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Who Are The Jews?
Synopsis
This chapter conveys the history, religion, and culture of the Jewish people from its Biblical origins to
the present. These characteristics of the Jews set them apart from their neighbors and contributed to
the prejudice, discrimination and persecution that were the roots of the Holocaust.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
Students will learn:
1. The history of the Jewish people from origins to the present.
2. The basic rituals, observances, and customs of the Jewish religion.
3. Why the differences between the religion and culture of the Jews and those of their neighbors
caused conflict, which was a precursor of anti-Semitism.
4. That the physical isolation of Eastern European Jewry in ghettos slowed assimilation.
CHAPTER CONTENT
The Jews have a 5,750 year history, tracing their origins to Biblical times. Evolving out of a common
religion, the Jewish people developed customs, culture, and an ethical system which identified them as
Jews regardless of their individual religious attitudes. The ancient Jews were both conquerors and the
conquered. But they were among only a handful of ancient peoples to survive, despite centuries of
persecution, massacres, and their dispersion amongst all of the world's nations. Where other peoples
assimilated, the Jews adopted some local customs and folkways, but held onto the basic tenets of their
religion and culture.
This chapter describes the history, religion, customs and culture of the Jewish people. An
understanding of "who are the Jews" is a prerequisite to understanding the roots of anti-Semitism,
which, in its most vile form, sowed the seeds of the Holocaust which had as its ultimate objective the
total annihilation of the Jewish people.
Judaism
Judaism is the religion of the Jews. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion
around the world. Most of the world's Jews are concentrated in three countries: the United States (six
million), Israel (3.7 million), and the Soviet Union (2.5 million). Other nations with significant Jewish
populations are France (650 thousand), Great Britain (400 thousand), Canada (300 thousand),
Argentina (300 thousand), and Brazil (150 thousand).
Judaism was the first religion based on monotheism, the belief in one God. All of the major Western
religions found their roots in Judaism.
A central tenet of Judaism is that God, the Creator of the World, made a special agreement called a
covenant (berit in Hebrew) with Abraham, from whom the Jewish people descended. The covenant
provided that the Jews would be blessed with God's love and protection if they remained true to God's

law and faithfully worshipped Him, and be accountable for sins and transgression against God and His
laws. The Jewish People have often been referred to throughout history as the "Chosen People"
because of the belief that the Jews were singled out among all of the ancient peoples to receive God's
laws and His blessings. According to Judaism, the Jews were chosen to be His servants although God
is the universal Creator of all humanity.
Jews traditionally do not encourage converts, although converts are accepted after they demonstrate
knowledge about the faith and their sincerity in accepting its laws.
The tenets of Judaism include a belief in a coming Messiah (derived from the Hebrew, meaning, "the
anointed one") who will unite the Jewish people and lead them under a Kingdom of God on earth and
bring peace and justice to all mankind.
While Judaism recognizes an "afterlife," it is principally a "this world" religion. The Creator in
Judaistic theology is all-knowing and does not have a corporal form.
Judaism is traditionally decentralized. There is no equivalent to a Pope or other central, international
decision-making authority who determines religious dogma or practice. Each Jewish congregation is
responsible for its own affairs and is usually, but not always, led by a spiritual leader called a rabbi.
Many rabbis are trained in a seminary or university established for the purpose of furthering religious
scholarship and teaching. Each of the major groups of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and
Reconstructionist) has its own institution in the United States for training rabbis, and each sect, and for
that matter, each congregation, maintains its own practices, traditions, and interpretations of Jewish
law.
Jewish worship and study often takes place at a synagogue, and religious services often include prayer
and readings from the Torah. Services held in a synagogue are traditionally led by a rabbi and assisted
by a cantor, who leads the chanting and songs which accompany prayer.
Judaism traditionally emphasizes ethical conduct and the treatment of others "as one would wish to be
treated themselves." Thus, the doctrine which does exist through written and oral Jewish law is
continually being reinterpreted to respond to modern developments.
The major body of Jewish law is found in the Torah, which consists of the Five Books of Moses (also
known as the Pentateuch) and which forms the first part of the Old Testament. This law has been
supplemented by oral law and interpretations of the law which comprise the Talmud.
There are 613 commandments included in the Torah, which also includes the "Ten Commandments."
These 613 commandments govern Jewish law covering such areas as philanthropy, sacrifices, prayer,
ritual purity, dietary laws, and observances of the Sabbath and other holy days. The Jewish system of
law, also referred to as Halacha, includes a civil and criminal justice system which is followed by
observant Jews. Halacha regulates Jewish life, such as marriage and divorce, burial, relationships with
non-Jews and education.
As is true with adherents of all religions, the degree to which individual Jews observe Jewish laws and
traditions varies.
Among the practices of observant Jews are:
1. Dietary Laws
Strict Jewish law requires that Jews may not eat certain foods, such as pork, certain seafood, or food
without the blood removed, and may not mix dairy and meat products at the same meal. These laws
also describe how animals must be slaughtered so as to minimize suffering.

