Prof Paul Eidelberg: We Shall Overcome with the Torah as Our Guide

The feeling of gloom and doom regarding Israel's present danger is hardly justified by a long view of Jewish history.

Recall the appalling condition of the Jewish people after the destruction of the Second Temple. Or ponder the horrendous loss of Jewish life resulting from the Christian Crusades and, more recently, from the Nazi Holocaust. Surely there was more reason for pessimism then than now, when Israel is not stateless and has a formidable military establishment, a sophisticated scientific-technological infrastructure, and a surprisingly expanding economy.

In fact, Israel's condition in the 1948-49 War of Independence was more precarious than now. True, Israel’s government under David Ben-Gurion was more passionately Zionistic than the present one. True, the patriotic zeal and the extraordinary fighting spirit of the Jews of his generation compensated for lack of military hardware. But as Operation Cast Lead indicates, the courage or fortitude of Israelis today is quite formidable despite the shortcomings of Israel’s ruling elites.

This is not to minimize the danger now confronting Israel from Iran. That danger would be greatly diminished, however, if Israel were unified under a Torah-oriented republic rather than fragmented under a specious western-style democracy.

Perhaps the leadership for such a republic will soon emerge from Zionist youth now living in Judea and Samaria? And despite the anti-Zionist reputation of the Haredim, I dare say that the latter have great promise.

First of all, the Haredim have the fewest illusions about the secular democratic state, and none about the Arab-Islamic world. They scorn pop culture and they are not steeped in the escapism or pacifism of the cultural left.

Second, the vast majority of the Haredim maintain that the Land of Israel belongs exclusively to the Jews and that only Jews have political rights in Eretz Israel. At the same time, they have learned from the Torah and from their Rabbis, that whereas a wrong committed against a fellow-Jew is an ordinary sin, a wrong committed against a non-Jew is in addition the more serious sin of profaning the Name of God, the sanctification of which is Israel’s mission and destiny.

Third, and most happily, more and more Haredim are entering the professions, and this will foster greater unity and excellence among the Jewish people.

Fourth, their high birthrate is rendering the Haredim more politically significant, the tendency of which will make them more nationalistic.

Fifth, the convergence of Torah and science (evident in the books of physicists such as Gerald Schroeder and Nathan Aviezer), versus the nihilism conspicuous in western-style democracies, will bring more and more Jews back to their glorious heritage and hasten the process of transforming Israel into a Jewish republic that will inspire mankind.

Thus, let us not be downcast by the decrepit state of contemporary politics, and let us not be dismayed by the dangers that confront us. We must not only honor, but also enrich our unrivalled tradition by thinking in creative ways that will invigorated and elevate the individual and the community.

Even now there are creative ideas and forces at work that transcend the nostrums of politics or of conventional democracy. It was not politics, and it was not democracy, that preserved the Jewish people through centuries of humiliation, persecution, and massacre. To the contrary: the politics of nations cast countless Jews into the torture-chambers of Europe; and let us not forget that during the Holocaust, democracies, to say the very least, looked on with indifference.

To conclude: It was the Torah and only the Torah that preserved the Jewish people through millennia of dispersion and decimation. It is the Torah that must fire our hearts, inspire our minds, and guide our actions. By upholding the Torah we shall overcome our enemies and the present danger.

ISRAEL versus NORTH KOREA -- a comparison

When it comes to comparing how the World (the nations) regard and treat Israel as compared how they view and handle North Korea, Israel comes out as expected: The Jew Among the Nations.

While no nation on Earth--certainly not the Arab jackals yapping and snapping at Israel's heels from north and south and high-pitched barking from the Islamic world from Saudi Arabia to Egypt--fears Israel, the nations are afraid of what North Korea might do--to what is Kim Jong Il and his cadre up next?

Why not? why don't the Arabs fear Israel's might?

Because first of all--the Arabs and the world knows that the United States would never allow Israel to fully unsheath its sword and Israel is far too much beholden to the fading giant of the Americas.

There are the differences between these two states--Israel and North Korea--that must be taken into consideration.

North Korea has China at its back, although neither approving nor disapproving of his Communist offspring, China for reasons of its own, does not want North Korea to fall, whether through military attack from the outside nor internal collapse.

Israel--as does the Jew, always--stands alone. It has no friend. Although the United States mouths that it will not allow the destruction of Israel, it has taken the position under its latest leader that Israel was created by the nations in 1948 to assuage the Jews for the Holocaust (but enough already!).

