Nuri As-said summoned a representative of the Jewish community and told him that he knows that Israel is behind the delay in the departure of the Jews, and threatened to "take them to the borders". On 12.10.1950, Nuri as-said summoned a senior official of the company and made similar threats again, equating the expulsion of Jews with the expulsion of Palestinians.
Two months before the expiry of the law, by which time about 85,000 Jews had registered, a bomb at the Masuda Shemtov Synagogue killed 3 or 5 Jews and injured many. The law expired in March 1951, but was later extended after the Iraqi government froze and later appropriated the assets of departing Jews (including those already left).In 1951 the Iraqi Government passed legislation that made affiliation with Zionism a felony and ordered, "the expulsion of Jews who refused to sign a statement of anti-Zionism." [41] During the next few months, all but a few thousand of the remaining Jews registered for emigration, spurred on by a sequence of bombings that caused few casualties but had great psychological impact. However, four more bombing attack occurred after Jews were not allowed to register anymore. In total, about 120,000 Jews left Iraq.
In May and June 1951, the arms caches of the Zionist underground in Iraq, which had been supplied from Palestine/Israel since the Farhud of 1941, were discovered. Many Jews were arrested and two Zionist activists, Yusuf Basri and Ibrahim Salih, were tried and hanged for three of the bombings, all of which happened after the expiration of the law. A secret Israeli inquiry in 1960 reported that most of the witnesses believed that Jews had been responsible for the bombings, but found no evidence that they were ordered by Israel.[42] The issue remains unresolved: some Iraqi activists in Israel still regularly charge that Israel used violence to engineer the exodus, while Israeli officials of the time vehemently deny it. According to historian Moshe Gatt, few historians believe that Israel was actually behind the bombing campaign -- based on factors such as records indicating that Israel did not want such a rapid registration rate and that bomb throwing at Jewish targets was common before 1950, making the Istiqlal Party or the CID a more likely culprit than the Zionist underground. In any case, the remainder of Iraq's Jews left over the next few decades. and had mostly gone by 1970. In 1969 eleven Jews were hanged, nine of them on January 27 in the public squares of Baghdad and Basra. The 2,500 remnant of the community almost entirely fled shortly thereafter.[citation needed]
Lebanon
In 1948, there were approximately 5,000 Jews in Lebanon, with communities in Beirut, and in villages near Mount Lebanon, Deir al Qamar, Barouk, and Hasbayah. While the French mandate saw a general improvement in conditions for Jews, the Vichy regime placed restrictions on them. The Jewish community actively supported Lebanese independence after World War II and had mixed attitudes toward Zionism.[citation needed]
Negative attitudes toward Jews increased after 1948, and, by 1967, most Lebanese Jews had emigrated - to the United States, Canada, France, and Israel. The remaining Jewish community was particularly hard hit by the civil wars in Lebanon, and, by 1967, most Jews had emigrated. In 1971, Albert Elia, the 69-year-old Secretary-General of the Lebanese Jewish community was kidnapped in Beirut by Syrian agents and imprisoned under torture in Damascus along with Syrian Jews who had attempted to flee the country. A personal appeal by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Prince Sadruddin Agha Khan to the late President Hafez al-Assad failed to secure Elia's release. In the 1980s, Hizballah kidnapped several Lebanese Jewish businessmen, and in the 2004 elections, only one Jew voted in the municipal elections. There are now less than 100 Jews remaining in Lebanon. [43]
Libya
The area now known as Libya was the home of one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, dating back to at least 300 BCE. In 1948, about 38,000 Jews lived there.[11][44]
A series of pogroms started in Tripoli in November 1945; over a period of several days more than 130 Jews (including 36 children) were killed, hundreds were injured, 4,000 were left homeless, and 2,400 were reduced to poverty. Five synagogues in Tripoli and four in provincial towns were destroyed, and over 1,000 Jewish residences and commercial buildings were plundered in Tripoli alone.[45] The pogroms continued in June 1948, when 15 Jews were killed and 280 Jewish homes destroyed.[46]
Between the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and Libyan independence in December 1951 over 30,000 Libyan Jews emigrated to Israel. In 1967, during the Six-Day War, the Jewish population of 4,000 was again subjected to pogroms in which 18 were killed, and many more injured. The Libyan government "urged the Jews to leave the country temporarily", permitting them each to take one suitcase and the equivalent of $50. In June and July over 4,000 traveled to Italy, where they were assisted by the Jewish Agency. 1,300 went on to Israel, 2,200 remained in Italy, and most of the rest went to the United States. A few scores remained in Libya.[47][48]
In 1970 the Libyan government issued new laws which confiscated all the assets of Libya's Jews, issuing in their stead 15 year bonds. However, when the bonds matured no compensation was paid. Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi justified this on the grounds that "the alignment of the Jews with Israel, the Arab nations' enemy, has forfeited their right to compensation."[49]
Although the main synagogue in Tripoli was renovated in 1999, it has not reopened for services. The last Jew in Libya, Esmeralda Meghnagi died in February, 2002. Israel is home to about 40,000 Jews of Libyan descent, who maintain unique traditions.[2] [3]
Morocco
Jewish communities, in Islamic times often (though not always[4]) living in ghettos known as mellah, have existed in Morocco for at least 2,000 years. Intermittent large scale massacres (such as that of 6,000 Jews in Fez in 1033, over 100,000 Jews in Fez and Marrakesh in 1146 and again in Marrakesh in 1232)[50] were accompanied by systematic discrimination through the years. During the 13th through the 15th centuries Jews were appointed to a few prominent positions within the government, typically to implement decisions.[citation needed] A number of Jews, fleeing the expulsion from Spain and Portugal, settled in Morocco in the 15th century and afterwards, many moving on to the Ottoman Empire.
The imposition of a French protectorate in 1912 alleviated much of the discrimination. In Morocco the Vichy regime during World War II passed discriminatory laws against Jews; for example, Jews were no longer able to get any form of credit, Jews who had homes or businesses in European neighborhoods were expelled, and quotas were imposed limiting the percentage of Jews allowed to practice professions such as law and medicine to two percent.[51] King Muhammad V expressed his personal distaste for these laws, and assured Moroccan Jewish leaders that he would never lay a hand "upon either their persons or property". While there is no concrete evidence of him actually taking any actions to defend Morocco's Jews, it has been argued that he may have worked behind the scenes on their behalf.[52]
In June 1948, soon after Israel was established and in the midst of the first Arab-Israeli war, riots against Jews broke out in Oujda and Djerada, killing 44 Jews. In 1948-9, 18,000 Jews left the country for Israel. After this, Jewish emigration continued (to Israel and elsewhere), but slowed to a few thousand a year. Through the early fifties, Zionist organizations encouraged emigration, particularly in the poorer south of the country, seeing Moroccan Jews as valuable contributors to the Jewish State:
...These Jews constitute the best and most suitable human element for settlement in Israel's absorption centers. There were many positive aspects which I found among them: first and foremost, they all know (their agricultural) tasks, and their transfer to agricultural work in Israel will not involve physical and mental difficulties. They are satisfied with few (material needs), which will enable them to confront their early economic problems.
—Yehuda Grinker, The Emigration of Atlas Jews to Israel [53]
In 1956, Morocco attained independence. Jews occupied several political positions, including three parliamentary seats and the cabinet position of Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. However, that minister, Leon Benzaquen, did not survive the first cabinet reshuffling, and no Jews was appointed again to a cabinet position.[54] Although the relations with the Jewish community at the highest levels of government were cordial, these attitudes were not shared by the lower ranks of officialsdom, which exhibited attitudes that ranged from traditional contempt to outright hostility".[55] Morocco's increasing identification with the Arab world, and pressure on Jewish educational institutions to arabize and conform culturally added to the fears of Moroccan Jews.[55] Emigration to Israel jumped from 8,171 in 1954 to 24,994 in 1955, increasing further in 1956. Beginning in 1956, emigration to Israel was prohibited until 1961; during that time, however, clandestine emigration continued, and a further 18,000 Jews left Morocco. On January 10, 1961, a boat carrying Jews attempting to flee the country sank off the northern coast of the country; the negative publicity associated with this prompted King Muhammad V to again allow emigration, and over the three following years, more than 70,000 Moroccan Jews left the country.[56] By 1967, only 50,000 Jews remained.[57]
The Six-Day War in 1967 led to increased Arab-Jewish tensions worldwide, including Morocco, and Jewish emigration continued. By the early 1970s the Jewish population was reduced to 25,000; however, most of this wave of emigration went to France, Belgium, Spain, and Canada, rather than Israel.[57]
Despite their current small numbers, Jews continue to play a notable role in Morocco; the king retains a Jewish senior adviser, André Azoulay, and Jewish schools and synagogues receive government subsidies. However, Jewish targets have sometimes been attacked (notably in the bombing of a Jewish community center in Casablanca, see Casablanca Attacks), and there is sporadic anti-Semitic rhetoric from radical Islamist groups. The late King Hassan II's invitations for Jews to return have not been taken up by the people who emigrated; in 1948, over 250,000[12]-265,000[11] Jews lived in Morocco. By 2001 an estimated 5,230 remained.[10]
According to Esther Benbassa, the migration of Jews from the Maghreb countries was prompted by uncertainty about the future. [58]
Syria
Rioters in Aleppo in 1947 burned the city's Jewish quarter and killed 75 people.[59] In 1948, there were approximately 30,000 Jews in Syria. The Syrian government placed severe restrictions on the Jewish community, including on emigration. Over the next decades, many Jews managed to escape, and the work of supporters, particularly Judy Feld Carr,[60] in smuggling Jews out of Syria, and bringing their plight to the attention of the world, raised awareness of their situation. Following the Madrid Conference of 1991 the United States put pressure on the Syrian government to ease its restrictions on Jews, and on Passover in 1992, the government of Syria began granting exit visas to Jews on condition that they do not emigrate to Israel. At that time, the country had several thousand Jews; today, under a hundred remain. The rest of the Jewish community have emigrated, mostly to the United States and Israel. There is a large and vibrant Syrian Jewish community in South Brooklyn, New York. In 2004, the Syrian government attempted to establish better relations with the emigrants, and a delegation of a dozen Jews of Syrian origin visited Syria in the spring of that year. [61]
Tunisia
Jews have lived in Tunisia for at least 2300 years. In the 13th century, Jews were expelled from their homes in Kairouan and were ultimately restricted to ghettos, known as hara. Forced to wear distinctive clothing, several Jews earned high positions in the Tunisian government. Several prominent international traders were Tunisian Jews. From 1855 to 1864, Muhammad Bey relaxed dhimmi laws, but reinstated them in the face of anti-Jewish riots that continued at least until 1869.[citation needed]
Tunisia, as the only Middle Eastern country under direct Nazi control during World War II, was also the site of anti-Semitic activities such as prison camps, deportations, and other persecution.[citation needed]
In 1948, approximately 105,000 Jews lived in Tunisia. About 1,500 remain today, mostly in Djerba, Tunis, and Zarzis. Following Tunisia's independence from France in 1956, a number of anti-Jewish policies led to emigration, of which half went to Israel and the other half to France. After attacks in 1967, Jewish emigration both to Israel and France accelerated. There were also attacks in 1982, 1985, and most recently in 2002 when a bomb in Djerba took 21 lives (most of them German tourists) near the local synagogue, in a terrorist attack claimed by Al-Qaeda. (See Ghriba synagogue bombing).