2. Jewish Calendar
Jewish law utilizes both a lunar and solar calendar to set the dates of holidays. The dates of holidays
and festivals are determined by a lunar calendar, which is based on the phases of the moon. The time
from new moon to new moon is 29 days, 12.75 hours. Jewish months are thus either 29 or 30 days.
Because a solar year is 365.25 days and a lunar year is about eleven days shorter (12 times 29.5),
adjustments are made to the Jewish calendar to assure that holidays remain within the same season
(which themselves are solar-based calculations rather than lunar) every year. A lunar month is inserted
as a "leap month" as a part of this adjustment, with a total of seven months being added every 19
years.
The Jewish Sabbath and holidays traditionally begin at sunset the evening before the day the Sabbath
or holiday is observed. Thus the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah in 1990 was observed September
21st and 22nd, but began at sunset on September 20th.
3. Sabbath and Festival Observance
The fourth of the ten commandments is "Remember the Sabbath Day and Keep it Holy" (Exodus
20:8). Observant Jews do not perform any work on the Sabbath, which is spent in prayer and religious
study. In addition to the Sabbath, Jews both in ancient times and today celebrate holidays and
festivals, each of which have their own rituals associated with observance. Among these are:
Rosh Hashanah (New Year): Rosh Hashanah marks the new year of the Jewish calendar. It is both a
joyous and a solemn holiday. Jews around the world do not work and do not attend school on that day.
The ram's horn (shofar) is blown ritually to serve as the beginning of ten days of repentance which
culminates in Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur: This is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Jews do not go to work or to school on
Yom Kippur, and refrain from eating or drinking for the entire holiday. It is considered by Jews to be
the day in which every individual is judged by God, and thus it is a solemn day marked by prayer and
repentance.
Passover: Passover is an eight-day festival commemorating the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian
bondage. A ritual feast on the first two nights of this holiday, called a Seder, includes the recounting of
the Passover story. Ritual foods are eaten during these eight days which are not eaten at other times of
the year. Observant Jews do not work or go to school the first two days and the last two days of this
holiday.
Shavuot (Feast of Weeks): Shavuot is a festival which marks the giving of the Torah to the Israelites
at Mt. Sinai by God. It is a two-day holiday which is often celebrated by having an all night study
session on religious topics with friends. Observant Jews do not work or go to school on Shavuot.
Succot: Succot is a commemoration of the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness before they
received the Torah. It is also a commemoration of the final harvest before the winter rains. It is an
eight-day holiday, and observant Jews do not work or go to school the first two days or the last day. It
is customary to build a structure called a Succah as a symbol of the types of structures the Israelites
lived in while they were wandering in the dessert.
Simchat Torah: Simchat Torah commemorates the conclusion and the beginning of the cycle of
Torah readings which lasts one year. It occurs the day after Succot ends. Observant Jews do not work
or go to school on Simchat Torah.
Hanukkah: Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday which marks the victory of the ancient Israelites, led by
Judah Maccabee, over the Syrian-Greek army in 165 B.C.E. Traditionally, Jews light a candle for each

night of this holiday until there are eight on the eighth day, plus an extra "shammash" candle. In recent
times, it has become traditional to exchange gifts on this holiday. Although Hanukkah usually occurs
during the time of Christmas, it is in no way a comparable holiday to Christmas for the Jews.
Purim: Purim is a minor festival of the Jewish calendar which commemorates the triumph of the Jews
over a murderous plot by an advisor to King Ahasuerus in Persia in the fifth century B.C.E. It is a
joyous holiday and is celebrated by reading the Megillah (a scroll which tells the story of Purim) by
baking hamintaschen (triangular-shaped cookies containing jams) and by dressing up in costumes.
4. Ritual Clothing
For centuries, observant Jews have dressed differently than citizens of their host countries while
engaged in secular and non-secular activities. During prayer, Jewish males have traditionally worn the
following:
a. Skull cap (Kippah, yarmulka): head covering.
b. Phylacteries (Tefillin): these are small boxes containing Torah passages written on parchment with
leather straps which are worn on the forehead and left arm during prayers.
c. Fringed Shawl (Tallit): these are worn during prayer.
5. Life Cycle Events
a. Circumcision (Bris) male Jewish children are circumcised on the eighth day after their birth as a
sign of a covenant between Abraham and God. The boy is given his name at this ceremony.
b. Bar Mitzvah: at the age of thirteen, Jewish law considers boys to have reached adulthood. A
special service is held in the boy's honor, and he is permitted to read from the Torah for the firs time.
The comparable ceremony for girls is a Bat Mitzvah which varies in religious significance depending
on the sect of Judaism.
c. Marriage and Divorce: at a marriage ceremony, observant Jews sign a marriage contract called a
Ketuba. The Ketuba describes the conditions of marriage. The marriage ceremony, as in many other
religions, has been ritualized and often includes the breaking of a glass by the groom to symbolize the
destruction of the Temple. Jewish law recognizes divorce, made official by a document called a Get.
Even if observant Jews obtain a civil divorce, the spouse is unable to remarry in the absence of
obtaining a Get from a Jewish court.
d. Death and Mourning: upon the death of a Jew, the body is ritually washed and placed in a coffin
for burial, generally the day after death. Loved ones observe a seven-day period of mourning called
Shiva at which time religious services are held in the home of the bereaved. The anniversary of the
death of a parent (Yahrzeit) is observed by lighting a candle and saying a prayer (Kaddish) in memory.
A Brief History of the Jewish People
The history of the Jews, as described in the Bible, begins with the patriarch Abraham. Abraham was
the first to forsake the polytheism and idol worshipping of his people for a belief in one God.
Abraham's son, Isaac, and Isaac's son, Jacob, are also considered to be patriarchs by the Jews. The
story of Joseph, one of Jacob's twelve sons, is also found in the Bible. He was sold as a slave to the
Egyptians by his own brothers. As a result of a famine, the remainder of Joseph's family resettled in
Egypt where they and their descendants lived in peace for several generations. However, in