The world is a-gaggle when North Korea launches a missile or detonates a nuclear test. It is unheedful of and ignores the Samson option.

Why?

Because the Jews wouldn't dare! (Or would they? You think?)

The U.S. and the EU do little --or nothing--to try and stop the Iranian mhadi-men fom building up their nuclear war machine--with the declared intention of ridding the world of the ( by-their-Mohammed-accursed) Jews.

But there is always the big stick wielded by the Moslem-dominated UN: Sanctions.

These have been used to threaten North Korea from time to time, with little result to halt that state's eagerness to perfect its nuclear arsenal--for sale to any Islamic entity that wants to purchase these new "swords of jihad."

Two U.S. journalists are arrested and sentenced to hard labor in North Korea. The U.S. is all a-twitter. When an American citizen (Jew) is brutally murdered by Arab Islamics in Israel or its stolen and Arab-occupied territories of Judea and Samaria (Gaza is lost for the time being), not much is heard from the supposed "protector of Israel"--the U.S.

Not that Israel wants or needs this so-called "protector" that is now more than ever intent on destroying the Jewish state.

Even when non-Jewish Americans are murdered by Arabs in Israel's Arab-occupied territory, not much ado about nothing takes place.

At one time the Jew living in Israel and among the nations was viewed with respect. That was when Israel acted alone (without asking the U.S's permission before it acted), when it slammed a fist into the snout of Idi Amin in Entebbe, and fought the "armies of Mohammed" to their utter defeat--until stopped by the cries of outrage from the nations time and time again (from Suez to Gaza).

Perhaps it would be better for the Jew and the Jewish state to discard the image of "victim" and assume that of an unpredictable power that could light up the nations were it to to face a world-wide 2nd Holocaust.

Isn't it time for the Jew to become a Jew again?

OBAMA GIVES ORDERS TO ISRAEL and . . .

BUCHANAN BREAKS WIND (with glee!)

and it sure does stink!






















The Jew-Israel-hater and "Conservative Underground" member is all a-gaggle about Obama's forceful anti-Israel stance.

"Obama has confronted Bibi Netanyahu and handed Israel an ultimatum: Halt all settlement growth, now, and come back to me with your plan for a Palestinian state," the new Obama supporter burbled as he quoted his idol.

Hardly able to conceal his glee at "the Jews getting what they have coming to them," the newly Leftist-Liberal slimeball gloats,

"There are reports that while Defense Minister Barak was in the office of National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones, Obama popped in for 15 minutes to tell Israel's most decorated soldier he wants to see an Israeli plan for peace and a Palestinian state by July."

Apparently Obama has no qualms about giving direct orders to Jews. After all, he is the ruler of one of "the Largest Muslim countries in the world," according to his own boast in Cairo.

While the arrogant Obama becomes the twittering Obambi when faced by non-compliant EU countries and North Korea, and pisses all over himself when in the presence of his Saudi masters, he has learnt his koran well: he has no respect nor use for the despised apes and pigs of his "prophet."

According to the antisemite Buchanan, Obama challenges Israel and "even if Israel believes its interests are being subordinated and security imperiled, the United States disagrees -- and the United States will prevail."

So, when Israeli Jews try to inveigle all Jews to "come home to Israel" (what for, to sit there and wait until the Iranians perfect the nuclear bomb and missile to turn the world's Jews into ashes as did their spiritual forebears in the ovens of Germany?) don't think that you'll be safe there.

Not with the crypto-Moslem Obama holding the power here.

And what about here, in the U.S.? Think that Jews are safe here and considered loyal Americans by such Conservatives as the Obama-backing Buchanan and his claque?

Think that Buchanan is alone in his hatred of Israel and Jews? Then go to http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32162 and read the COMMENTS to the
Buchanan sliming of Jews who believe that they can live in Judea and Samaria (Gaza is already Hamas-Iran-land).

Had Buchanan lived in the 1930s, he would have been one of the strongest backers of Hitler and his Nazis and the extermination process for Jews developed by them.

Here's a COMMENT that has one saving feature in it (after reading it, can you guess what that is?)

