Apartheid Practiced by Arab States Against Palestinian Arabs

Nadene Goldfoot
Some 300,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon in UNRWA camps.  They are there because their country wanted to keep them in this predicament in a chess game against Israel.  They've been there for over 60 years.  They live as a people without any citizenship in any country.  It started in 1948 when Israel was announced statehood and Arab leaders of surrounding countries told them to leave their homes since they all were going to attack Israel.  When the dust settled these Arabs could move into Jewish homes and upgrade themselves.  The dust settled but the Jews won and so the next advice was from these same leaders; go into camps.  It's their next ammunition against Jews. 

In 1959 the Arab League made a resolution of this to keep them in camps and how they were to be treated.  They realize too late that they have no rights, no citizenship, no chance for jobs.  They're on the dole from  UNRWA.  Their numbers have grown immensely though they can't get health insurance such as citizens in Lebanon have.  In 1950 there were 914,000 displaced persons.  By 2009 the number was 4.6 million.  There are 59 such camps found in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria and even in Gaza, all run by UNWRA.   

This is the same story in how they are being treated in Syria and Egypt.  Those Palestinian Arabs that did not flee at the onset of the 1948 war but stayed are enjoying a democratic life as Israeli citizens.  There are 1.4 million of them.  In this group one finds Christian Arabs as well as Bedouins. 

Occasionally one hears about traitors against Israel who are working with Hamas, but not often.  One such group I've heard about in Portland has been the DAM hip-hop trio who came here singing about how bad Israel was.  Perhaps they'd like to trade places with the people on the video below living in a camp in Lebanon.  It was Qatar who sponsored an Arabic teacher who was the one who brought this group into Lincoln High for a little brain-washing.  Their repertoire did not include a lot of English sung songs; and Arabic wasn't understood, but some students left saying how they hated Israel after listening to them. 

"The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) defines a Palestine refugee as:   "Palestine refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War."  They neglected to be specific about how they came to lose their homes and that Jews had begged them to not leave.  It's quite a lesson for the greedy.  By coveting what belonged to their Jewish neighbors, they lost their own homes forever, for the people in the camps are most likely the descendants of the original population that left.  How long is going to go on? 

Many of the people living in Qatar are not native to the tiny state.  They have brought in many workers from surrounding states.  Wouldn't they like to take in some of these Arab Palestinians and let them become Qataris? 

It isn't Israel that is practicing Apartheid like the enemies of Israel keep telling people.  It's they themselves that do it on purpose to hold against Israel's head as something to complain about.  As PT Barnam always said, "There's a sucker born every minute," and only anti-Semitic suckers would believe such a thing in the first place. 

Resource: from Stand With Us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlrYVB8XzQQ&feature=youtu.be&mid=575494
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_refugee_camps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There's_a_sucker_born_every_minute

Ahmadinejad's Best Buddy, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez

Nadene Goldfoot
Iran has started uranium enrichment in an underground site called Fordow,  safe from airstrikes.  They have stated that they will close the Strait of Hormuz if their petroleum exports are blocked.  Their reaction is not to allow a drop of oil to pass through it, either. Our American sanctions won't kick in for 6 months.  Right now there are ill feelings between the West and Iran over their nuclear goals. 

While this challenge at the OK corral is going on, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun a 4-nation Latin American tour.  He will visit Venezuela for the 5th time as well as fitting in visits to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador.  Why the interest in Venezuela?  It's so close to the USA, for one reason.

We know that Ahmadinejad has it in for Jews, and wants to destroy Israel, take it over for the Muslims, and while he's at it, kill as many Jews as he can.  Venezuela has 12,000 Jews out of a population of 29,044,000, or 1% of their population.  Ahmadinejad  has kinship with Hugo Chavez, the present President/Dictator, as he also is terribly anti-semitic and has caused riots and killings against Jews.  Chavez works with terrorist groups like FARC, and has aligned himself with Libya and Syria as well as Iran.  He supports Hizbollah (Iran backed) and defends Iran's right to pursue nuclear technology, and is even willing to finance it, so that may be one reason that Ahmadinejad is visiting again. 