approximately 1580 B.C.E., a new Pharaoh (ruler) in Egypt felt threatened by the Jews as well as other
peoples who had settled there, so he made them slaves.
In the Book of Exodus, the story of Moses and his liberation of the Jews from Egyptian bondage is
told. Moses led the Jews out of Egypt after the Egyptians were afflicted with ten plagues. The
Israelites then spent 40 years wandering in the desert under Moses' leadership. While in the desert,
Moses ascended Mt. Sinai and, according to tradition, returned with the Ten Commandments from
God as well as the Torah. Moses died before the Israelites entered the "Promised Land" of Israel.
Following the death of Moses, the twelve tribes of Israel (one tribe descending from each of Jacob's
twelve sons) were led by Joshua into the Promised Land, then inhabited by the Canaanites. After
capturing Jericho, the Israelites systematically conquered the rest of Israel. Challenges from
Canaanites and Philistines were repelled, the latter people suffering a defeat at the hands of Samson.
The Israelites, seeking an alternative to theocratic leadership, convinced the religious leader at the
time, the prophet Samuel, to anoint a king. The first king was Saul (1020-1000 B.C.E.), a member of
the tribe of Benjamin, who won victories over the Ammonites and the Philistines. However, Samuel
became disillusioned over the autocratic way King Saul ruled the country. Instead of passing
leadership of the nation onto Saul's son, Jonathan, Samuel secretly anointed David, a member of the
tribe of Judah, as Israel's second king. David had won renown as the warrior who had slain the giant
Goliath. David was the eventual victor of a power struggle, which eventually made him king over all
of Israel. During David's reign, the Israelites captured Jerusalem and made it both their religious and
secular capital.
The heir to King David's throne was Solomon, the son of the King and Bath-Sheba. King Solomon's
reign (961-922 B.C.E.) was peaceful. He was noted for lavish building projects, including the First
Temple in Jerusalem. There was discontent among the tribes which settled in the north concerning the
heavy taxation and forced labor policies of King Solomon, which he felt necessary to create his lavish
palaces and public buildings.
Following his death, the ten northern tribes broke away and established their own kingdom, while the
tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to Solomon's successor, King Rehoboam. The capital of
the Northern Kingdom was established in Samaria, and the capital of the Southern Kingdom remained
in Jerusalem, the historic city in Judah under Jewish control.
In 722 B.C.E., Samaria was conquered by the Assyrians. The fate of the Jews of Samaria is unknown,
and they are referred to as the "Ten Lost Tribes of Israel."
In 598 B.C.E., Judah was invaded by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. Much of the population of
the Israelites was sent into exile in Babylonia. Jerusalem itself fell under siege in 586 B.C.E. and was
destroyed. The destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem is commemorated by the Fast of Tishah
be-Av, the ninth of the Jewish month of Av. In exile, the Israelites found themselves to be able to
participate in the economic and social life of their new land, and to reorganize and maintain Jewish
life. When the Persians conquered Babylon in 538 B.C.E., the Persian King Cyrus permitted all
conquered peoples to return to their homelands. About 50,000 Jews returned to Judah, although many
stayed in Babylon, having established a new life there.
After several decades of delays, the Second Temple was built and dedicated in 516 B.C.E.
Following centuries of relative peace and calm in which the ancient land of Israel was ruled by the
Egyptians, the Syrians gained the upper hand in 198 B.C.E. At first, Syrian rule was benign. When
Antiochus IV Epiphanes began his rule, he sought to forbid the practice of Judaism in favor of
Hellenism. He required the erection of a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the Temple, which kindled a
revolt. The military commander for the Jews was Judah Maccabee, who overcame a superior force of