The Tunisian government makes an active effort to protect its Jewish minority now and visibly supports its institutions.[citation needed]
Yemen
If one includes Aden, there were about 63,000 Jews in Yemen in 1948. Today, there are about 200 left. In 1947, riots killed at least 80 Jews in Aden, a British colony in southern Yemen. In 1948 the new Zaydi Imam Ahmad bin Yahya unexpectedly allowed his Jewish subjects to leave Yemen, and tens of thousands poured into Aden. The Israeli government's Operation Magic Carpet evacuated around 44,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel in 1949 and 1950.[62] Emigration continued until 1962, when the civil war in Yemen broke out. A small community remained unknown until 1976, but it appears that all infrastructure is lost now.[citation needed]
Jews in Yemen were long subject to a number of restrictions, ranging from attire, hairstyle, home ownership, marriage, etc. Under the "Orphan's Decree", many Jewish orphans below puberty were raised as Muslims. This practice began in the late 18th century, was suspended under Ottoman rule, then was revived in 1918. Most cases occurred in the 1920s, but sporadic cases occurred until the 1940s. In later years, the Yemenite government has taken some steps to protect the Jewish community in their country.[citation needed]
Absorbing Jewish refugees
Of the nearly 900,000 Jewish refugees, approximately 680,000 were absorbed by Israel; the remainder went to Europe and the Americas.[63][64]
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees to Israel were temporarily settled in the numerous tent cities called ma'abarot (transit camps) in Hebrew. The ma'abarot existed until 1963. Their population was gradually absorbed and integrated into Israeli society, a substantial logistical achievement, without help from the United Nations' various refugee organizations.
Absorption was not without its problems, however. Many of the refugees had a hard time adjusting to the new dominant culture and change of lifestyle and there were also several claims of discrimination against the refugees. In 1971, these sentiments would burst into protest led by the Israeli Black Panther movement.
Jewish refugee advocacy
There are a number of advocacy groups acting on behalf of Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Some examples include:
Justice for Jews from Arab Countries seeks to secure rights and redress for Jews from Arab countries who suffered as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.[65]
Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA) publicizes the history and plight of the 900,000 Jews indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa who were forced to leave their homes and abandon their property, who were stripped of their citizenship.[66]
Historical Society of the Jews from Egypt[67] and International Association of Jews from Egypt[68]
Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center[69]
In March 2008, "[f]or the first time ever, ... a Jewish refugee from an Arab country" appeared before the United Nations Human Rights Council. Regina Bublil-Waldman, a Jewish Libyan refugee and founder of JIMENA, "appeared before the UN Human Rights Council wearing her grandmother's Libyan wedding dress."[70] Justice for Jews from Arab Countries presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council about oppression Jews faced in Arab countries that forced them to find amnesty elsewhere.
At a July 2008 joint session of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons and House of Lords convened by Labour MP John Mann and Lord Anderson of Swansea, in co-operation with Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Canadian MP Irwin Cotler said Arab countries and the League of Arab States must acknowledge their role in launching an aggressive war against Israel in 1948 and the perpetration of human rights violations against their respective Jewish nationals. Cotler cited evidence from a report titled Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries: The Case for Rights And Redress which documented for the first time a pattern of state-sanctioned repression and persecution in Arab countries – including Nuremberg-like laws – that targeted Jewish populations.[71]
Among other notable advocates are historian Bat Ye'or who considers herself an Egyptian refugee and considers that experience as one that shaped her perspective.
Compensation Issues
The concept that Jewish emigrants from Arab lands should be considered refugees has received mixed reactions from both Zionist and Non-Zionist circles.
Iraqi-born Ran Cohen, a former member of the Knesset, said: "I have this to say: I am not a refugee. I came at the behest of Zionism, due to the pull that this land exerts, and due to the idea of redemption. Nobody is going to define me as a refugee;" Yemeni-born Yisrael Yeshayahu, former Knesset speaker, Labor Party, stated: "We are not refugees. [Some of us] came to this country before the state was born. We had messianic aspirations;" and Iraqi-born Shlomo Hillel, also a former speaker of the Knesset, Labor Party, claimed: "I don't regard the departure of Jews from Arab lands as that of refugees. They came here because they wanted to, as Zionists."[72]
The Orthodox Sephardi party, Shas, recently announced its intention to seek compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab states.[73]
The type and extent of linkage between the Jewish exodus from Arab lands and the Palestinian Exodus has also been the source of controversy. Advocacy groups have suggested that there are strong ties between the two processes and some of them even claim that decoupling the two issues is unjust.[74][75] [76][6]
References
^ a b Schwartz, Adi. "All I wanted was justice" Haaretz. 10 January 2008.
^ Group seeks justice for 'forgotten' Jews - International Herald Tribune
^ a b Lefkovits, Etgar. "Expelled Jews hold deeds on Arab lands. Jerusalem Post. 16 November 2007. 18 December 2007.
^ a b Stillman, 2003, p. xxi.
^ http://www.justiceforjews.com/pr_oct_23_07.pdf
^ a b Mendes, Philip. THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries, Presented at the 14 Jewish Studies Conference Melbourne March 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
^ Maurice Roumani, The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, 1977, pp. 26-27.
^ Bat Ye'or, The Dhimmi, 1985, page 61
^ . G.E. Von Grunebaum, 'Eastern Jewry Under Islam,' 1971, page 369.
^ a b Shields, Jacqueline. "Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved on 2006-05-22.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Avneri, 1984, p. 276.
^ a b c d e f g h i Stearns, 2001, p. 966.
^ The Virtual Jewish History Tour - Bahrain
^ History of the Jews in Bahrain
^ History of the Jews in Egypt
^ History of the Jews in Iraq
^ Jews of Lebanon
^ History of the Jews in Lebanon
^ History of the Jews in Morocco
^ History of the Jews in Qatar
^ History of the Jews in Syria
^ History of the Jews in Tunisia
^ Yemenite Jews
^ BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | 'Only one Jew' now in Afghanistan
^ j. - Iranian Jews in U.S. recall their own difficult exodus as they cling to heritage, building new communities
^ History of the Jews in Iran
^ http://ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1950_7_WJP.pdf
^ The Jewish Community of Turkey
^ The Forgotten Narrative: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries by Avi Beker, jcpa.org Access Date: 29-10-2008
^ "Historian Moshe Gat argues that there was little direct connection between the bombings and exodus. He demonstrates that the frantic and massive Jewish registration for denaturalisation and departure was driven by knowledge that the denaturalisation law was due to expire in March 1951. He also notes the influence of further pressures including the property-freezing law, and continued anti-Jewish disturbances which raised the fear of large-scale pogroms. In addition, it is highly unlikely the Israelis would have taken such measures to accelerate the Jewish evacuation given that they were already struggling to cope with the existing level of Jewish immigration. Gat also raises serious doubts about the guilt of the alleged Jewish bombthrowers. Firstly, a Christian officer in the Iraqi army known for his anti-Jewish views, was arrested, but apparently not charged, with the offences. A number of explosive devices similar to those used in the attack on the Jewish synagogue were found in his home. In addition, there was a long history of anti-Jewish bomb-throwing incidents in Iraq. Secondly, the prosecution was not able to produce even one eyewitness who had seen the bombs thrown. Thirdly, the Jewish defendant Shalom Salah indicated in court that he had been severely tortured in order to procure a confession. It therefore remains an open question as to who was responsible for the bombings, although Gat suggests that the most likely perpetrators were members of the anti-Jewish Istiqlal Party. Certainly memories and interpretations of the events have further been influenced and distorted by the unfortunate discrimination which many Iraqi Jews experienced on their arrival in Israel." Mendes, Philip. The Forgotten Refugees: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries, Presented at the 14th Jewish Studies Conference Melbourne March 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
^ Stillman, 2003, p. 162.
^ Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries by Ya'akov Meron. Middle East Quarterly, September 1995
^ Jews in Grave Danger in All Moslem Lands, The New York Times, May 16, 1948, quoted in Was there any coordination between Arab governments in the expulsions of the Middle Eastern and North African Jews? (JIMENA)
^ Aharoni, Ada (Volume 15, Number 1/March 2003). "The Forced Migration of Jews from Arab Countries", Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group.
^ Bermani, Daphna (November 14, 2003). "Sephardi Jewry at odds over reparations from Arab world".
^ The Forgotten Refugees - Historical Timeline
^ Stillman, 2003, p. 147.
^ a b c Larry Luxner, Life’s good for Jews of Bahrain — as long as they don’t visit Israel, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, October 18, 2006. Accessed 25 October 2006.
^ Sandeep Singh Grewal, Dr Munira Fakhro hopes for better future, WomenGateway, October 2006. Accessed 25 October 2006.
^ Levin, Itamar (2001). Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries. (Praeger/Greenwood) ISBN 0-275-97134-1, p. 6.
^ Pappe, 2004, p177
^ B. Morris and I. Black, Israel's Secret Wars (Grove Press, 1992), p93.
^ Beirut’s last Jews - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews
^ Stillman, 2003, p. 155-156.
^ Stillman, 2003, p. 145.
^ Harris, 2001, pp. 149-150.
^ Harris, 2001, pp. 155-156.
^ Simon, 1999, pp. 3-4.
^ Harris, 2001, p. 157.
^ For the events of Fez see Cohen, 1995, pp 180-182. On Marrekesh, see the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906.
^ Stillman, 2003, p. 127-128.
^ Stillman, 2003, pp. 128-129.
^ Yehuda Grinker (an organizer of Jewish emigration from the Atlas), The Emigration of Atlas Jews to Israel, Tel Aviv, The Association of Moroccan Immigrants in Israel, 1973.[1]
^ Stillman, 2003, pp. 172-173.
^ a b Stillman, 2003, p. 173.
^ Stillman, 2003, p. 174.
^ a b Stillman, 2003, p. 175.
^ Esther Benbassa, The Jews of France: A History from Antiquity to the Present
^ Daniel Pipes, Greater Syria: The History of an Ambition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) p. 57, records 75 victims of the Aleppo massacre.
^ Levin, 2001, pp. 200-201.
^ SyriaComment.com: "The Jews of Syria," By Robert Tuttle
^ Stillman, 2003, pp. 156-157.
^ Congress mulls Jewish refugee cause by Michal Lando. The Jerusalem Post. July 25, 2007
^ Historical documents. 1947-1974 VI - THE ARAB REFUGEES - INTRODUCTION MFA Israel
^ Justice for Jews from Arab countries (JJAC)
^ Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA)
^ Historical Society of the Jews from Egypt
^ International Association of Jews from Egypt
^ Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
^ "JJAC at 2008 United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva." Justice for Jews from Arab Countries. 19 March 2008. 30 March 2008.
^ anonymous (2008-07-03). "Cotler briefs UK parliament on Jewish refugees". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
^ "Hitching a ride on the magic carpet" Haaretz. 15 August 2003.
^ http://jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/2008/11/shas-to-make-jewish-refugees-electoral.html
^ Jimena Faq
^ Lyn Julius: Recognising the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
^ "A different kind of catastrophe." The Guardian, 23 June 2008.
Bibliography
Avneri, Arieh (1984). Claim of Dispossession: Jewish Land-Settlement and the Arabs, 1878-1948. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-87855-964-7
Cohen, Hayyim J. (1973). The Jews of the Middle East, 1860-1972 Jerusalem, Israel Universities Press. ISBN 0-470-16424-7
Cohen, Mark (1995) Under Crescent and Cross, Princeton, Princeton University Press.
De Felice, Renzo (1985). Jews in an Arab Land: Libya, 1835-1970. Austin, University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-74016-6
Gat, Moshe (1997), The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951 Frank Cass.
Gilbert, Sir Martin (1976). The Jews of Arab lands: Their history in maps. London. World Organisation of Jews from Arab Countries : Board of Deputies of British Jews. ISBN 0-9501329-5-0
Gruen, George E. (1983) Tunisia's Troubled Jewish Community (New York: American Jewish Committee, 1983)
Harris, David A. (2001). In the Trenches: Selected Speeches and Writings of an American Jewish Activist, 1979-1999. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 0-88125-693-5
Levin, Itamar (2001). Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-97134-1
Lewis, Bernard (1984). The Jews of Islam. Princeton. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
Lewis, Bernard (1986). Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice, W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-02314-1
Nini, Yehuda (1992), The Jews of the Yemen 1800-1914. Harwood Academic Publishers. ISBN 3-7186-5041-X
Pappe, Ilan (2004), A History of Modern Palestine One Land Two Peoples, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 55632 5
Rejwan, Nissim (1985) The Jews of Iraq: 3000 Years of History and Culture London. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-78713-6
Roumani, Maurice (1977). The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, Tel Aviv, World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries, 1977 and 1983
Schulewitz, Malka Hillel. (2001). The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands. London. ISBN 0-8264-4764-3
Schulze, Kristen (2001) The Jews of Lebanon: Between Coexistence and Conflict. Sussex. ISBN 1-902210-64-6
Simon, Rachel (1992). Change Within Tradition Among Jewish Women in Libya, University of Washington Press. ISBN 0295971673
Stearns, Peter N. Citation from The Encyclopedia of World History Sixth Edition, Peter N. Stearns (general editor), © 2001 The Houghton Mifflin Company, at Bartleby.com.
Stillman, Norman (1975). Jews of Arab Lands a History and Source Book. Jewish Publication Society
Stillman, Norman (2003). Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia. ISBN 0-8276-0370-3
Zargari, Joseph (2005). The Forgotten Story of the Mizrachi Jews. Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal (Volume 23, 2004-2005)."
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to post on this blog.
There are hundreds of thousands of Torah Jews around the world who pray for the end of Zionism. Although there are Jews who refuse to accept the teachings of our Rabbis and our Torah and who continue to support the Zionism, there are also many who are totally unaware of the history of Zionism and its contradiction to the beliefs of Judaism. Jews are opposed to Zionism from many different viewpoints, for example, those who believe that Zionism violates the Three Oaths in the Oral Law and thus prolongs the sufferings of the Jewish people in exile.
Zionism is wrong from the Torah viewpoint, not because the majority of Zionists are anti-religious, but because its fundamental principles are in conflict with our Torah and with the teachings and values of Judaism.
The Jewish people have existed for thousands of years.Without Torah and faith there is no Jewish people whose purpose in this world is Divine service.The salvation of the Jewish people is from Divine Service to G-d.
Zionism is a heresy that proselytizes that the salvation of the Jewish people can be achieved not through service to G-d, but instead via an army and conquest. Zionists make the world believe that all Jewry and their Rabbis support them, but this is false propaganda. The majority of religious Jews are opposed to Zionism, but their voice is not heard in the American or Israeli News media. Zionists terrorize anyone who speaks out against
them.
There are also those, like me whose families (father's family from Morocco, Mother's mother's family from Turkey and Algeria) lived peacefully under Muslim rule for many centuries and who are grateful to the Muslim lands that gave our families refuge from the Spanish Inquisition.
My family is especially indebted to the Muslim world because my mother's father is from a Chassidic family that was given refuge in Algeria during the Holocaust.
Jewish anti-Zionism is not restricted to Satmar and Neturei Karta and there are in fact many Jewish movements, groups and organizations whose belief regarding Zionism is that it is heresy and that the existence of a so-called "State of Israel" is illegitimate.
For example, the International Jewish anti-Zionist Network which states in their mission statement:
Through a shared Islamophobia and desire for control of the Middle East and broader West Asia, Israel makes common cause with Christian fundamentalists and others who call for Jewish destruction. Together they call for the persecution of Muslims. This shared promotion of Islamophobia serves to demonize resistance to Western economic and military domination. It continues a long history of Zionist collusion with repressive and violent regimes, from Nazi Germany to the South African Apartheid regime to reactionary dictatorships across Latin America.
Zionism claims that Jewish safety depends on a militarized Jewish state. But Israel does not make Jews safe. Its violence guarantees instability and fear for those within its sphere of influence and endangers the safety of all people, including Jews, far beyond its borders. Zionism colluded willingly in creating the conditions that led to violence against Jews in Arab countries. The loathing aroused by Israeli violence and military domination toward Jews living in Israel and elsewhere is used to justify further Zionist violence. "
Thank you again for your post and for sharing your thoughts and support. It is very much appreciated.