Great column Pat: Obama must have Israel's intrests at heart. He got 78% of the Jewish vote and huge amounts of money, as well. His key aides like Emmanuel, Axelrod, Summers, and Ross are long time backers of Israel. If there is a fight it would seem to between the backers of Bibi,Avigdor and Tzipi, Elhu. It sure doesn't pay to get in the middle of a fight with a bunch of crazy Israeli's. The Lobby and its various groups have brought down the last 3 Presidents with these internal squabbles. It's fine with me, if Obama is the fourth one. . . .
[signed] Johnny, Pewaukee Wi.

No Jew-lover this here Johnny, but if its fine with him that Obama bites the dust then he can't be all bad (or can he?)

And here's a final thought from me about Obama and his adoring following:

Buchanan: "Indeed, Obama can make a case that he better represents the Jewish community in the United States than the Israel lobby, as he won 78 percent of the Jewish vote."

So thanks to you Jews who voted for Obama (in your guilt you wanted to show how unprejudiced you are by putting a black man into the White House [half black, but he can pass for African any day].and gave him the power).

Thanks to you for helping to defeat Israel and leave no corner on Earth where a Jew can be safe from the multitude that hates him and his people.

Without Israel, Jews again become the despised, unarmed bowsy-backed wanderers that can find no safe place on Earth.

Works for all the Jew-haters.

And if some of you, probably not those who "feel the pain" of the Arabs--excuse me, the "Palestinians"-- wonder how Israel could have sunk so low from when it had the respect of the world in 1967 and again and again as it defeated Arab armies, then heed these words by the Hindu-Indian Sri Aurobindo:

"There are moments when the Spirit moves among men and the breath of the Lord is abroad upon the waters of our being; there are others when it retires and men are left to act in the strength or the weakness of their own egoism. The first are the periods when even a little effort produces great results and changes destiny; the second are spaces of time when much labour goes to the making of a little result. It is true that the latter may prepare the former, may be the little smoke of sacrifice going up to heaven which calls down the rain of God’s bounty.

Unhappy is the man or the nation which, when the divine moment arrives, is found sleeping or unprepared to use it, because the lamp has not been kept trimmed for the welcome and the ears are sealed to the call. But thrice woe to them who are strong and ready, yet waste the force or misuse the moment; for them is irreparable loss or a great destruction."

from http://islamicdangerstill.blogspot.com/2009/05/thoughts-about-recent-elections-in.html

originally posted by Francois Gautier at http://francoisgautier1.blogspot.com/2009/05/karma-and-09-indians-elections.html

A clue to where the G-d of Israel was during the Holocaust? Perhaps.

But back to the nasty Buchanan, the neo-Obama-backer.

If you believe--as I do--that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jews, then you won't like what Buchanan says about its fate and what Obama wants:

"That [Palestinian] state would necessarily have a Jerusalem enclave as its capital, as no Palestinian or Arab leader could agree to a peace that did not include part of Jerusalem, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock without putting himself in mortal peril."

So, all you Jewish internationalists, who want a state for the "Palestinians," you may yet get your wish--to your regret.

Photo of Buchanan and decorations on it from www.religionispoison.com/
that blog sucks but the picture tells the story

Final Thought
(re Obama supporter and Jew, although he does not want to be that and is against Israel)
　
Excerpt taken from The sorry tale of George Soros
By Jackie Mason & Raoul Felder
Jewish World Review Dec. 2, 2003 /7 Kislev, 5764
　
If the unhappy day ever comes when Israel is deserted by the rest of the world, Mr. Soros should understand that all the conversion in the world, as his mother did, or all the passing as a non-Jew, as he did to survive World War II, will not help. The ovens did not distinguish between rich or poor. Nor should all of Soros' money give him a "pass" when it comes to public repudiation. If you put a pile of cash upon a donkey's back underneath it, he is still a donkey.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1203/mason_soros.php3








Jews dedicate a Torah scroll in the Judean outpost of Maoz Esther, which has been dismantled and rebuilt several times in recent weeks.
Photo: AP




http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244035005732&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Obama versus Israel

Can Israel Survive?

Can Israel escape the oppressive demands of this Crypto-Moslem (Obama)?

Will America and its dollar colapse into rightful Oama-fueled ruin before Israel has to pay the price of placating Obama's Saudi Masters?

Oh, perhaps, you do not believe the prideful narcissist's* (Obama's*) deference to the putrid princelings and kinglet of Arabia?

Then remember well his curtsy and head bowing to his Islamic Saudi Masters.