highly equipped Syrians to win several battles. Following these victories which bordered on the
miraculous, Judah Maccabee reentered the Temple, cleansed it of its desecrations, and rededicated it.
The Festival of Hanukkah commemorates these victories.
Triumph over the Syrians was short-lived. The Roman Empire engulfed the area, and with brief
exceptions, controlled what became known as Palestine for almost 700 years. King Herod (37-4
B.C.E.) ruled over Judah with the sanction of the Roman Senate. He was a master builder, creating
magnificent temples, public works, ports and palaces. The ruins of many of his works, including the
reconstructed Second Temple, may still be viewed today.
The Jews revolted against Roman rule in 70 C.E. After a siege, the Second Temple was destroyed
(once again, on the 9th of Av of the Jewish calendar) and resistance was crushed except for a company
of zealots who took over a fortress at Masada, near the Dead Sea. The Roman army tried for three
years to crush that resistance. When defeat of the revolt was inevitable, the defenders drew lots and
killed themselves rather than surrender. Jerusalem was restored by the Romans as a pagan city.
The focus of Jewish intellectual life following the destruction of the Second Temple was established in
Yavneh. Jewish scholars met here and during the end of the second century and beginning of the third
established an oral Jewish law to complement the Torah. This oral law was written down at the end of
the second century C.E. by R. Judah ha-Nasi, and is known as the Mishnah. Discussion on the
Mishnah was also put to writing, and is known as the Gemara. The Mishnah and Gemara together are
called the Talmud. The Jewish scholars in Babylon also developed a Talmud, which eventually
supplanted the Palestinian version as the ultimate authority in Jewish legal matters. New centers of
Jewish scholarship were established in the diaspora, principally in North Africa and Muslim Spain by
the end of the 10th century.
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire at the beginning of the fourth century.
Jewish legal rights were restricted. During the first three centuries of Christianity, the issue that
separated Jew from Christian was whether Jesus was the true Messiah. By the beginning of the fourth
century, Christianity had evolved with customs, rituals and laws far different from Judaism.
Palestine was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century. Many Jews served in the Arab armies which
conquered the Iberian peninsula, and settled in Spain. For centuries, Jews flourished in Spain and
North Africa, and recorded achievements in science, medicine, music, philosophy and culture.
Jewish life in the Middle Ages was for the most part a story of social and economic isolation,
persecution and massacres. Jews were isolated both physically and socially from the fabric of life in
the Middle Ages and the period following the Middle Ages. Yet they filled an important niche.
Christianity outlawed usury, the lending of money. Jews were permitted to fill this vacuum by acting
as moneylenders and financiers.
Ghettos
At first, Jews in the diaspora segregated voluntarily. This was partly for self-protection, but it was
perhaps more the result of the requirements of the Jewish religion: to be close to a synagogue and
other religious institutions. The concept of segregating Jews involuntarily behind walls was developed
in ancient times, but it was not actually implemented as a policy until 1462 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The idea caught on in the rest of Europe and became the norm in the 16th century. Unlike its modern
20th century counterpart, the ghetto of 16th century Europe permitted Jews to leave during the day and
do their business. While the ghettos permitted Jews to live peacefully, conditions were often crowded
and inadequate. However, the isolation of Jews in ghettos had the effect of eliminating assimilation
with the host communities, and preserved and enhanced the survival of the Jewish culture.