History is written by the conquistadors, see above.
ReplyDeleteJersey Girl's comments are what I expected, furthering my suspicious that she is really just a Jew-hating computer programmed to spit out anti-Zionist comments when anyone dares question the heiliger Satmar's twisted dogma.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I'd suspect that this anonymous Muslim commentator is the computer programmer!
There is no reaching some fanatics. If, chas v'shalom, Israel was nuked by Iran tomorrow, the Jersey Girl computer wouldn't blink an eyelash before spitting out the preprogrammed response: Well, it was all their own fault because Zionism is evil.
Hopefully the anonymous programmer will go for the upgrade to Windows Vista and crash the computer system so we can stop listening to its repetitive, anti-Semitic screeds.
Jersey Girl,
ReplyDeleteYasher Koach for putting it so succinctly and expressing the Torah viewpoint vis-a-vis Zionism.
As I posted once before, my grandfather in law was slaughtered by his best friend, Arab next door neighbor, a non fundamentalist Muslim (? sort of oxymoron) in the mid 1930's.
ReplyDeletePogrom by Arabs against Jews in the late 1800's and early 1900's had no connection to Israel statehood or zionism, just pure hatred of Yishmael to Yisrael.....
Jersey Girl,
ReplyDeleteThere are any number of poskim, both in and outside, that do not consider the state of Israel a heresy.
As well, I would challenge your assertion that there are "hundreds of thousands of Torah Jews" that pray for the end of the Jewish state. Just on very simple level, there are today ~5+ M Jews in Israel. There are approximately a similar number outside of Israel. If we assume that observant Jews make up 10% of this population (optimistic but what the heck), then by your assertions implies >20% of observant Jews pray against the state. Even among Charadim, this is simply not true.
I too have sympathy / empathy for the innocent that are injured and / or killed but as many military analysts have stated, the fact that so few have been hit in such crowded conditions is a testament to both the accuracy and sensitivity of the Israeli army to avoid unnecessary death. Show me another army that consistently gives up the element of surprise.
"As I posted once before, my grandfather in law was slaughtered by his best friend, Arab next door neighbor, a non fundamentalist Muslim (? sort of oxymoron) in the mid 1930's. "
ReplyDeleteMy sister was raped by a Christian neighbor as she walked home from her babysitting job in the 70s. He was a non fundamentalist non evangelical Catholic...... does this mean that all Christians or Catholics are rapists? Obviously according to your logic, it does or else you would not keep mentioning this tragedy in your family's history.
Overall, Jews in Arab lands fared much better than their brethren in Christiandom. I don't think that anyone has suggested that we are not in galut and that the non Jewish world loves us, anywhere.
The question that is relevant to Jewish identity and survival is the detrimental effect of Zionist/Christian ideology on Judaism, Jewish people and Jewish law.
Zionism endorses the sexist European anti-Semitic imagery of the effeminate and weak "diaspora Torah Jew" and counters it with a violent and militarist "new Jew," one who is a perpetrator rather than a victim of racialized violence.
Zionism thus seeks to make Jews white through the adopting of white racism against Palestinian people. Despite Israel's need to integrate Mizrahis in order to maintain a Jewish majority, this racism is also seen in the marginalization and economic exploitation of the socially deprived Mizrahi population.
Zionists disseminate the myth that Israel is a democracy. In truth, Israel has established and enforces internal policies and practices that discriminate against Jews of Mizrahi descent and exclude and restrict Palestinian people. Moreover, Israel, in collaboration with the United States, undermines any Arab movements for social change and liberation.
Zionism perpetuates Jewish exceptionalism. In defense of its crimes, Zionism tells a version of Jewish history that is disconnected from the history and experiences of other people. It promotes the narrative that the Nazi holocaust is exceptional in human history -- despite it being one of many holocausts from Native Americans North and South to Armenia and Rwanda. It sets Jews apart from the victims and survivors of other genocides instead of uniting us with them.
Through a shared Islamophobia and desire for control of the Middle East and broader West Asia, Israel makes common cause with Christian fundamentalists and others who call for Jewish destruction. Together they call for the persecution of Muslims. This shared promotion of Islamophobia serves to demonize resistance to Western economic and military domination. It continues a long history of Zionist collusion with repressive and violent regimes, from Nazi Germany to the South African Apartheid regime to reactionary dictatorships across Latin America.
Zionism claims that Jewish safety depends on a militarized Jewish state. But Israel does not make Jews safe. Its violence guarantees instability and fear for those within its sphere of influence and endangers the safety of all people, including Jews, far beyond its borders. Zionism colluded willingly in creating the conditions that led to violence against Jews in Arab countries. The loathing aroused by Israeli violence and military domination toward Jews living in Israel and elsewhere is used to justify further Zionist violence.
The moment when the Zionist movement decided to build a Jewish State in Palestine, it became a movement of conquest. Like the imperial conquest and genocidal ideologies of the Americas or Africa, Zionism depends on the segregation of people and the confiscation of land that produces ethnic cleansing and depends on unrelenting military violence.
Zionists worked hand in hand with the British colonial administration against the indigenous people of the region and their legitimate hopes for liberty and self-determination. The Zionist imagining of Palestine as "empty" and desolate justified the destruction of Palestinian life in the same way that such racism justified the extermination of Native Americans, the Atlantic slave trade, and many other atrocities.
Zionism is everything that the Rabbis of the past generations warned us it would be. It is a Christian ideology that has the potential to destroy Judaism.
There are 800,000 non Lubavitch Chassidim of which a substantial percentage are Satmar. Approx estimates of anti Zionist Haredim in Israel who are opposed to the State are 10% of the total Jewish population in Israel.
This comprises "hundreds of thousands of Torah Jews" who are praying for the peaceful end of the Jewish state and the preservation and safety of the Jewish people and our Torah way of life.
Joseph and Jersey Girl have declared that "the Torah viewpoint" -- the Daas Torah as it were -- has decided and anybody who speaks out against it is espousing a position against the Daas Torah.
ReplyDeleteThis is the type of logic that Jewish Observer spouted in the 60s when the RCA refused to pull out of the SCA despite the fact that the most prominent gedolim, with the exception of R' Eliezer Silver and the Rav, had essentially banned participation in the SCA. Due to the fact that the voices of the RCA's Halacha Commission -- of which the Rav was the head -- had not expressed agreement with the ban, the RCA didn't pull out. How dare they, they're not complying with the Daas Torah, etc...
To these folks, anybody whose view isn't in conformity with those they declare to be Daas Torah -- be that person the Rav, R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (see http://seforim.traditiononline.org/index.cfm/2007/10/23/Chaim-Rapoport--From-Ma8217adanei-Eretz-to-Kitvei-Ma8217adanei-Eretz-57045767 ), or others -- must either be censored or bashed. In their view, rabbanim who have views opposed to theirs as to what's best for klal yisrael in regards to certain important issues automatically have views which are treif. As for rabbanim they respect, excuses must be invented for any action they ever did -- such as the 3 excuses I've heard about how R' Boruch Ber Leibowitz really did know what R' Hirsch's hashkafa was but he must have had some halachic reason that we don't fully comprehend to falsify/exaggerate R' Hirsch's hashkafa (R' Elias and R' Schwab didn't buy into these excuses). In essence, this really results in a doctrine of papal infallibility. Cf. the Satmar Rav's position: http://academicfreelancers.blogspot.com/2008/09/beauty-of-censorship.html .
There are few non-Satmar Chassidim who hate the state of Israel. These haters are either members of the Satmar satellite groups or belong to a small number of Lithuanian objectors. Even in Satmar many today are not as opposed as they used to be. As there is so much Satmar infighting today it’s clear that they should go back to hating the state of Israel. Maybe then they would have more unity. Me thinks that the fact that Zionism as an ideology is dying (besides for the Religious Zionist) the Satmar dogma is in grave danger of falling apart. I think that Satmar should boost the Zionist ranks and maybe they would have a chance of surviving. They have lost their common enemy so they turned on their own. To those who have studied this dogma it’s clear that it was of a political nature and is a total failure.
ReplyDeletefyi I am not the Baruch who posted the comment at January 22, 2009 8:35 AM
ReplyDelete" There are few non-Satmar Chassidim who hate the state of Israel. These haters are either members of the Satmar satellite groups or belong to a small number of Lithuanian objectors."
ReplyDeleteYeah?
My daughter was selling Judaica giftware in a Chassidic neighborhood. ALL of the Chassidim who came into her store refused to buy anything with a tag on it that said "Made in Israel". (Try to source Judaica NOT stamped "made in Israel").
I have Gerer cousins through my mother's father (who was a Gerer Chasid) so we have many cousins on that side who are Gerer, Breslov (not nach, Breslov), Satmar, Vitniz, Belz etc. We go to B"H many smachot.
Once, when visiting my cousin's house (her husband is Satmar), I picked up a cake from the bakery and stuck a little gift tag on it. The back of the tag said "Printed in Israel". The husband quietly took the tag off and explained that "we do not acknowledge the Zionist State so I will not even have a piece of paper in my house with the name of the state on it".
The cake they enjoyed.
I did not make the same mistake again.
My Satmar boss in NY gave me his copy of Perfidy years before it came out in print. My cousins father in law (Satmar) is the one who introduced me, years ago to the topic of Mizrahi oppression in Israel (I did not believe my father back then).