Before WWII when Nazis were out to kill Jews, German Jews tried to flee to other countries, but found that they couldn't get into any South American country because they weren't baptized Christians.  However, there were Jews already living in Venezuela who first came in the 17th century and were called Marranos, or baptized Jews from the Inquisition days after 1492, when Jews had to become baptized or practice in secret. By 1850 there was a Jewish establishment.   In the 1920's and 30's, Jews entered the country from North Africa and Eastern Europe, then from central Europe due to anti-semitism that had started up there.  After 1934 Venezuela put on restrictions.  1939 Nazi Germany was in power and that caused more anti-semitism in the country.  By 1950 there were 6,000 Jews living there.  After the Six Day War of 1967 immigrants from Morocco came soaring the population to 45,000. 

Hugo Chavez came into power and one-fifth immigrated to other places. He has an obsession against Jews and their supposed power, especially Jews in his country.   He brought in much anti-semitism and attacks on Jews and Jewish sites such as synaogues.  By November 2010 half of the Jews left as Chavez was the official anti-semitic leader.  He won the presidency again in December 1998 and acts more like a dictator.  He calls the USA the nastiest country in the world.

Venezuela has large amounts of oil and say they have 100 billion barrels of reserve, the largest of any country in the Western hemisphere.  Their oil revenues make at least $250 million daily.  So when we see that Ahmadinejad is going to Venezuela, it isn't to see the sites, unless they are oil fields. Both presidents love to read "Protocals of the Elders of Zion", old Nazi anti semitic literature made up of complete lies. It looks like Ahmadinejad has a partner in crime.

Reference: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Venezuela
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/hugo-chavezs-jewish-problem/
Oregonian newspaper, page A3, Iran says new site handles nuke work, South America Trip
http://www.jpost.com/

Differences Between 21 Arab Nations and 1 Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
By 1300 BCE, 2,000 years before Islam was created by Mohammed, Israel became a Jewish nation. 
"Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago. You dig the soil and you find pottery from Davidic times, coins from Bar Kokhba, and 2,000-year-old scrolls written in a script remarkably like the one that today advertises ice cream at the corner candy store."
Palestinian Arabs have been actively trying to delete any evidence of Jews ever living in the land as they have been at war with Israel from Gaza and possibly again now from Judea and Samaria. 

Arab countries are mostly monarchies though 7 are  Republics, 2 are Military Regimes, Libya was a dictatorship, and then there are the emirates.  What Iraq will be is questionable.    Israel is the only Democracy. 
Twenty-one separate countries make up the Arab world in the Middle East.  Let's look at one:

Qatar                        11,437 square km and  769,152 population    $15.10 billion GDP

Israel                          20,770 square km and 5,938.09 population:    $18,000 billion GDP

21 Arab Countries
Total                        13,486,861 square km and 292,400,267 population  $1,195.49 billion GDP

Many of the 21 nations have an abundance of oil that they use for their revenue.  Israel has had none, but are beginning to find deposits. 

Both believe in one G-d, but that G-d seems to give different messages along with the similar ones, causing Muslims following Qatar's religious leader, Qaradawai and others like him to want to drive Israel into the sea.  Israel just wants to live and let live.  Moses was the leader of Jews around 1300 BCE while Mohammad was the creator of Islam. around 630 CE.  Both came from Abraham but from different mothers.  Israel has over 1 million Arabs living as citizens in their population, but the Arab countries do not have Jews today in their population.  When there were Jews living in their country before 1948, they were 2nd class citizens only.  The future state of Palestine is to have no Jews at all, even though many Jews are living in Judea and Samaria right now.  This is one of the problems between Israel and the PA.   
As for Jerusalem, "In the Jewish Bible, Jerusalem is mentioned over 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem, sometimes the Land of Israel) 154 times, or 823 times. The Christian Bible mentions Jerusalem 154 times and Zion 7 times. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. Jerusalem is also not mentioned in the Palestinian Covenant. "  Jerusalem is central to Judaism, and not important at all in Islam.  The only main reference they have to it is that Mohammed rose to the heavens while on his white horse in Jerusalem, but is not in the Koran.  The most wonderful thing that happened out of the terrible 1967 Six Day War was that Israel was then in a postion to liberate East Jerusalem from Jordan and unite the city once again. 