Those governments unwilling even to tolerate Jews who were segregated in ghettos expelled them. At
one time or another, all Jews were expelled from England (1290), France (1306 and 1394), Austria
(1420), and Spain (1492). There were local expulsions throughout Europe including those in Germany.
Some expulsion policies were reversed when governments realized that the Jews served a useful
purpose.
It was not until the Enlightenment (see Chapter 5) that Jews had the opportunity to participate in
modern society free from persecution. The fundamentalist acceptance of Jewish law underwent a
severe challenge, and the result was the development of reformist movements which eventually
culminated in the establishment of Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist movements.
Jewish culture developed for 2,000 years in pre-World War II Europe. Jews of both Western and
Eastern Europe created a culture of religious practice, arts and music, language (principally Yiddish),
and education. It was an entire culture which the Nazis sought to make extinct.
There were distinct differences in the cultures of Jews who settled in the "East" and "West" in the
18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Generally, Jews who settled in Western Europe (France, Holland,
Germany, Austria, and Italy, for example) were more assimilated than their "eastern" counterparts of
the Soviet Union, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Rumania, and Hungary. They were more likely to speak
the language of their host nation, less likely to be religiously observant, more likely to intermarry,
more likely to be urban settlers, more likely to be middle-class, more likely to be formally educated,
and more likely to affiliate with generic political parties which represented more than just Jewish
interests. Western European Jews were more likely to be accepted by their host countries as full
citizens. For the most part, they were able to live side by side with their non-Jewish neighbors, free
from the threat of physical attacks and anti-Semitism. Eastern European Jews did not feel safe from
pogroms. For many Jews in Western Europe, they were Jewish by religion, but identified with their
host country. Thus, when the Jews of Germany were targeted by the Nazis, most of them had a history
of feeling that they were "German" rather than "Jewish."
History of Israel
By the end of the 19th century, Jewish nationalism emerged as a prevailing dream. This movement,
known as Zionism, envisioned a return of all Jews from the diaspora to a Jewish homeland. In the
1880s, Eastern European Jews made their way to what was then called Palestine. This was the first
Aliyah (immigration) wave, the purpose of which was largely to establish agricultural settlements.
Baron Edmond de Rothschild assisted with funds. The first Zionist Conference was held in Basel,
Switzerland, in 1897, under the leadership of Theodor Herzl. It took another 51 years and the
experience of the Holocaust, though, to see the Zionist dream become a reality. As a result of this
official sanction for a Jewish homeland by the League of Nations, Jews were encouraged to immigrate
to Palestine. The Arabs opposed Jewish settlement and there were many anti-Jewish attacks.
In 1905, a second Aliyah wave brought Jews from Russia. Tel Aviv was founded in 1908, the first allJewish city.
In 1917, with the British defeat of the Ottoman Empire, Palestine came under British rule. The modern
Arab states were established at that time. In November 1917, in the Balfour Declaration, the British
government announced its intention to facilitate the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for
the Jewish people." This Declaration was endorsed by the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied
Powers at a Conference in San Remo on April 24, 1920. In 1922, the League of Nations granted to
Great Britain a Mandate to secure the establishment of a Jewish homeland, to facilitate Jewish
immigration and to encourage Jewish settlement on the land. By 1929 the Jewish population in
Palestine was 160,000, and by the spring of 1936, with the advent of Hitler and increased German
immigration, there were close to 400,000 Jews, or about 30 percent of the total population.

In 1939, the British, influenced by the Arab uprisings and the Mufti of Jerusalem, issued the White
Paper, which limited Jewish immigration to 10,000 per year for five years, with any further Jewish
immigration to be made only with Arab consent.
At the close of World War II, the "Palestinian Question" came before the General Assembly of the
United Nations. It recommended that the British Mandate be ended and that Palestine be divided
between the Arabs and Jews. On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly partitioned the country
into two independent, sovereign states.
On May 14, 1948, the British government terminated its Mandate. The day after, May 15, 1948, the
British left the country, and David Ben-Gurion, on behalf of the Jewish Agency, declared the
independence of the State of Israel.
Contributions of the Jewish People to Civilization
As individuals and as a people, Jews have had a great impact on civilization, contributing to ideas and
culture in every field of human endeavor. Judaism was a parent religion to Christianity and Islam.
Jesus was a Jew, as were his disciples. The Hebrew Scriptures were the foundation of Christianity.
Jewish law was accepted as a guide to ethics and morality based on the concept of individual
conscience. Islam incorporated the Jewish concept of one God, the Scriptures, and Jewish prophets.
VOCABULARY
Assimilation: To accept the culture of another group while giving up one's own.
Blasphemy: Words written or spoken which express contempt or irreverence about God.
Circumcision: The removal of the foreskin of the penis, which is done ritually in newborn Jewish
males eight days after birth to symbolize the covenant between God and Abraham.
Covenant: A holy agreement between God and man.
Diaspora: Countries outside of Israel inhabited by Jews.
Ghetto: A section of a city in which Jews were required to live surrounded by walls.
Kosher: From the Hebrew for "proper," correct," or "valid," it usually refers to food or anything
prepared under the proper ritual supervision.
Monotheism: The belief in one God.
Paganism: A follower of a polytheistic religion.
Polytheism: The belief in more than one God.
Rabbi: A Jewish scholar or religious leader from the Hebrew for "my master."
Talmud: Comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemora, it is the oral tradition of Jewish law which has
been written down and serves as the authority in Jewish law.
Torah: Literally meaning "teaching," it consists of the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The term also refers to the parchment scroll in which the
hand-lettered text of the Five Books of Moses appears.