Jersey Girl – You lack of understanding of the situation can be chalked-up to your not being part of these communities. There are few if any Chassidim who follow the Stamar shita. The issue that you mentioned regarding not using items with an Israeli flag has nothing to do with it. Satmar being the largest Chassidus and at one point controlled much of Charadei life in Yerushalayim through their Bais Din is the origin for members of other sects feeling uncomfortable with the Israeli flag. Uncomfortable does not mean that they are aginst the State. Even this feeling of being uncomfortable is changing partially because of the utter failure of the Shita and the fact that there is more Torah being learnt today because of the State than Satmar ever learnt. In any case, no other Chasidus besides for Stamar and its satellites expresses any animosity towards the state. Even in Stamar today the animosity is tempered by many.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is some very good arguments against the founders of the State, Perfidy is not one of them. In Yehuda Bauers book Jews For Sale he roundly debunks some of the main arguments in Perfidy. No doubt that Rabbi Wiessmandel was a great man but he was affected by the war.
ReplyDeleteBaruch,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you expect from a leftist Zionist pseudo-historian like Yehuda Bauers?
Perfidy mostly consists of verbatim testimony from the trial of the Jewish mass-murderer Rudolph Kastner.
"Even this feeling of being uncomfortable is changing partially because of the utter failure of the Shita and the fact that there is more Torah being learnt today because of the State than Satmar ever learnt."
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly do you mean by this?
Are you referring to Talmud study??
The sages of the Talmud worked at many diverse occupations. For instance, Hillel was a woodchopper and Shammai the Elder was a builder. Abba Chilkiyah was a field laborer; Rabbi Yochanan b. Zakkai was a businessman; Abba Shaul was a gravedigger; Abba Chilkiyah was a field worker; Abba Oshiya was a launderer; Rabbi Shimon P’kuli was a cotton dealer; Rabbi Shmuel b. Shilas was a school teacher, Rabbi Meir and Rabi Chananel were scribes; Rabbi Yosi b. Chalafta was a tanner; Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar was a shoemaker; Rabbi Yehoshua b. Chananiah was a blacksmith; Rabbi Safra and Rabbi Dimi of Nehardea were merchants; Rabbi Abba b. Zavina was a tailor; Rabbi Yosef b. Chiya and Rabbi Yannai owned vineyards; Rabbi Huna was a farmer and raised cattle; Rabbi Chisda and Rabbi Papa were beer brewers; Karna was a wine smeller (he determined which wine could be stored and which had to be sold immediately); Rabbi Chiya b. Yosef was in the salt business; Abba Bar Abba, (father of Mar Shmuel) was a silk merchant; and (Mar) Shmuel was a doctor.
Greater numbers of young men today are emulating the Sages of the Talmud because of the existence of the State of Israel???
Kiddushin 29a: "One who does not teach his son an occupation, it is as though he taught him to become a robber."
Here we go. Gadafi tells Obama to send Jews to Hawaii! New versions of a "Final Solution"!
ReplyDeleteAs reported by VIN:
"Libya - Gaddafi: Obama Should Negotiate With Bin Ladan, Jews Can Move To Hawaii
Published on: January 22nd, 2009 at 09:51 AM
Libya - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi advised US President Barack Obama on Wednesday to give Osama bin Laden a chance to reform, telling the new president that America's most wanted man was looking for "dialogue".
Gaddafi hailed what he called "positive signals" so far from the new Obama administration, including plans to close the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
A video grab from an undated footage from the Internet shows al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden making statements from an unknown location.
Speaking to students at Georgetown University via a satellite link-up from Libya, Gaddafi said Washington must review its approach to bin Laden, who is blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks and tops the US Most Wanted List.
"Terrorism is a dwarf not a giant. Osama bin laden is a person who can be given a chance to reform," Gaddafi said through an interpreter. He gave no indication that he had any contact with bin Laden or wanted to act as a go-between.
"Maybe we can have a dialogue with him and find out the reason that led him in this direction," he added.
Moreover, he said the Taliban, which the United States helped oust in Afghanistan, was "not as it has been portrayed" and Washington should review its views on that group too.
In a speech outlining his views on how to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Gaddafi called for the creation of one state rather than two nations living side by side.
"We can call it Isratine," he said.
If Jews did not accept a one-state solution, he said they could move to Hawaii, Alaska or an island in the Pacific. "They could live peacefully in an isolated setting"."
Hawaii is nice. My husband and I hiked the Na Pali coast when we were first married. We cashed in our frequent flyer miles and camped, hiked and ate nothing but fresh fruit, rice and ahi tuna for 10 days. (This wouldn't be such a bad idea now).
ReplyDeleteIf Hawaii became the Jewish state we would not be violating the Three Oaths in settling there.
Just for contemplation's sake, let's contrast the words of Chaim Weizmann pre State to the situation today:
"Palestine must be built up without violating the legitimate interests of the Arabs.. Palestine is not Rhodesia... 600,0000 Arabs there, who before the sense of justice of the world have exactly the same rights to their homes as we have to our National Home. [Chaim Weizmann, addressing the Fourteenth Zionist Congress in Vienna, 1925, quoted in Tessler, Mark, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1994 p. 181]
"There must not be one law for the Jew and another for the Arabs....In saying this, I do not assume that there are tendencies toward inequality or discrimination. It is merely a timely warning which is particularly necessary because we shall have a very large Arab minority. I am certain that the world will judge the Jewish State by what it will do with the Arabs, just as the Jewish people at large will be judged by what we do or fail to do in this state where we have been given such a wonderful opportunity after thousands of years of wandering and suffering." (Chaim Weizmann, Trial and Error, Page 566 - written in December 1947)
to Garnel:
ReplyDeleteWhen people are engaging in an intellectual dialogue, to resort to name calling, such as "self hating Jew" is not only inappropriate, but it proves that you don't have a case to prove your point.
The 3 oaths are very well known. It's a fair question to ask who decided they should be ignored and how this is within halacha.
Your Wikipedia cut and paste was indeed interesting. It is well known that there are other viewpoints.
I know a man who described how he saw with his own eyes how "the Arabs were driven out of my village like cattle" at the start of the War of Independence.
Would you just call him a liar? Or would you say it must be an isolated incident? Because of your predetermined opinion, it would be impossible for you to accept his testimony and then ask how such a thing could be true, and if could possibly NOT be an isolated incident.
I think that one can against the precepts of Zionism without wishing evil on the people who live in Israel.
ReplyDeleteAmericans who were against slavery pre 1865 or for slavery post 1865 did not exactly cooperate with enemy nations.
A Jew can be anti-Zionist and still pray for the safety of our fellow Jews in Israel. If chas'v'shalom an enemy should use a WMD against Israel, no anti-Zionist in their right mind would say it's justified.
Similarly, there were enemies of the U.S. who offered sympathy after the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. (Yes, there were those who celebrated, but the point I'm making is that you can be philosophically against a political movement without wishing harm to its adherents).
Baruch: You appear to be under the impression that halacha is a democratic process. It is not. What the majority of Satmar chassidim believe or do not believe is irrelevant to what Halacha is.
ReplyDeleteIf numbers mattered, then Halacha would be determined based on what the Reform believe. For example, conversion for intermarriage would be permitted.
Please, and Rabbi Weissmandel is an historian. Never mind that he was greatly affected by the war. Yehuda Bauers demolishes the main argument. The fact is there were trains that transported Jews right after a deal was set. This clearly proves that there was no way that the Nazi ym”s would have held their side of the deal.
ReplyDeleteJersey Girl - Yes much of the Torah being learnt today in Israel is because of the State. At least they deserve some of the credit even if this was not their intention. On the other hand Satmar is a failure in many senses of the word.
ReplyDeleteOnly Heinrich Himmler could turn off the liquidation machine. It was in 1944, the year of the assassination attempt on Hitler, when Reichsführer Himmler took over as commander of the Reserve Army, that he authorized me to propose an exchange: one million Jews for 10,000 winterized trucks with trailers. The World Jewish Organization could decide for itself what Jews it wanted to choose. We asked only that they get us 10,000 trucks. Thanks to Himmler’s directive, I could assure them, on my word of honor, that these trucks would be used only on the Eastern front. As I said at the time, “When the 10,000 winterized trucks with trailers are here, then the liquidation machine in Auschwitz will be stopped.
ReplyDeleteIn obedience to Himmler’s directive I now concentrated on negotiations with the Jewish political officials in Budapest. One man stood out among them, Dr. Rudolf Kastner, authorized representative of the Zionist movement. This Dr. Kastner was a young man about my age, an ice-cold lawyer and a fanatical Zionist. He agreed to help keep the Jews from resisting deportation and even keep order in the collection camps if I would close my eyes and let a few hundred or a few thousand young Jews emigrate illegally to Palestine. It was a good bargain. For keeping order in the camps, the price of 15,000 to 20,000 Jews - in the end there may have been more - was not too high for me.
Except perhaps for the first few sessions, Kastner never came to me fearful of the Gestapo strong man. We negotiated entirely as equals. People forget that. We were political opponents trying to arrive at a settlement, and we trusted each other perfectly. When he was with me, Kastner smoked cigarettes as though he were in a coffeehouse. While we talked he would smoke one aromatic cigarette after another, taking them from a silver case and lighting them with a little silver lighter. With his great polish and reserve he would have made an ideal Gestapo officer himself.
