Home » PROGRESSIVE JEWS-ANTISEMITISM-WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL?

PROGRESSIVE JEWS-ANTISEMITISM-WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL?

Jews as a people are generally progressive and on the left-wing of most issues. I assume this is true because of the history of the people facing massive discrimination through the centuries and remains true whether the Jews lived in Europe, the U.S .Canada or Israel. There remains a major difference with the Israeli Jews who have a majority Jewish country to defend surrounded by hostile Arab Muslims who have, on occasion, threatened to eliminate the country and throw the Jews into the sea. Are the diaspora Jews  who have citizenship in these other countries throughout the world looking at their citizenship realistically? These progressive Jews throughout the world  who show so much sympathy for the Palestinian underdogs may not be taking into consideration the world`s situation with anti-Semitism, as to how it may relate to themselves.

EUROPEAN JEWS

In the last five years, hundreds of Jews questioned by the EU woke up it`s Fundamental Rights Agency, who said they had experienced a physical, anti-Semitic attack , and 28% said that they had been harassed. France is the centre of the biggest problem with anti-Semitism. Of the 12 countries belonging to the E.U. led by Germany, the perpetrator of the Holocaust, with over 50% of the Jews harassed,  to Sweden with 40% and a low of Hungary with 35%. The report said that incidents had become so common that most victims do not bother to report the incident. 34% of European Jews avoid Jewish events on a regular basis and 38% have said they considered emigrating. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe of France has spoken of a 69% increase of incidents. France has Europes biggest Jewish population of around half a million In 1789 the French Government recognized Jews as full citizens  yet Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason because he was a Jew.

The United States

American Progressive Jews ” wake up”.The U.S. has never been free of anti-Semitism from the inception of the country and is not free of its malignant force now. Uriah P. Levy a native born American was a naval officer, a real estate investor and philanthropist. He was instrumental in helping to end flogging in the navy and during his service in the navy prevailed against the anti-Semitism of his fellow officers. Levy was court-marshalled six times, and twice he was dismissed from the navy but reinstated. He fought anti-Semitism his whole career. He was active in the U.S. navy in the war of 1812—General Ulysses S. Grant initiated a blatant official episode  General Order No. 11 which expelled all Jews from Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi for trading in cotton, as during the civil war the price rose spectacularly. Many citizens traded in cotton but Grant chose the Jews who were in the minority in the cotton trade. President Lincoln rescinded the order saying he would allow no American to be wronged because of religious affiliation. After the war Grant transcended his anti-Semitic reputation and eventually named several Jews to high office.–In recent years there was a shooting in a synagogue in Pittsburgh where many Jews were killed and an Alt-Right rally in Charlottesville where the rioters shouted “Jews will not replace us”.—But the most egregious example of different treatment of Jews by the American government and the lack of a reaction by the progressive Jewish community is that of Jonathon Pollard who acted as a spy for Israel from 1983 until his arrest in 1985. The normal sentence for the offence of spying for an ally is 2-5 years. Pollard was sentenced to life in prison. After 30 years he has just been released to house arrest for the next 5 years, cannot leave New York , cannot leave his house after 7 P.M. Generally speaking, convicted agents of allied nations serve in minimum security under easy conditions. Pollard  spent 10 years in solitary confinement at a maximum security jail. This is a warning to Progressive American Jews that their acceptance as full Americans is conditional in many ways and with many issues . The same forces that railroaded Pollard into a life sentence and kept him under house arrest can turn against Jews. Speaking out forcefully on Israel`s behalf may be a problem .

ALL JEWS NEED ISRAEL If THE SITUATION IN THEIR HOME COUNTRY TURNS AS IT HAS IN THE PAST

Name of author

Name: Murray Rubin

Short Bio: I was born in Toronto in 1931 to a wonderful mother who divorced shortly before my birth. I owe a great deal of my success to her. I am Jewish but not at all religious, yet my culture plays an important part of my personality. I attended Harbord Collegiate and U. of T. Faculty of Pharmacy. A unique mail-order pharmacy was the first of my endeavours in the profession, followed by many stores throughout Ontario. I have a loving wife, 3 children and grand-children and I am now retired from pharmacy. But what do I write about? Everything! My topics are funny, serious, whimsical, timely, outrageous, inspiring, and inventive. I promise that if you take the time to read any one of these topics – you will not be sorry.

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