ACTIVITIES







Arrange to visit places of worship in your community. Compare and contrast the architecture,
internal layout, ritual objects, style of prayer books, paintings and glass panes, and other
objects of art.
Research how the Jews of your community came to settle there, and what professions and
businesses they chose.
Invite the director of your community's Jewish Family Service to discuss problems which
affect members of the Jewish community, and how these problems may differ from those
affecting the non-Jewish community.
Invite a resettled Soviet Jewish refugee or a speaker from the local Soviet Jewry Council to
describe the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why did Jews survive as a people despite the difficulties of maintaining their lives consistent
with Jewish law and in the face of centuries of persecution ¢ despite the fact that almost every
other ancient culture disappeared?
2. What accommodation should be made to permit Jewish students (as well as students who
practice other minority religions) to make up missed school work and tests which occur on
religious holidays?
3. Should soldiers in the army be permitted to wear clothing or jewelry which are required by
their religion? Pennsylvania law makes it illegal for teachers to wear such religious symbols or
clothing in the public schools. Should this continue to be illegal? What do you feel was the
motivation for passing this law?
4. Jews from all over the world make pilgrimages to pray at the Western Wall, part of the Second
Temple in Jerusalem. Why does this wall have so much significance to the Jewish people?
5. After researching the history of this area over the last fifty years, discuss why the modern
Israeli government is adamant in its view that it will never negotiate away its sovereignty over
Jerusalem.
6. Why did thousands of Jews living in Babylon refuse to go back to Jerusalem when they were
permitted to do so in the 6th century B.C.E.? Are there any parallels to the situation in which
those Jews in the diaspora chose to remain in their native countries despite the establishment
of a Jewish State of Israel? Discuss the reasons why millions of Jews desire to remain citizens
in their present lands.
7. It is generally believed that the "Ten Lost Tribes" of Israel were not murdered by the
Assyrians in ancient Samaria. What could have happened to them and their descendants?
EVALUATION
1. Define the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

kosher
monotheism
diaspora
Torah
paganism

2. Give four examples of people who, at one time or another, had conquered the Jewish people.
3. Describe four foods which observant Jews will not eat.
4. Name four Jewish holidays. Discuss what they commemorate, whether Jews observe them by
working or not, and an example of a ritual or custom which is singular to that holiday.

5. How and why do Jews observe the Sabbath?
6. According to Jewish tradition, what did Moses do on Mt. Sinai?
7. Name two articles of ritual clothing worn by observant Jews.
8. How did the Jewish religion begin? How did it differ from the religion of the people at the time?
9. Name two of the kings of the Israelites and name an accomplishment of each.
10. What is the significance of the 9th of Av in Jewish history?
TEACHING STRATEGIES






Discuss the history of other minority groups.
Permit students to research old newspaper articles describing some of the events in Jewish
history, and to look at what else was happening in the world and in their own community at
that time.
Recreate a debate among Jews who became the "Ten Lost Tribes" which focused upon
whether or not they should break away from the other two tribes and form their own Kingdom.
Have students research the differences between a lunar and solar calendar and revise our
conventional calendar into one based on the moon. Engage students in a discussion concerning
how their lives would be different.



why jews so smart

Why Are Jews So Smart?
By Lewis Regenstein
The question has intrigued and baffled researchers for centuries. We all know
people who defy the stereotype, yet it persists, demanding our attention. It leaves us
wondering whether there is validity to the widespread belief that Jews are so much
smarter than other people
But there can be little doubt that Jews have for centuries been substantially overrepresented in many fields of learning and accomplishment. One must wonder, how
could such a tiny, numerically insignificant group produce so many of the world‘s
smartest, most accomplished, and most influential people?
Jews comprise an amazing number of history‘s most important figures, people who
have had a profound impact on humanity: the Patriarch Abraham, whose life and
teachings are considered sacred by Jews, Christians, and Moslems; Moses, the

lawgiver to Jews and Christians; Jesus and his disciple, Paul, who founded and
spread Christianity.
Looking back into the 20th century alone, one can clearly see that Jews have played
many a key role in shaping the modern world (if not always in a positive way):
physicist Albert Einstein; the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud;
Communism‘s Karl Marx; developers of the polio vaccine Dr‘s Jonas Salk and
Albert Sabin; and the leading developers of the first atomic bomb, as inspired by
Einstein‘s theories – among them, Felix Bloch, Niels Bohr, Otto Frisch, Robert
Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and Edward Teller. Indeed, Jews were so dominant in
the field of nuclear physics in Europe throughout the 1930‘s that it was often
referred to as ―Jewish physics.‖
There is even some evidence of Elvis‘ having Jewish ancestry!
Jews may not be history‘s most popular people, but no other group has even come
close to matching, proportionally, Jewish abilities and accomplishments. Combined
with other commonly perceived Jewish traits such as ambition, curiosity, energy,
imagination, and persistence, Jewish intelligence has elevated an incredible number
of Jews to the top ranks of various fields.
Consider the following:
~The proportion of Jews with IQ‘s of 140 or more is estimated to be about six
times the proportion of any other ethnic group.
~ Although Jews constitute only about two-tenths of one percent of the world‘s
population, Jews won 29 percent of the Nobel Prizes in literature, medicine,
physics and chemistry in the second half of the 20thcentury. So far this century, the
figure is 32 percent. And these Jews of whom we speak were almost exclusively
male Jews primarily of western European ancestry (less than one-tenth of one
percent of the world‘s population), in spite of pervasive discrimination, numerous
legal barriers, frequent persecution, and the Holocaust.
~From 1870 until 1950, Jewish leadership in such fields as literature, music, visual
arts, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and philosophy equaled somewhere
from four to fourteen times the Jewish proportion of the population in Europe and
North America.
~In 1954, 28 children in the New York City public school system were found to
have IQ‘s of 170 or higher – 24 of these were Jewish.
And, of course, the extraordinarily high proportion of Jews in such fields as
medicine, law, finance, literature, science, creative arts and the media is as obvious
as it is astonishing. To some, these facts are awkward and even embarrassing,