Dr. Kastner’s main concern was to make it possible for a select group of Hungarian Jews to emigrate to Israel. But the Arrow Cross, the Hungarian fascist party, had grown strong and stubborn. Its inspectors permitted no exceptions to the mass deportations. So the Jewish officials turned to the German occupation authorities. They realized that we were specialists who had learned about Jewish affairs through years of practice.
As a matter of fact, there was a very strong similarity between our attitudes in the SS and the viewpoint of these immensely idealistic Zionist leaders who were fighting what might be their last battle. As I told Kastner: “We, too, are idealists and we, too, had to sacrifice our own blood before we came to power.”
I believe that Kastner would have sacrificed a thousand or a hundred- thousand of his blood to achieve his political goal. He was not interested in old Jews or those who had become assimilated into Hungarian society. But he was incredibly persistent in trying to save biologically valuable Jewish blood, that is, human material that was capable of reproduction and hard work. “You can have the others,” he would say, “but let me have this group here.” And because Kastner rendered us a great service by helping keep the deportation camps peaceful, I would let his groups escape. After all, I was not concerned with small groups of a thousand or so Jews.
At the same time Kastner was bargaining with another SS of official a Colonel Kurt Becker. Becher was bartering Jews for foreign exchange and goods on direct orders from Himmler. A crafty operator, Becher had come to Hungary originally to salvage a stud farm which the SS wanted. He soon wormed his way into dealings with the Jews. In a way, Reichsführer Himmler was Becher’s captive. Becher showed me once a gold necklace he was taking to our chief. There were other agencies, German and Hungarian, which tapped Kastner for foreign exchange in return for Jews, but I held aloof from money affairs and left the material transactions to Becher.
Men under Becher’s command guarded a special group of 700 Jews whom Kastner had requested from a list. They were mostly young people, although the group also included Kastner’s entire family. I did not care if Kastner took his relatives along. he could take them wherever he wanted to.
—A. Eichmann, “Eichmann Tells His Own Damning Story”, Life Magazine, Volume 49, Number 22, (28 November 1960), pp. 19-25, 101-112; and “Eichmann’s Own Story: Part II”, Life Magazine, (5 December 1960), pp. 146-161; at 146.
* [The Torah] forbids us to strive for the reunion or possession of the land by any but spiritual means
ReplyDeleteRabbi S. R. Hirsch
* Not via our desire did we leave the land of Israel, and not via our power will we come back to the land of Israel.
Rabbi S.D. Schneerson
* [Zionists] want a state in order to make Jews into heretics.
Rabbi C. Soloveichik
* The Zionists have attacked the center point of Judaism.
Rabbi V. Soloveichik
Once before the Neila prayer on Yom Kippur Rabbi Avraham Yoshe Freund of Mansod said:
"It is not because they are Zionists that they are evildoers. It is because they are evildoers that they are Zionists."
Rabbi Aharon Roth once said:
"It is a miracle that these evildoers don't command everyone to put on tefillin. It is possible that were they to do it, G-d forbid, it may be forbidden to put them on."
The Chazon Ish once said:
"If it is hard to understand the whole matter of the Golden Calf, by seeing the matter of the State, one can understand it. The matter of the State is similar to the Golden Calf"
Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman once said:
"It is certain as the sun shines that the Land will vomit the Zionists out, because the Land is the Palace of the King....I don't say this either to curse or to bless, but because these are things which are written in the Torah and which will take place."
Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik once said:
"The Zionists aren't taking Jews away from Judaism in order to have a State, THEY NEED A STATE IN ORDER TO TAKE JEWS AWAY FROM JUDAISM"
Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam once said:
"When a Jew recites 'Hear O Israel, the Lord your G-d, the Lord is One' he should have in mind rejecting all idolatry in the world, including Zionism, which is also idolatry."
Rabbi Yissachar Dov of Belz once said:
" There could be, before the arrival of Mashiach, that the Satan should succeed, and the evildoers should get a State in the Land of Israel. Their state would be a big danger for every Jew in material and spiritual matters."
The Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Hakohen once said:
"In my opinion it is clear that the Zionists are from the offspring of AMALEK."
Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (Reb Velvel) once said:
"How can the little rabbis and heads of yeshivas take upon themselves the determination of things dealing with life and death? It is obvious that the partition will bring with it the anger and hostility of the Arabs and other nations of the world. This whole thing touches on the shedding of blood. HOW DO THEY HAVE THE ARROGANCE TO MAKE JUDGEMENTS DEALING WITH LIFE AND DEATH?
He also said:
"The Agudah is nothing, just money."
Rabbi Moshe Leib Diskin once said:
"The rabbis of the generation should gather together and issue a writ of excommunication against the Zionists and eject them from the Jewish People, and make decrees against their bread and wine, and to forbid marrying with them, JUST LIKE OUR SAGES DID WITH THE SAMARITANS."
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Eherenreich once said:
"The Zionists brought us to the Holocaust. It is well known that it was possible to redeem Jews from the Nazis with money, and save many hundreds of thousands of Jews in Hungary from the fire. THE ZIONIST LEADERS WHO NOW SIT IN GOVERNMENT PREVENTED IT!"
Rabbi Shaul Brach of Kashoa once said:
"Before thinking up the idea of Zionism, Herzl wanted all Jews to convert to Christianity. When he was laughed at, he developed the second idea which was able to have more effect, since thousands of Jews began to believe they could be Jews without the Torah of Judaism."
"I am also surprised at the leaders of the Agudah who want thousands of Jews to move to Eretz Israel. How can they ignore the welfare of their children, since there is no other place on earth where there is so much heresy and sectarianism as in the Holy Land in our day."
**********
Reb Elchonon Wasserman, zt'l:
“We must emphasize and declare the position of our holy Torah in order to banish any confusion of ideas. Inasmuch as there are Jews who are Torah-observant who say that a Jewish State would be the “beginning of the Redemption,” we must inform them of the position of our Torah that this is nothing less than the beginning of a new Exile! What do I mean? After all, Jews have been living in Exile for some two thousand years, so how can this be a “beginning” of a new Exile? My intention is to expose the so-called Jewish Communists. An Exile such as this has never existed until today. None of us can even describe such an exile, an Exile under Jews! Only Jews from Russia have a slight sense of this situation, even though the regime there is not a “Jewish” one. One of the great rabbis of this generation recently told me that the term “beginning of the Redemption” in reference to the Zionist movement makes his hair stand on end!
“However, it could be said that it does bring the Redemption closer. The great Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna (who lived in the 18th century) stated (see Kol Yerushalayim, 22 Elul 1937) that effect of Jewish suffering is that it brings the Redemption closer, and because the misfortune of a “Jewish State” would bring greater suffering upon us, it could be said that this brings the Redemption closer, as was the case in Egypt, that the oppression of bondage hastened the Redemption.”
**********
Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt'l:
754. The Zionst leaders together with the Reform “rabbis” aided substantially in the destruction of the European Jews.
In July 1938 President Roosevelt convened the Evian Conference to consider the problem of Jewish refugees. At that time a German offer was made to release Jews at $250 per person. The Jewish Agency, headed by Golda Meir, decided to ignore the offer.
At this conference, the delegation from the Jewish Agency made no effort to influence the United States or any of the 32 other participating nations to open their gates to admit German Jews.
755. When a shipload of Jewish refugees on the Danube river were refused permission to disembark anywhere, Henry Montor the leader of the United Jewish Appeal explained that they could not be allowed to sail the Holy Land because “Palestine cannot be flooded with old people or with undesirables”. (Feb. 1, 1940).
768. Rabbi Weismandl sent urgent and impassioned appeals for small funds to stave off the deportation of thousands. The assimilationists and Zionists of Switzerland and other neutral countries and of the rich countries and of the rich communities overseas refused his request. The Reform “rabbis” and the disloyal, to whom the public Jewish funds were entrusted, scorned the messages which Rabbi Weissmandl smuggled out at the risk of his life, and they allowed the masses of Slovakian and Hungarian Jews to be transported to the German killing-centers.
769. It was because European Jews put their trust in atheistic Zionist leaders that these leaders everywhere became the lackeys of the Nazis in all the Ghettos. They were the machinery, which served efficiently in the task of keeping the Jews docile and of persuading and coercing them to be sent off to their deaths. No Torah leader ever cooperated with the Nazis in the destruction machinery.
**********
Rabbi Yitchok Hutner Z"L:
Sadly, even in our own circles, the mold for shaping public opinion lies in the hands of the State of Israel. An appropriate example of this dangerous process of selectively "rewriting" history may be found in the extraordinary purging from the public record of all evidence of the culpability of the forerunners of the State in the tragedy of European Jewry, and the sub-situation in is place of factors inconsequential to the calamity which ultimately occurred.
To cover its own contribution to the final catastrophic events, those of the State in a position to influence public opinion circulated the notorious canard that Gedolet Yisroel were responsible for the destruction of many communities because they did not urge immigration. This charge is, of course, a gross distortion of the truth, and need not be granted more dignity than it deserves by issuing a formal refutation. However, at the same time as the State made certain to include this charge as historical fact in every account of the war years, it successfully sought to omit any mention of its own contribution to the impending tragedy. While the State omitted in its own version of history is the second of the above-mentioned new directions in recent Jewish history. It is that phenomenon which we must now examine.