Not that there have not been prior U.S. presidents who kissed and warmly held hands with these heirs to the primeval hater of the sons of Jabob and his perversion and forceful alteration of their God into an invisible idol of stone.

. . . but this one (Obama) beats them all in his wide-open undisguised intent to reduce Israel to an indefensible "entity" soon to be "cleansed" of Jews and disappear into an Islamic Arab Middle East.

Monday, June 1, 2009 Obama administration blocks sale of 6 AH-64D helicopters to Israel - approves 12 to Egypt
[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Here is a threat:
President Obama holds up supply of helicopters to Israel out of concern for
Palestinian civilians.

But when it comes to 12 of the same helicopters for Egypt its the standard
boiler plate "The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter
the basic military balance in the region."]

#1 Administration blocks helicopters for Israel due to civilian casualties
in Gaza
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/ss_israel0424_05_27.asp

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has blocked Israel's request for
advanced U.S.-origin attack helicopters.

Government sources said the administration has held up Israel's request for
the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter. The sources said the request
was undergoing an interagency review to determine whether additional Longbow
helicopters would threaten Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

"During the recent war, Israel made considerable use of the Longbow, and
there were high civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip," a source close to
the administration said.

The sources said Israel has sought to purchase up to six new AH-64Ds in an
effort to bolster conventional and counter-insurgency capabilities. They
said Israel wants to replenish its fleet after the loss of two Apache
helicopters in the 2006 war with Hizbullah.

The Israel Air Force has also requested U.S. permission to integrate the
Spike extended-range anti-tank missile into the AH-64D. Spike ER, developed
by the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, has a range of eight
kilometers and was installed on the Eurocopter Tiger and AgustaWestland A129
helicopters.

The sources said the deployment of Spike would require integration into the
Longbow's millimeter-wave fire control and acquisition system. They said
this would require permission from both Boeing and the U.S. government.

Israel's Defense Ministry and air force have discussed procurement of
additional Longbows with the U.S. firm Boeing. But the sources said the
Longbow as well as other defense requests have been shelved by the
administration amid its review of the potential use of American weapons
platforms by Israel.

During his visit to the United States, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
also sought to win approval from the Defense Department for the installation
of Israeli-origin electronic warfare systems in the Joint Strike Fighter.

Netanyahu was said to have met Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a review of
Israeli defense programs with the United States. Defense Minister Ehud Barak
was scheduled to meet Gates in Washington in early June
=====
#2 Egypt - AH-64D APACHE Longbow Helicopters
(Source: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued May 26, 2009)
www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/105577/us-approves-%24820m-sale-to-egypt-of-ah_64d-apache-longbow-helicopters.html

WASHINGTON --- On May 22, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified
Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Egypt of
12 AH-64D Block II APACHE Longbow Helicopters and associated equipment,
parts, training and support for an estimated cost of $820 million.

The Government of Egypt has requested a possible sale of 12 AH-64D Block II
APACHE Longbow Helicopters, 27 T700-GE-701D Engines, 36 Modernized Targeting
Acquisition and Designation Systems/Pilot Night Vision Sensors, 28 M299
Hellfire Longbow Missile Launchers, 14 AN/ALQ-144(V)3 Infrared jammers, and
14 AN/APR-39B(V)2 Radar Signal Detecting Sets.

Also included: composite horizontal stabilizers, Integrated Helmet and
Display Sight Systems, repair and return, transportation, depot maintenance,
spare and repair parts, support equipment, publications and technical
documentation, U.S. Government and contractor technical support, and other
related elements of program support.

The estimated cost is $820 million.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national
security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a
friendly country which has been and continues to be an important force for
political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is
consistent with these U.S. objectives and with the 1950 Treaty of Mutual
Cooperation and Security.

Egypt will use the AH-64D for its national security and protecting its
borders. The aircraft will provide the Egyptian military more advanced
targeting and engagement capabilities. The proposed sale will provide for
the defense of vital installations and will provide close air support for
the military ground forces. Egypt will have no difficulty absorbing these
helicopters into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic
military balance in the region.

The prime contractors will be The Boeing Company in Mesa, Arizona, and St.
Louis, Missouri, General Electric Company of Lynn, Massachusetts, and
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, Florida. There are no
known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
Implementation of this proposed sale requires the assignment of one U.S.
Government representative to Egypt for a period of six years to provide
intensive coordination, monitoring, and technical assistance to assure a
smooth transition of the helicopters in country.