feeding stereotypes of ―crafty‖ and ―clever‖ Jews good at making money and
flaunting their superiority to non-Jews. Indeed, the subject – the fact, if you will
now allow -- of Jewish intellectual superiority is rarely if ever discussed in Jewish
publications.
To explain this, we have a self-described ―Scots-Irish gentile from Iowa,‖ Charles
Murray of the American Enterprise Institute, author of the solidly documented
―The Bell Curve‖, which in 1994 stirred up a storm of controversy by discussing in
not always politically correct language ―differences in intellectual capacity among
people and groups, and what those differences mean for America‘s future.‖
Murray has recently written a brilliant and convincing essay for the respected
Jewish publication ―Commentary,‖ on ―Jewish Genius,‖ citing many of the above
facts and material on which this article is based . This is the first time the magazine
has systematically discussed this normally taboo topic that so many Jews are
reluctant publicly to acknowledge.
Murray observes that the two most influential works of literature ever were written
by and about Jews: the Hebrew and the Christian bibles, the so-called Old and New
Testaments, and he goes on to cite numerous other examples of what can only be
called Jewish intellectual supremacy.
Murray argues persuasively that ―elevated Jewish intelligence is grounded in
genetics‖ rather than being environmentally caused (by such factors as having
books in the home), and that it is ‗substantially heritable.‖ And Jews, especially the
Ashkenazim of central and western Europe, have been engaging for centuries in
what basically amounts to selective mating and merging genes to produce children
of high intelligence.
The Talmud (Pesahim 49a) says that ―A man should sell all he possesses in order to
marry the daughter of a scholar, as well as marry his daughter to a scholar.‖ In the
Jewish community of the Middle Ages, the smartest men often became rabbis, and
these learned men of high status were able to marry the daughters of successful
merchants, thus ―selecting‖ in favor of high intelligence.
At the same time, Christians were doing just the opposite: priests and monks of the
dominant Roman Catholic Church – also usually among the best and brightest in
their communities– were prohibited from marrying, thus ―selecting out‖ through
celibacy most of these intellectually superior men from the gene pool.
Murray also observes that ―Sephardi Jews rose to distinction in many of the
countries where they settled. Some economic historians have traced the decline of
Spain after 1500 [following the expulsion of the Jews], and the subsequent rise of
the Netherlands, in part to the Sephardi commercial talent that was transferred from
one to the other.‖

Murray‘s scholarly and extensively documented article cites many other reasons for
Jewish intellectual superiority in verbal and reasoning skills, including two crucial
factors, which are often overlooked.
The most important of these can be found in an article entitled, ―Jewish
Occupational Selection,‖ and written by two scholars, Maristella Botticini and Zvi
Eckstein. They focus on a decree issued in 64 C.E. by the martyred sage Joshua ben
Gamla, high priest in the last years of the Second Temple, requiring that all males
be enrolled in school by age six. The ordinance was largely adhered to, and, in the
words of Murray, ―Within about a century, the Jews, uniquely among the peoples
of the world, had effectively established universal male literacy and numeracy.‖
Moreover, throughout the centuries, Jewish males have had to study and learn the
law, a process one never completes, and to read –often aloud in public -- in order to
practice their faith and teach their children. Murray speculates that many Jews of
low intelligence, who could not read well or fulfill the intellectual demands of their
religion, tended to drift away from it.
Murray also cites a thesis of the geneticist Cyril Darlington, arguing that Jews were
―decisively shaped much earlier,‖ during the period of the fall of Jerusalem and
captivity under Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C.E. According to the
Bible (2 Kings 24:10-14), only the elite among the Israelites were taken to
Babylon, leaving behind the unskilled and presumably less intelligent. The king
―carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour…
and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the
people of the land.‖
By the time the Israelites returned more than a century later, many of those who
had remained had been killed off or had married foreigners and been absorbed by
other peoples. The returned exiles reconstituted a Jewish community comprised
largely of descendants of its most intelligent members. Ever since, practicing Jews
have continued to try to perpetuate their ―ethnic purity,‖ usually marrying within
their own group, and resisting intermarriage with and assimilation by their
neighbors.
But, still not satisfied by the evidence he so impressively presents, Murray
continues to wonder about the intellectual prowess demonstrated from the very
beginning by the Jewish people. ―Why should one particular tribe at the time of
Moses, living in the same environment as other nomadic and agricultural peoples of
the Middle East, have already evolved elevated intelligence when others did not?‖
The answer, speculates Murray, may be his ―happily irrefutable‘ hypothesis, drawn
from the Jews‘ earliest and most famous literary work: ―The Jews are God‘s chosen
people.‖

.