During 1940's through 1950's nearly ALL the Jews had to flee from Arab countries to avoid persecution and pogroms. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab countries is estimated to be a million. This number is greater than the number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948, estimated as 343,000 (see Peters' book cited below).  Arabs who left at the advice of their leaders are still living in camps supported through the UN and are the longest living group of displaced people in the world doing this.  Jews, who were considered dhminnis (2nd class citizens) living in Arab countries  moved to Israel and found housing and work.  None are in any camps.  It turned out to be a wonderful way to unite Ashkenazie and Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews as they intermarried. 

Resource: http://www.science.co.il/arab-israeli-conflict.asp
  Charles Krauhammer in 1998's quote.

Can Pashtun Tribe of Afghanistan Have Jewish Roots? What DNA Says

Nadene Goldfoot                                                             

                                                   Pathans in Jerusalem
Israel is planning to finance a rare genetic study to see if there is a link between the lost tribes of Israel and the Pashtun tribe who has become the Taliban in Afghanistan.  Shalva Weil, anthropologist is a senior researcher at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and tells us this.  However, interest in this is lessening.  The Pashtuns are not interested in it, and Israelis are also losing interest. 

The theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is being studied by Navras Aafreedi and Shahnaz Ali of India.  They tell us that the "Pathans, or Pashtuns, are the only ones in the world possibly descended from the lost tribes of Israel.  The evidence is mentioned from the 10th century to today, written by Jewish, Christian and Muslim writers, both religious and secularists.  A Muslim, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, wrote a book titled "Jesus in India" in which says that Afghans, Pashtuns and Pathans are descended from the Tribes of Israel.  His proof is that Kish had 5 sons, of which one was Irmia Jeremia,.  Afghana had descended from him. Qais Abdur Rasheed was a descendant of King Saul whose original name was Kish.  He had met Muhammad and became Muslim.  All of the tribes in Afghanistan are descendants of him. 

It all started with Jacob who was renamed as "Israel."  His first son with Rachel  was Joseph , who had 2 sons, Ephraim and Menashe.  Through Jacob's 2 wives and their 2 handmaidens also considered as wives, he also had Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphitali, Gad, Asher, and Joseph's full brother, Benjamin.  When land was divided between the tribes, Levi was to be a tribe of teachers and were given no land, but  Ephraim and Menashe got shares.  All should have the same Ydna.  Through time, there will be mutations, but scientists should be able to connect them to the present descendants.  The Telegraph comments that they may be from the tribe of Ephriam, captured and taken away in around 700 BCE. 

The Pashtuns or Pathans, as they are called, live in Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.  They are made up of 60 Pushto-speaking tribes numbering 8 million in Afghanistan and 10 million in Pakistan.  If they are the remnant of 10 Tribes, they seem to have multiplied very well without suffering from any discrimination such as the tribes of Judea and Israel did. 

The 2nd President of Israel, Itzhak Ben-Zvi wrote "The Exiled and the Redeemed" in 1957.  He stated that Hebrew migrations into Afghanistan began with a few exiles from Samaria transplanted there by the King of Assyria, Shalmaneser, in 719 BC.  There are references in the "Book of Esther" to the 127 dominions of King Ahasuerus of Persia, and that eastern Afghanistan could have been one of them.  Though they are Muslim today, they still have the tradition of descending from the 10 Tribes. " Josephus, the Jewish-Roman historian of the first century CE, describes Israelite Tribes living beyond the Euphrates river in inaccessible lands to the East."

"A genetic study concluded from Y-chromosome analysis (male line) that Samaritans descend from the Israelites (including Kohanim, or priests), and mitochondrial DNA (female line) analysis shows descent from Assyrians and other foreign women, effectively validating both local and foreign origins for the Samaritans." Judea and Samaria lie in what Jordanians have named as "The West Bank", being it is land west of the Jordan River. 

Afghan tribes are Muslim but have biblical names that are seen in the Torah.  A variation of DNA between Afghans and Jewish groups of Iranians, Arabs, Iraqis and even Ashkenazi is seen as mingling their DNA with local non semitic groups of peoples. 

Dr. Aafreedi, Indian historian, did a genetic study on the Afridi clan of Pashtuns in Malihabad, India.  It was found that 650 out of the 1,500 members had dna similar to genetic dna found in Jews.  That's less than half of the members were connected to Jews.  The Ydna haplogroup G2C has been found in 7% of Ashkenazi Jews and in the Pashuns.  Tudor Pafitt also did tests on Pashuns in India. 