Additionally, six contractor representatives will be in Egypt conducting duties as Contractor
Field Service Representatives for a period of five years and with a possible
five-year extension.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of
this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law. It does not mean that
the sale has been concluded.

-ends-

CONCLUSION: Obama is an Enemy of Israel

ALSO BE SURE TO LOOK AT
Obama threatens Israel (again)
http://muqata.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-threatens-israel-again.html
_______________________________
*narcissist
1. Excessive love or admiration of oneself. See synonyms: conceit.
2. A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/narcissist

An all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration or adulation and lack of empathy, usually beginning by early adulthood and present in various contexts.

Five (or more) of the following criteria must be met:

Feels grandiose and self-important (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents to the point of lying, demands to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, unequalled brilliance (the cerebral narcissist), bodily beauty or sexual performance (the somatic narcissist), or ideal, everlasting, all-conquering love or passion

Firmly convinced that he or she is unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special or unique, or high-status people (or institutions)

Requires excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation - or, failing that, wishes to be feared and to be notorious (narcissistic supply)

Feels entitled. Expects unreasonable or special and favorable priority treatment. Demands automatic and full compliance with his or her expectations

Is "interpersonally exploitative", i.e., uses others to achieve his or her own ends
Devoid of empathy. Is unable or unwilling to identify with or acknowledge the feelings and needs of others

Constantly envious of others or believes that they feel the same about him or her
Arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes coupled with rage when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted

Some of the language in the criteria above is based on or summarized from:
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition, Text Revision (DSM IV-TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
http://www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/malignant-self-love/narcissistic-personality-disorder-npd-definition/menu-id-1471/

Hillary: "Palestinian State" Must Be "Judenrein" (Cleansed of All Jews)

Of course, Israel must allow Arab Moslems to seep into its lands, make its capital (Jerusalem) an international city.

From the Associated Press:

[excerpts]

In strong language, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had said Wednesday that Obama wants a halt to all settlement construction, including "natural growth." Israel uses that term for new housing and other construction that it says will accommodate the growth of families living in existing settlements.

Israel says some construction to continueIsraeli spokesman Mark Regev responded Thursday by saying some construction would go on.

"Normal life in those communities must be allowed to continue," he said, noting Israel has already agreed not to build new settlements and to remove some tiny, unauthorized settler outposts. Regev said the fate of the settlements would be determined in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

With that as a backdrop, Obama said part of Israel's obligations include "stopping settlements."













But he [Obama] also struck a hopeful tone. [Not for Israel though. When you read the next paragraph here, you will see that Obama is but pissing into the wind.]

***

Obama said he told Abbas the Palestinians must find a way to halt the incitement of anti-Israeli sentiments that are sometimes expressed in schools, mosques and public arenas. "All those things are impediments to peace," Obama said.

The Palestinian leader said "we are fully committed to all of our obligations" under the peace framework known as the road map. Doing so, Abbas said, is "the only way to achieve the durable, comprehensive and just peace that we need and desire in the Middle East."

[An evasive answer by the cardboard cutout figure Abbas. And the Arabs have long ago stopped their part in following that idiotic roadmap set up for Israel by Bush and his anti-Israel European confederates. The Arabs want Israel to traipse along the Road map route to its destruction whereas they do nothing to stop the propaganda and Jew hatred in their camp. They (the Arabs) deserve nothing better than removal to Jordan or better far beyond.]

Plan calls for Palestinian state

Obama, like predecessor George W. Bush, embraces a multifaceted Mideast peace plan that calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. [Same old S**t]

The president [Obama] refused to set a timetable for such a nation but also noted he has not been slow to get involved in meeting with both sides and pushing the international community for help.

"We can't continue with the drift, with the increased fear and resentment on both sides, the sense of hopelessness around the situation that we've seen for many years now," Obama said. "We need to get this thing back on track."

Abbas is working to repackage a 2002 Saudi Arabian plan that called for Israel to
give up land it has occupied since the 1967 war in exchange for normalized relations with Arab countries.

Abbas gave Obama a document that would keep intact that requirement and also offer a way to monitor a required Israeli freeze on all settlement activity, a timetable for Israeli withdrawal and a realization of a two-state solution.

