Tuesday, November 29, 2011

November 29, 1947 Monumental Answer to Our Prayers

Nadene Goldfoot
Sixty-four years ago on this day of November 29th and also on a Tuesday, the world Zionist Organization saw the answer to their and our prayers with the United Nations recognizing our tiny state of Israel.

As what happens in many American communities on the anniversary of their birth, Israel is staging a re-enactment in Jerusalem, our capital. 

The vote in the UN gave the British Empire one year to leave the country it had occupied since 1917 when they were given the mandate.  The Ottoman Empire, who had a hold on "Palestine", had sided with the axis which means Germany in WWI and lost this holding when Germany lost the war. 

It's a happy celebration for Jews.  There will be speeches, live entertainment and street performers.  For Abbas, leader of the Palestinian authority of Judea and Samaria, his people consider this day a catastrope long with Israel's birthday of May 15th which is Israel's Independence Day.  MK Danon is trying to counter their incitement with a law proclaiming it "National Zionism Day."  That most likly will rankle them considerably.  They seem to blanch at the word, "Zionism." 

The USA had a war between Mexico and the newly formed USA, and the USA won.  We had our battlescars with the battle at the Alamo before the major war when our heros were slaughtered. The Mexican-USA War had the Battle of Chupultpec Heights in September 1847. I've never seen any of my adult Mexican language students hold a grudge or react with hatred about losing the war.  Canada didn't get to have our Pacific Northwest, either. We are terrific neighbors. We have things in common that make good neighbors. The religions involved teach the same credo.

Many of our adults do not remember a time when there hasn't been a state of Israel, being born after the fact.  There were no TV, cell phones, or decent washing machines in that day.  I was 13 years old and remember the rejoicing and elation when this happened.  It was a ness; a miracle for us.  After all, we had gone through plenty after 2,,000 years of losing our country in the first place.  Our ancestors suffered from slavery, anti-semitism, pogroms (surprise attacks of usually drunken cossaks raping and taking lives and causing destruction)  culminated with the Holocaust during this eon-like period.  If we had been able to flee to "Palestine", we might not have lost 6 million of our people. 


It's a whole different psyche involved between the Muslim Arabs and Jews in Israel.  Our history of difficulties go back to bible days and still are not resolved.  Jacob and Esau, the twins,  are but one example. Now the Muslim Brotherhood, so popular in Egypt at present, is teaching the killing  of all Jews everywhere along with the destruction of Israel.   Israeli Jews have been honed through centuries of anti-semitism to be able to withstand the challenges of living in Israel with the hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  It's where we were meant to live in the beginning.  We're not looking forward to any death but to the continuation of our lives.  L'Chaim. 

Reference: Arutz Sheva news@israelnatonalnews.com  re-enactment on Tuesday of UN Recognition of Israel by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Nathan Fendrich, Historian, on Mexican War

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