Research shows a relationship between Afghan (Pashun) and Jewish (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi) DNA and also that Afghan DNA is 2nd closest (68.1) to Ashkenazi DNA after Irani and Iraq Jews (67.9). Most of this research used Yusufzai, Afridi or Khattak samples from Pakistan and India.  Scientists can draw inferences about Afghan DNA in general from this. 

Rare genetic disease shows a common origin.  Inclusion body myopathy has been found among Afghans (Pashtuns), Iranian Jews and Ashkenazis.  This indicates a common founder mutation.  This is a disease in which muscular weakness is a rare genetic disorder which is localized to Jewish populations.  Most known patients are Iranian Jews, with a few originating  from Pashtuns of Afghanistan.  The high frequency is due to a founder mutation (GNE, M712T) from Nature Genet 29:83-87, 2001.  Another genetic disease common to both Pashtuns and Jews is the disease Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency.  "G6PDH is common to Jews from Kurdistan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and in Afghans/Pashtuns." 

After over 3,000 years, we see the irony that Pathans are the ones who would reject Israel being they have this relationship. They have said that they want to be the ones doing the test, or a 3rd party. Probably most Jews would scream, "Oy vey" at the discovery as well.  When you think about it, though, the 10 Lost Tribes had to go somewhere, but not too far.  This group has the oral history of the connection, and DNA is showing that they indeed have a connection to Jews.  Israelis are saying, Oy, vah, ah, voy!  Such cousins! 

2/9/12 The latest report on the Pashtuns is that up to now they are not one of the lost tribes of Israel. 
Update: 5/11/12  On saying that Pathans reject Israel most ferociously, I realize I was being too harsh. It's that the Muslim Brotherhood rejects Israel most feriociously with the religious leader, Qaradwi of  Qatar calling for a fatwa against all Jews.   Being the Taliban comes from the Pashtuns and are so ferocious, I used the term incorrectly.  I have also seen them team up with Al Qaeda in Lebanon as well, though.  Iran will plan to use them as insurgants in the area.  A lot of science is being neglected due to this unfriendly stand in the Middle East.  

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Pashtun_descent_from_Israelites
http://www.yespakistan.com/hdf/Mardan/pathans.asp
http://www.cohen-levi.org/the_tribe/tribes_of_israel.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaria
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6967224/Taliban-may-be-descended-from-Jews.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_G2c_(Y-DNA)
http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/GeneWatch/GeneWatchPage.aspx?pageId=237 Most interesting
http://www.familytreedna.com/
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/92443/war-papers/?utm_source=Tablet+Magazine+List&utm_campaign=95f95ce783-February_29_20122_29_2012&utm_medium=email Jews in Afghanistan
www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ejhg201259a.html  Afghanistan from a Y chromosome perspective
update 11/29/13 : http://www.dangoor.com/74069.html
Update: 6/14/16  http://www.israelrising.com/the-pashtuns-are-the-tribes-of-israel/?utm_source=fb-pashtun-tribes&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=lost-tribes
Update 7/27/18 :  https://www.familytreedna.com/public/dna_afghan_pak/default.aspx?section=yresults
https://www.familytreedna.com/public/dna_afghan_pak?iframe=ycolorized  (results of DNA test on Pashtuns-excellent)

Have Jews Lived in Pakistan?

Nadene Goldfoot
In the days of Alexander the Great, the Greeks camped out in Sindh, near today's city of Karachi, and prepared their fleet for Babylonia. 

Pakistan was created from the fighting between Muslims and Hindus in India.  A lot of Muslims finally moved out into their own state called Pakistan.

Pakistan had been created out of the East and West portions of British India and was established 14 August 1947.  By 1956 they declared it an Islamic Republic and was ruled from 1972-1977 by Zulfikar Bhutto.  In 2008 Asif ali Zardari became President.  He was the husband of Benazir Bhutto, who had been Prime Minister two times previously  Zardari took over from  Pervez Musharraf.  Pervez Musharraf, born 1943 was chief of the army and took power ousting PM Nawaz Sharif and took over.  He promised democracy, law and order.  Ten years later he had to resign. Now he lives in London,  but had allied Pakistan with the USA and was against the Taliban after our 9/11 attack in New York.