[Abbas' suggestions to Obama about what Israel must do, is certain to advance the farkackte
"peace process."

In a pig's eye!]

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Obama affirmed to Abbas that Israel has an obligation to freeze settlement expansions, including natural growth.

The U.S. and much of the world consider the settlements an obstacle to peace because they are built on captured land the Palestinians claim for a future state. But successive U.S. administrations have done little to halt settlement activity.

Settlement growth complicates issues

Now more than 120 settlements dot the West Bank, and Palestinian officials say their growth makes it increasingly impossible to realize their dream of independence. More than 280,000 Israelis live in the settlements, in addition to more than 2 million Palestinians in the West Bank. An additional 180,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians hope to establish their capital.

[JUDEA--get it, Yehuda--must be part of of The Jewish state and homeland, as must Samaria. These parts of the ancient Jewish heartland must not be kept judenrein!]

Israelis will be anxiously watching Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo, where he will deliver a message to the Muslim world to try to repair relations that frayed badly under the Bush administration. Obama will also visit Saudi Arabia before he goes to Egypt.

[To get instructions from his masters.]

"I want to use the occasion to deliver a broader message about how the United States can change for the better its relationship with the Muslim world," Obama said of his Egypt speech.

"That will require, I think, a recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other, a better sense of understanding, and I think possibilities to achieve common ground."

[Photos not by AP. Excerpts are copyrighted]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

For more information, see

'Let Us Deal Shrewdly With Them'
http://www.solomonia.com/blog/archive/2009/05/let-us-deal-shrewdly-with-them/

AND . . .

ISRAEL'S RESPONSE TO THE ROADMAP
http://the-jew-in-yellow.blogspot.com/2009/05/israels-response-to-roadmap-25-may-2003.html

Descendants of Spanish Jews Forced to Convert to Catholicism Act in Support of Israel

Referred to by non-Jewish historians derogatorily as marranos*, translatable as "pigs," these forced converts or conversos, who continued being Jews in secret, left descendants in Spain, Portugal, and Brazil, who today under the name of Bnei Anousim are aware of their ancestry.

Following is from IMRA, Independent Media Review and Analysis:

[quote]

. . . there are tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands of Bnei Anousim in Spain and Portugal who are conscious of their identity and their special relationship with Israel and the Jewish People. "The fact that Bnei Anousim are taking the initiative and expressing a desire to take part in Israel advocacy efforts in their own countries is an exciting development," Freund noted. "The Bnei Anousim can serve as a wonderful corps of goodwill ambassadors for the Jewish state, and it behooves us to reach out to them and forge a stronger relationship with them," he said.


Dozens of participants, whose ancestors were forced to convert to Catholicism during the Inquisition over 500 years ago, gathered this past weekend in Barcelona for a special seminar run by Shavei Israel to train them in making Israel's case to the media.

From "For the first time, Bnei Anousim in Europe enlist to join Israel's Hasbara (Public Diplomacy) efforts"


Bnei Anousim in Spain

In the early Middle Ages, Spanish Jewry was one of the oldest and most successful Diaspora Jewish communities. But from 1391 onwards, a series of terrible disturbances and great tribulations befell the Jews of Iberia, resulting in unprecedented waves of expulsion, persecution and forced conversions. These tragic events culminated in 1492, when the remaining Jews were formally expelled by Spanish monarchs. Many of those who had been compelled to convert to Catholicism – known by the Hebrew term Bnei Anousim – remained behind, where they nonetheless continued to preserve their Jewish identity and to practice Jewish tradition covertly, away from the prying eyes of the Inquisition and its enforcers. One of the most famous example was the converted Jews from Palma de Mallorca know until today by the name “chuetas”(pig).

Bnei Anousim in Portugal

In 1497, the Portuguese king presented the Jews living in his realm with a dastardly choice: convert or die. Some chose death, but most of Portuguese Jewry was dragged to the baptismal font and compelled to accept Catholicism against their will. But many of these "New Christians" did their utmost to remain loyal to their Jewish roots, passing down the faith and practices of their ancestors across the generations. And while many were made to pay a heavy price by the Inquisition for their continued fidelity to Judaism, many others somehow succeeded in preserving their Jewish identity. Perhaps the most famous example was the community of Belmonte, in northern Portugal, where some 150 Bnai Anousim were formally restored to the Jewish people two decades ago by a rabbinical court sent from Israel.