This is a quote from Rudolf Vrba, who escaped Auschwitz and reported what was happening there to Kastner:
ReplyDeleteI am a Jew. In spite of that, indeed because of that, I accuse certain Jewish leaders of one of the most ghastly deeds of the war. This small group of quislings knew what was happening to their brethren in Hitler's gas chambers and bought their own lives with the price of silence. Among them was Dr. Kasztner, leader of the council which spoke for all Jews in Hungary. While I was prisoner number 44070 at Auschwitz - the number is still on my arm - I compiled careful statistics of the exterminations . . . I took these terrible statistics with me when I escaped in 1944 and I was able to give Hungarian Zionist leaders three weeks notice that Eichmann planned to send a million of their Jews to his gas chambers . . . Kasztner went to Eichmann and told him, 'I know of your plans; spare some Jews of my choice and I shall keep quiet.' Eichmann not only agreed, but dressed Kasztner up in S.S. uniform and took him to Belsen to trace some of his friends. Nor did the sordid bargaining end there. Kasztner paid Eichmann several thousand dollars. With this little fortune, Eichmann was able to buy his way to freedom when Germany collapsed, to set himself up in the Argentine . . .
The 3 oaths are very well known. It's a fair question to ask who decided they should be ignored and how this is within halacha.
ReplyDeleteThere have been numerous sefarim written debating the legality of the 3 oaths and what are their place in a halachic decision. Almost all sefarim agree that they are not taken into consideration as halachic rulings.
A Rebuke and a Prediction.
ReplyDeleteWhile Jersey girl and her new partner "Joseph" prattle on with their dated anti-Zionism, and about the "3 oaths" fantasy (who even thinks of it as being applicable in real terms besides the nuts that went to Tehran to deny the Holocaust?) and tilting at windmills and spouting ideas that noone really buys into, the State of Israel grows as the only real home of the Jews, all Jews, where all will end up very soon.
Even Charedim and Chasidim who dislike the political secular state will be forced to run it somehow as they gain even larger majorities and powers in the future. They will have to figure out how to keep the streets paved, keep electricty, water and gas running. And yes, even how to run and manage a civil service, foreign services and the armed forces, as many already are doing both de facto and de jure.
Just look at the photos in the media of all those Israeli fighting men that went into Gaza recently to bravely fight the Hamas murderers. So many pictures of soldiers wearing Kippot, donning Tefillin and Taleisim, Davening, asking for blessings and guidance from leading rabbis. This is not your grandfather's Zionism nor is it your father's Israeli army. A new day has arrived and it's outlines can be very clearly seen.
If you have read and followed the three articles that Rabbi Eidensohn has posted from Rav Moshe Shternbuch, published in the English language HAMODIAH in North America as well, you will see that he is talking differently about a new reality that is taking place right before our eyes, in spite of empty anti-Zionist rhetoric that noone takes seriously anymore (one reason: so many other heavy problems in real life to deal with, that Zionism seems so quaint a notion to actually "fight" against.)
Just a simple set of historical facts and realities to note.
There is noone alive today who can be blamed for the Holocaust. That generation is dead and gone now. They have been judged by the Judge of Truth, Hashem Himself.
After the Holocaust there were about 13-14 million Jews in the world with about 600,000 living in Israel in 1948.
Approximately every decade since then the Jewish population of Israel has increased by about one million due to an increased birth rate and the arrival of new waves of Olim from various parts of the globe.
The Jewish population of Israel today stands at about 6 million Jews, approaching the 50% mark of the world's Jewish population and it's growing all the time as the numbers outside of Israel shrink due to low birth rates from assimilation and intermarriage. Only among the Orthodox, particularly among Haredim is there any population growth of Jews.
Look at reality that is staring you in the face and see the inevitable flow of world and Jewish history.
If in 60 years from 1948 until now, Israel gained roughly about one million Jews, going from 600,000 to almost 6,000,000 in 2009, then in it is logical to say that based on this pattern and projection, Israel will gain another 6 million Jews in the next 60 years so that by the year 2068 from natural growth and through continuing Aliya it will once and for all make Israel the only home of 90% (maybe more) of the world's Jews. A few may remain in Monroe, NY, Golders Green, UK, and a few other spots, that is if they don't move to Yerushalayim (that is rapidly emptying of secular residents) and Bnai Brak (that is ever-expanding with frum communities) sooner.
The rise of the false Obama-messiah regime (following on the heels of the events of 9/11) with all the secular liberal Jews help is the last gasp of the assimilationists, Hellenists and Hellenizsers, appeasers, apostates and self-hating Jews that spells the end of the golden age of American Jewry. All the arrows point to Israel as the only true God-given Jewish homeland for all the world's Jews, like it or not want it or not, that's the way it's shaping up.
Every Jew outside of israel has been advised to get passporst for every meber of their familkies by many leading rabbis and rebbetzisn. This is the kind of talk on the street right.
The scent of Mashiach is in the air, even Rav Shternbuch says so.
"Almost all sefarim agree that they (the Three Oaths) are not taken into consideration as halachic rulings."
ReplyDeletePlease name specifically which sefarim, title, author and page say that the Three Oaths are not to be considered.
Are they Jewish sefarim, Lubavitch sefarim or Christian missionary books???
Jews who are anti Zionist pray for the safety of Jews in Israel, every day. Many believe that the safest thing for the Jews in Israel would be to be under non Jewish rule rather than Christian Zionist, "ignite the 375 million strong Arab world" which has already killed tens of thousands of Jewish boys and which threatens all six million Israeli Jews with Iran's nuclear weapons.
Christians want to destroy the Jewish people in a war of Aramgeddan in which we win control of the Holy Land for them. So far, we have willing and able pawns in their plot to destroy us.
Boy, RAP, you sure are good at hocking in chinik with things that are completely off subject and irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Do you always do this after you lost the argument?
ReplyDeleteZionism is dying from within. Even the alte zionists themselves are no longer zionist. The zionists youth are immigrating to America and other countries. The youth that stay no longer believe in zionism. In fact, the youth no longer even know what zionism is. The political leaders of the zionists state are bit by bit giving away Israeli territory. They hold of nothing anymore.
ReplyDeleteAnti-zionism includes all of Chareidi Judaism -- the only growing segment of Jewry. Yes, amongst Chareidim their may be disagreement how to interact with the (remaining) zionists. Accept State money or not. Live in Israel or not. Vote in State elections or not. But regardless of all that, all Chareidim are anti-zionists. Ask any leading Chareidi Rosh Yeshiva or Gedolim (in Eretz Yisroel or Chutz L'Aretz) if he is opposed to zionism and he will respond in the affirmative. Even if he holds that it is acceptable to vote and accept zionist state funds. That is a side issue, and he remains as firmly anti-zionist as all the Chareidi Gedolim I quoted above.
Now RAP can go hock in chinik again and obstruct the issue with all his irrelevant points.
I will not get into this dated anti-Zionist argument. I am also not giving the Zionist right. However, my point was that Rabbi Wiessmandel’s main argument is incorrect, so don’t cite Perfidy as proof to anything.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the three oaths, the first to make a halachic issue out of this matter was the Satmar rebbe. His arguments are easily refutable. Moreover, his model of yiddishkeit is a disaster.
"Anti-zionism includes all of Chareidi Judaism" and a sizable chunk of Mizrahi Jews as well.
ReplyDeleteBasically, it is everyone whose extended families have not intermarried with Christians (fictitious and valueless conversions or not) and come under the influence of macho European Crusader theology.
The Takana (which was recently also adopted by the Meshadi community) does not only protect our bloodline.
The Satmar Rebbe ZTV'L (and Rav Ahron Kotler ZTV'L) made Torah in America into what it is today. The Satmer Rebbe built Chasidus Satmar from the perhaps 10 survivors from Satmar, into the biggest Chasidus in the world. This anyone calls a tremendous success.
ReplyDeleteMachlokes? We are in golus. You've seen them, most unfortunately, in Ponoviz, Chaim Berlin, Satmar, Lubavitch, etc. etc. Do you recall what happened to the students of RABBI AKIVA? We are in golus, and machlokes nebech strikes even the best of us.
Jersey Girl - You are so twisted it is laughable. If you were to ask any Gerer, Belzer or Viznits Chassid who he believes is more erlich a Stamarer Chassid or a religious Zionist there is no doubt that they would say that most of the religious Zionist are frummer. You simply do not know the Chassideshe world.
ReplyDeleteDear Joseph: So far I am trying to avoid getting into personal insults with you. I am trying to maintain a dignified tone. You may make your points like a mentsch and feel free to refute my arguments without resort to insults and barbs, and I will try to do the same. This is a polite request.
ReplyDeleteYou make sweeping accusations and insults against me and you go off on your tangents, thinking you are "attacking" me when you are just making a series of statements that are not addressed to any of my points or arguments in an orderly or logical manner.
You also tend to raise the level of emotionalism which is never good for rational, civilized and cultured debate. Are you capable of a mature, non-polemical, non-prejudiced discussion (all we have here are just discussions by the way) a free flow of ideas and presentation. There is no official dogma or party line that anyone is sworn to adhere to or to swear allegiance to in order to be accepted.