He has been planning to establish ties with Israel, and has even wanted to be the mediator between the Palestinians and Israelis. The problem is that the Pakistanis are on the side of the Palestinians, being both are Muslims. However, he says he now realizes that Israel is a fait accompli and he is a realist. He sees a benefit for Pakistan from a good relationship. 

Pakistan has the 2nd highest Muslim population in the world with 172,800,000 of which 97% are Muslims that are Sunni/Shi'a.  It is an Islamic state.  Even so, in 1947 there were about 1,500 Jews living there that were tradesmen, artisans, poets, philosophers and civil servants.  Many moved to Israel after May 1948 as there has always been anti-semitism in the land, but then it became anti-Israel quickly.

In 1881 there were 153 Jews living in the Sindh province, and by the early 1900's there were 1,000 living in Karachi.  In 1919 there were 650.  Peshanoar was home to a smaller group.  Most were Baghdadi Jews.  Bukhareans and Mizrahi Jews were from Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan.  Bene Israel Jews were from India and lived in Karachi.  I had met some of these Bene Israel Jews in Israel, and the gal I had met was absolutely beautiful. 

Karachi was the capital from 1947 to about 1958, but then with the influx of Indian Muslims, Islamabad was chosen. 

The reasoning to get closer to Israel for one is the connection Israel has with India.  They are friendly.  He feels that Israel influences many against Pakistan.  In the meantime, Taliban terrorists executed 15 security soldiers by shooting that had been kidnapped and dumped on a hilltop in NW Pakistan on Thursday.  This was a retaliation killing of a militant commander by government forces.  They did that after promising not to attack the Pakistani military. 

One can remember that Osama bin Laden was captured in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 1, 2011.  The president hadn't seemed to be very cooperative with the USA to capture him when he was living only a few blocks away from an army base. 

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Pakistan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Pakistan
http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/relations-with-israel-could-help-pakistan-sa
Oregonian newspaper page A7, Taliban execute captive soldiers-from Islamabad
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_is_the_President_of_Pakistan_in_2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

One Lone Jew Left in Afghanistan with the Taliban: Can They Be Related?

Nadene Goldfoot
After a 2,500 year history of living in Afghanistan, we have one Jew left there.  All that were there have emigrated, mostly to Israel, Pakistan and the USA.  Zablon Simintov, b: ca1920 has remained and cares for the run-down synagogue in the capital of Kabul.  Sympathetic Muslims and Jews around the world send him aid.  I'm glad to see that there are kind Muslims with the Taliban operating from there.  This is a hot spot, as of yesterday, the USA has had 1,740 soldiers die there since the Afghanistan War that started October 7, 2001. 

Zablon had a Jewish friend, Isaac Levy, also born ca. 1920 until he died in January 2005.  Simentov is alone amongst 30 million Afghanis.  He's trying to recover a confiscated Torah.  A man, a Taliban member,  had stolen it, now in US custody in Guantanamo Bay.  His wife and 2 daughters live in Israel.  Simentov ran a store selling carpets and jewelry until 2001.  He and Levy had lived in opposite ends of the synagogue and didn't like each other, winding up in Taliban jails. 

The Taliban are fundamental Sunni Muslims made up mostly of the tribe of Pashtun.  They dominate much of Pakistan by terrorism and want a puritanical caliphate.  They don't like democracies and feel they are an offensse against Islam.  Their brand of religion is close to Saudi Arabia's form of Wahhabism, though differs.  They are even stricter in following their Sharia law.  Al Qaeda supported them by importing fighters to help their cause.  They were the ruling political party in Afghanistan but have been replaced by Operation Enduring Freedom in 2004 with President Hamid Karzai who has been influenced more by the USA. 

The Taliban are opening a political office/mission in Qatar in order to negotiate over the endgame in the Afghan war.  Karzai agreed to this a week ago.  Karzai is interested in talking about reducing tensions rather than a comorehensive solution to the war.  Qatar's religious leader, Qaradawi, hates Jews.  He's the main leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Emir of Qatar's great friend.  Both men have been doing a lot to reach out and be most friendly and influential  with groups in the USA. 

It is believed by many Muslim and some Jewish scholars that the exiled Lost Tribes of Israel had settled here. They made up the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, now the 2nd largest in Pakistan.  This would be the Pashtuns.  This theory was written in 1612 The History of the Afghans  by Nimat Allah al-Harawi.  I'd love to see them take dna tests through familytreedna so we could find out their deep history. 

