Friday, June 22, 2012

Just Because We Were Jewish, We Couldn't Live There

Nadene Goldfoot
Jews may be slightly paranoid for good reason.  We've been kicked out of so many countries in the past 2,000 years that we just wait around for the other shoe to fall.  Look at the history we've had being the unpopular guy. Even in the wonderful United States Jews suffered from anti-Semitism, especially from 1920-1951.  There was a limit as to how many Jews could enter the country-even just before the Holocaust, how many could attend medical school, and certainly weren't welcomed in country clubs.  We were reminded who we were in others' eyes and words. Our children have been very lucky to not have had to experience such facts.   Losing our country caused us to wander throughout the world.

     70 CE Thrown out of Jerusalem, taken as captives or killed by Romans, fall of Jerusalem
  115 CE  Thrown out of  Cyprus
 640, 721, 873 Forcibly converted to Christianity in Byzantine Empire-the cue to leave
1096 German Crusade, massacred in European towns-if alive, better to get out of town
1099 Jerusalem Jews massacred by Crusaders
1146 Converted to Christianity by force in Spain
1290 Thrown out of England
1306 Thrown out of France
1355 12,000 Jews massacred by mob in Toledo, Spain
1349-60 Thrown out of Hungary
1391 Converted to Christianity by force in Spain-those that were found again
1420 Toulouse, France Jewish community all killed
1421  Thrown out of Austria
1492  180,000 Jews thrown out of Spain, 50,000 forced to convert to Christianity if remaining (Marranos) Spanish Inquisition
1495 Thrown out of Lithuania
1497 Thrown out of Sicily and Sardinia and Portugal
1502 Converted to Christianity by force in Rhodes or expelled or taken into slavery
1541 Thrown out from Kingdom of Naples
1648-56  100,000   massacred in Chmielnicki, Poland
1727-1747  Thrown out of Russia
1795-1835-Moved from Russian towns to Pale of Settlement (Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Belorussia) 
1838  Converted by force in Meshed, Persia, entire Jewish community
1871-1921  Attacked, many killed  in Pogroms in towns of Russia/Pale of Settlement (Musical-Fiddler on the Roof) (Golda Meier story) (Immigration to USA and "Palestine") 
1882-1890    750,000 thrown out of Russia and into Pale of Settlement  4 million living in Pale; 4% of Imperial Russia
1891  Thrown out of Moscow and St. Petersburg 
1917-2012 Denied right of national identity in Soviet Union/Russia
1939-45  Holocaust-killing of 6 million by Nazis and European collaborators
1941-2012  Attacked, 180 killed in Baghdad by mobs (part of Axis on Germany's side in WWII) 
1948-Dminni status (3rd class)- persecuted in Arab countries, kicked out en mass


Now we have our own state again on our original soil.  We are not wandering again unless we are tourists!  

Resource:  Facts About Israel 1973-Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/pale.html




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