So could you please have the courtesy to go back and point out to which specific points and sentences and ideas you disagree with or that you think that are wrong and not just make pointless sweeping remarks against me personally that don't achieve anything really, byond making you feel good. Try having fun with a pet or child instead.
Can you do this? I am waiting for an answer please, from what you will write, and I will draw my conclusions about you accordingly, but don't count on me taking on the kind of lines or tone that you do towards me. I am still giving you the benefit of the doubt that you wish to have discussions (not just yell at me in ra-ra-ra fashion or from the peanut gallery) in good faith and will you respect your fellow bloggers as you would wish to be respected yourself. Do NOT personalaize issues and arguments. try to retain and maintain an air of cordilaity and give and take. Remember: This is not a jihad, it is just a simple blog!
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Life of MK Rabbi Avraham Ravitz z"l proves that one can be both a loyal Torah Jew and a good citizen of Israel.
ReplyDeleteAs reported by VosIzNeias.com from Jpost.com:
"Jerusalem - Degel Hatorah Leader Rabbi Avraham Ravitz Passes Away
Published on: January 25th, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Jerusalem - MK Rabbi Avraham Ravitz (United Torah Judaism) passed away overnight Sunday, succumbing to an illness which had him hospitalized at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital since the beginning of January.
Ravitz, 74, who had served in the Knesset for 21 years, had held a number of positions during that time, among them deputy housing minister, deputy education minister, deputy welfare minister, and chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee. In November 2008, he announced that he would not be seeking reelection in the Febuary 2009, and would be retiring from politics.
Prior to his career as an MK, he was the head of a Yishiva. He had also served in both the IDF, and the pre-independence Lehi militia.
Ravitz, who lived in Jerusalem, was hospitalized after losing consciousness in his house at the beginning of the month. He is survived by his wife, 12 children, and 77 grandchildren.
His funeral will begin at his house in the capital at 1:00 p.m. on Monday."
Boruch Dayan Ha'Emes!
To write that the Satmar Rebbe built Chasiddus into what it is today is to redact history. But I understand you it is easy to believe the Stamar propaganda machine. The only thing Satmar did was that Chasiddim can wear Strimelach, which would have happened without him. There is one thing that Stamar being the benchmark of frumkeit did build that is much of the machlokas that is happening today by Chasiddim can be chalked-up to Satmar. It is the biggest challenge to chinuch as can be noticed from the attrition that is happening in Satmar today.
ReplyDeleteZionism has died. I'm not sure what we're arguing about here. Even the last symbolic vestige of what was Zionism - the State itself - the remaining Zionists (in name only) are slowly but surely giving away the land.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who built "Chasidus" in post-war America (probably the Satmar Rebbe as well [with Satmar being the largest Chasidus - as well as the largest growing), but the Satmar Rebbe - and Rav Ahron Kotler - built Torah and Yiddishkeit in post-war America into what it is today.
If you ever walk up to any random Chasid (as I've done often) - and not even a Satmar Chasid - they are in awe of the "heilige Satmar Rebbe ZTV'L."
“Zionism has died” exactly my point. Satmar needed Zionism more than the land needed Zionism itself. A Chassidus built on machlokas needs a common enemy. Since the time of the end of Zionism Satmar has no common enemy. Therefore they turned on themselves. It is historical revisionism to say that Satamr built anything in America. The fact is he came later than all rabbanim and found America already starting to thrive in yidishkeit. Most non-Satmar who know the Satmar Rebbes history would not have kind words for him. The fact is he took many Chassidim away from their original Chassidus.
ReplyDeleteI will add that the RZ are still keeping Zionism alive.
Anyway I don’t see the point of your argument. The NK’s main support stems from Satmar and Satmar for all proposes has died as well. As I mentioned previously there is a tremendous amount of attrition in Satmar. Clearly it is because of their lack of real Torah values. Thiers is a Chasiddus built on the wrong values. The fact is that R’ Aharon Teitlbaum is using Belz as a benchmark and not his great uncles shitos because they are dead.
It died, as the tzaddikim long predicted it would.
ReplyDeleteSatmar is, and always has, been growing by leaps and bounds. And you have no idea about Chasidus clearly. Take a walk down any Boro Park or Williamsburg street and ask the randon Chasid about the Satmar Rebbe (as I have), and they will respond in great awe for all the Torah and Yiddishkeit the Rebbe has built.
Joseph – You are living in fantasy land. Your infatuation with Satmar probably stems from the fact that his shita correlates with yours. The fact is that the respect for Satmar has diminished tremendously over the years. In Eretz Yisroel even more so, since most Chasidim there, never cared for him at all (I am sure you don’t know the real reason why he left Eretz Yisroel for America). With the Charedim in America Satmar controlled the press and that is why it’s taking longer for his stature to diminish. I know Satmar politics very well as I live together with them. I am sure you can’t say the same.
ReplyDeleteBaruch,
ReplyDeleteYou are entirely clueless about Chasidim, Chareidim, and Satmar. I live and interact daily with all of them daily and your comments have no basis in reality.
Now you may go on and continue to hock in chinik. Feel free to have the last word, if you'd like.
Jersey Girl Said
ReplyDelete"Anti-zionism includes all of Chareidi Judaism" and a sizable chunk of Mizrahi Jews as well.
Basically, it is everyone whose extended families have not intermarried with Christians (fictitious and valueless conversions or not) and come under the influence of macho European Crusader theology.
This is quite possibly the most insulting thing you have ever said on this forum. Really you seem to feel the need to impinge on the Yichut of every Gerrer Rebbe since the Imrei Emes(5 in total) and all their Chassidim. As well as people such as R' Ovadiah Yosef, The Belzer Rav, the Bobover Rav, R' Shlomo Amar, R' Mordechai Eliyahu, R' Moshe Tzadakah, R' S.Z. Auerbach, R' Eliashiv, R' Aryeh Levine Z"L, Mori R' Yitchak Kaduri Z"L and the lists goes on of Gedolim. As well as millions of Chareidim.
If even Satmar, normal Satmar, not the Ahmenijad hugging holocaust denying Neutari Karta nuts, are so against the State of Israel, why do they keep founding communities here? Why are they citizens here? Why do they collect Bituach Leumi, and not work, but only learn? Why do they accept government funding for their schools and Yeshivot?
At best the argument over the Jewish State is a Machloket Gedolim. No doubt you dug up all of your bile on various anti-Zionist websites. Please do us all a favor and go get a psak from any of your Anti-Zionist Rabbanim about whether one is allowed to use the internet, or if that is also Kafira, right up there with being pro-Israel. My guess is that we would not be hearing from you again.
Please spare us your Lashon Hara and your X-fileseque stories.
Joseph - As I mentioned you are living in fantasy land, and you have nothing to answer as can be noticed from your response. Satmar ratio-wise more than any other Chassidus is imploding. There are many yungerliet who learnt in their Yeshivah system and barely look Chassidshe anymore. The fact that R’ Aharon has to turn to the Belzer system to keep his Chassidim in check is proof that I am correct. Anyone who knows the Satmer Rebbes history has little respect for him. No doubt that those who were affected by his heavy handedness hold even less of him. You can say what you want but I am part of his system and I know it better than you. Satmar needs machlokas to survive and that is what’s doing them in.
ReplyDelete“If even Satmar, normal Satmar, not the Ahmenijad hugging holocaust denying Neutari Karta nuts”
ReplyDeleteWhat people don’t want to realize is that the NK follows the Satmar shita more so than the regular Satmar Chassid. The NK has many supporters in Satmar and even receives money from them and would not exist without them. So the blame for the NK's actions rest squarely on the Satmar Rebbe. I know that people are going to argue that the rebbe threw these characters out so how can you blame him? For those who know his history this is not an argument. The Rebbe threw out other people but they somehow managed to come back. So the answer to this argument is why did all these kanoim always congregate around him?
Baruch: You sound like one of those "off-the-derech" chevra. Aside from simply being maliciously wrong about Satmar (on every point you mentioned about them), it is clear you have an inferiority complex and have hate in your heart.
ReplyDeleteYWN- Care to elaborate. Here we go again, anyone who disagrees with Satmar is of the derech. I am sure that you know very little about Satmar Rebbes history.
ReplyDeleteElaborate? Anyone reading your above comments can only conclude that your heart is full of hatred of your brethren Jews.
ReplyDeleteAnd the hatred perpetuated by all his anti-Zionistic rhetoric is fine in your books? Clearly you do not know or want to realize the implications of the Rebbes words. Besides my point was that you should elaborate on your statement that I am “maliciously wrong” regarding Satmar. I see that you like to make grand statements without bringing any support.
ReplyDeleteAnyone reading your above comments can only conclude that your heart is full of hatred of your brethren Jews.
ReplyDeleteNot me.
Please name specifically which sefarim, title, author and page say that the Three Oaths are not to be considered.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the post about the 3 oaths and all the sefarim, authors are readily available.
How come nobody has answered Tzipschum's simple and important question?
ReplyDeleteCheck out the thread dedicated to the 3 oaths.
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to mention more than the fact that it is not mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch and in the Rambam. It was never considered halachah until the Satmar Rebbe wrote his sefer.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the 3 oaths thread.
ReplyDelete