Bnei Anousim in Brazil

When the doors of the New World swung open in the 16th and 17th centuries, Brazil came to play an important role for the Bnei Anousim. Seeking to distance themselves from Iberia, where the hand of the Inquisition was heaviest, the Bnei Anousim actively participated in the colonization and development of the new continent. Brazil offered the possibility of a new life, and the hope of one day returning to the faith of their ancestors. But the long arm of the Inquisition reached across the Atlantic, and continued to pursue the Bnei Anousim, hunting down those accused of secretly practicing Judaism and remaining faithful to the laws of Moses. But even the heartless cruelty and ruthless efficiency of the Inquisitors could not extinguish the flame of Judaism, and countless thousands of families, especially in the interior of northern Brazil, continued to preserve Jewish rituals and traditions. This flame is still very much alive today, and in cities such as Recife, Fortaleza and Natal, the descendants of Brazil's Bnei Anousim are once again clamoring to rejoin their people, the nation of Israel.

In recent years, throughout Spain, Portugal and South America, a growing number of their descendants are emerging from the shadows of history, looking to reconnect with the Jewish people and return to the faith which was so cruelly taken away from their forefathers five centuries ago.

FAQ
Links
Site Map

http://www.shavei.org//en/Community.aspx?Name=Bnei+Anousim

Read the entire article from IMRA, Independent Media Review and Analysis
at Spaniards and Portuguese whose Jewish ancestor were forced to convert during the Inquisition join efforts to support Israel
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* Marranos or secret Jews (also known as Anusim) were Sephardic Jews (Jews resident in the Iberian peninsula) who were forced to adopt Christianity under threat of expulsion but who continued to practice Judaism secretly, thus preserving their Jewish identity. The term in Spanish meant pigs; it stemmed from the ritual prohibition against eating pork, a prohibition practiced by both Jews and Muslims. In Spanish, the term marrano acquired the meaning of "swine" or "filthy". In contemporary Spanish it is no longer associated with Jews. In Portuguese, the word refers only to crypto-Jews, since pig or "swine" is marrão or varrão.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrano

http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Marano.htm

Let the Arabs have the gas station at Abu Dis

PM: Jerusalem will 'never again be divided and partitioned'

from http://tundratabloid.blogspot.com/2009/05/israeli-pm-netanyahu-jerusalem-will.html


Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday insisted that all of Jerusalem will always remain under Israeli sovereignty.

Speaking at a Jerusalem Day ceremony marking 42 years since the city's reunification in the Six-Day war, Netanyahu did not refer to Palestinian demands to declare east Jerusalem the capital of the state they want to establish."United Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided," he said.The ceremony was held on Givat Hatahmoshet, a hilltop in northern Jerusalem where a bloody battle took place during the Six Day War between IDF troops and Jordanian soldiers. Also in attendance were President Shimon Peres, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch, Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, opposition leader Tzipi Livni and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.In his address at the ceremony, Peres noted the special place of Jerusalem in the Jewish people's history and in the hearts of Israelis."The size of Jerusalem is measured not by its geography but by its history," said the president. "Geographically, Jerusalem has no distinction; no river runs through it, there is no beach nearby and the mountains surrounding are not extraordinarily high. But there is no city in the world with a historical wealth to match Jerusalem, both political history and spiritual history."
More here.
Posted by KGS at 8:27 PM
Labels: Israeli Politics, Jerusalem








Moshe Dayan--the Villain of Jerusalem

.........."It's true," Eldad said, "that the original sin was when the Jewish People, immediately after the Six Day War in 1967, ceded its hold on the Temple Mount in an unholy alliance between the Chief Rabbinate and Moshe Dayan - each side for its own reasons - but now the danger is that the Arab sovereignty on the Temple Mount will spill over to the Western Wall plaza, and from there to other places."

Then-Defense Minister Dayan, just days after Israel's liberation of the Old City, informed the Muslims running the Temple Mount that they could continue to run the mosques there - and later went further by preventing Jewish prayer all over the Mount."It was evident that if we did not prevent Jews from praying in what was now a mosque compound," Dayan later wrote, "matters would get out of hand and lead to a religious clash... As an added precaution, I told the chief of staff to order the chief army chaplain to remove the branch office he had established in the building which adjoins the mosque compound."Source Israel National News

Read the whole post at
http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2009/05/moshe-dayan-villian-of-jerusalem.html