How can the Pashtun tribe who is now the Taliban have a Jewish history and have become the most strict of all Islamists?  This is indeed wild.  They are a wild terrorist group that think nothing of killing.  The USA entered a war on 7 October 2001 and 1,742 soldiers have died.  USA has soldiers in NATO, and out of 566 troops who died, 418 were Americans.  8 NATO troops just died in 3 attacks in southern Afghanistan on the 5th and 6th and 4 of them were Americans  The US-led NATO command is slowly handing over responsibillities to the Afghan government. The Taliban is still strong in the south, like in Kandahar, where trouble began in the 1990's.  Roadside bombs are the usual method of killing soldiers. 

At any rate, Jewish history can be traced back to the Babylonian Exile and Persian conquest with records of a Jewish population going back to the 7th century (when Islam started) with the Tahqat-i-Nasiri that mentioned people called Bani Israel settling in Ghor. 

It is claimed that "Kabul" is deried from Cain and Abel and the name "Afghanistan" from Afghana, a grandson of King Saul.  Historians V. Minorsky, W.K. Frazier Tyler and MC Gillet say that "afghan" appears in a 982CE book called Hudud-al-Alam, with this reference. 

   Saul, a pleasant village on a mountain has Afghans living in it.  This village probably was near Gardez, east of Ghazni in afghanistan.  The book tells about a village near modern Jalalabad where the local king had many Hindu, Muslim and Afghan wives. 

Benjam in Tudela in the 12th century counted 80,000 Jews living there and in 1080, Moses ibn Ezra mentioned 40,000 Jews paying tribute to Ghazni.  Then Genghis Khan invaded in 1222 and reduced the Jewish communities to isolated groups.  In 1839, the population increased by receiving refugees from Persia and had a population of 40,000 again. 

By 1948, 5,000 Jews lived in Afghanistan, and were allowed to emigrate in 1951.  By 1969, 300 Jews remained but left after the Soviet invasion of 1979, leaviing only 10 Afghan Jews there in 1996, just enough for a minion in Kabul.  Probably there are 10,000 Jews residing in Israel with Afghan descent.  More than 200 families live in New York City.  However, Zablon is in no hurry to leave. 

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_afghanistan
http://middleeast.about.com/od/afghanistan/ss/me080914a.htm
Oregonian newspaper page A3; Taliban's Qatar move may signal peace talks
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/talking/79_Qaradawi.html and all my references on Qaradawi in this jewishfactsfromportland. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Afghanistan.html
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id =251913 Scrolls raise questions as to Afghan Jewish history by Gil Shefer
Oregonian newspaper 1/7/12 page A5  8 coalition troops killed in 3 attacks

Our Temple in Jerusalem-Destroyed by Babylonia's Nebuchadnezzar

Nadene Goldfoot
In 422 BCE, Jerusalem was placed under siege by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (modern day Iraq).  Interestingly, Abraham had come from Ur, which would be the area of Iraq. 

This resulted in the destruction of our First Temple 3 weeks later built by the Jewish King Solomon, who built it in 832 BCE. It stood on top of Mt. Moriah where Abraham had followed G-d's command concerning his son to be used as a sacrifice.  Building this temple had taken 7 years and had put tens of thousands of men to work.  The Ark of the Covenant was brought there.   It had stood for 410 years.

The USA is only 236 years old, born in 1776.  It's no wonder that we remember this calamity concerning our Temple with a fast day on Thursday, January 5th,  which was when Jerusalem came under seige.   Jews really teach their history to their children and themselves by remembering so many events such as this by connecting events to food.  This particular fast begins at 6:15am and ends at 5:18pm. 

The siege shouldn't have come as a surprise, for in 463 BCE the prophet Jeremiah kept warning his people to shape up and do right.  Jews had depended on having the Temple and felt G-d was with them and the Temple was that reminder.  It is said that many miracle happened constantly during this period.  Then Jews were taken into exile to Babylonia.  When Babylonians  attacked, they took away 10,000 of the best and brightest of men. 

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy." (Psalms 137:1-6)

Resource: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144569/jewish/The-First-Temple.htm
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon's_Temple
http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/Jewish_History/
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138323