The Myth of Tiny, Little Israel: Zionist Tentacles
Everywhere
Sam Hamod, Ph.D.
06/26/03: (todaysaltnews.com) No decent human being in this world can see Sharon and his
zionist minions killing women, children and elderly, destroying their homes, schools and
hospitals and not feel a moral repugnance. There are many Jews as well as others who abhor
this, in fact, these Jews are among the most heroic in fighting this brutality that is being used
against the Palestinians and the espionage Mossad is perpetrating all over the world. This
group includes such people as Nurit Peled (the winner of the Sakharov Prize for Peace in
Israel), Anthony Lewis, Professor Naom Chomsky, Rabbi Michael Lerner and many other
courageous and moral people. So let it be known that we must get past the myth of "tiny, little
Israel" to see the truth about Israel and her supporters whose tentacles have spread throughout
the world.
This article pertains to those who are zionists who support the brutal tactics of Sharon and his
predecessors in Palestine and in the U.S.; it is this group that has infiltrated American politics,
media and military policy ( and the policies of other nations as well) through secret agents,
those who carry dual citizenship but are more loyal to Israel than to the US or other nations,
through the Mossad agents that have been hired for security reasons in various nations who
then branch out to recruit others who then become agents for Israel, and through the
academics whose political connections and media connections that make them overnight
―authorities‖ so as to be an asset to Israel (Daniel Pipes, Frank Gaffney, Richard Perle,
Bernard Lewis to name but a few).
Too few people in the world realize that this ―little nation‖ of Israel has its tentacles
throughout the world, in terms of its political action committees, appointees and elected
officials in governments and the hiring out of its active or retired Mossad agents. I write this
article to awaken people to the reality of what is actually going on, so that they may wipe
away the myths spread by the Israeli propaganda machine that has mainline access to
American media (newspapers, TV, radio and film) and enormous influence on the politics and
economies of many nations, among them, America, Britain, Venezuela, Germany and others.
Here are but a few examples:
1. Many airport checkers at the Frankfurt, Germany, airports are members of Mossad; this has
been attested to by many Arab and Arab American travelers who have been harassed by them
(many of the guards spoke Hebrew to one another during checking).
2. Many new hires in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the CIA and FBI, this
according to people working in those agencies and even reported briefly in some newspapers
are former, or on loan, Mossad agents;
3. Iraqis report Hebrew speaking troops with the American troops in Baghdad, even American
papers have reported that Israel is ―aiding America‖ in its search for WMD; the methods
being used by American troops in Iraq are exactly like the Israeli methods used in Palestine—

shooting heavy weaponry at a house, then breaking down the door and bursting in, even
without evidence, and arresting young men and fathers in the house and taking them away to
unknown locations, or simply destroying homes with tanks, mortars or missiles simply
because of a ―tip‖ that ―terrorists‖ or ―pro-Saddam‖ people are there
;4. It is common knowledge that Mossad trained the apartheid South African regimes police
and military that terrorized Blacks and Browns in that country for years, Israel also sold the
weaponry and technology to South Africa that was banned by the UN and the USA that
helped hold the African natives of the region and nation in check; experts on Africa say there
are others operating in Africa at this time in Nigeria and Kenya.
What is interesting also is how much Israel and its agents have infiltrated American
intelligence and politics. It is a known fact that Wolfowitz, Fleischer, Perle, Lantos and some
others have dual citizenships between Israel and America. Some of their behavior helps
reinforce this loyalty to Israel; at times, Lantos asks for more funds for Israel than for the poor
in America or even in California (his district and state). It is well known by every literate
person in the world that Wolfowitz and Perle were two of the prime movers for an attack on
Iraq and continue their pressuring for attacks on Iran, Syria and Lebanon (which are at the top
of Israel‘s hit list). AIPAC, the American Israel Political Action Committee uses millions of
dollars of its funds to get billions in aid for Israel through donations and political pressure on
American presidents, congress people and senators.
The pro-zionist groups also have powerful influence in the media through ownership of the
NY Times (the Sulzberger family), Washington Post, others who owned ABC
Goldenson)CBS(Paley) and NBC (Sarnoff)—all of whom were loyal zionists and their
donations to AIPAC is legendary. Fred Friendly, the first president of NPR and PBS was a
known supporter of Zionism when he was at CBS and carried this over to NPR, where a
majority of the newscasters and analysts are pro-Israel (Scott Simon, Dan Shorr, Linda
Gradstein, just go down the list and see how many Arabs, Muslims, real Latinos /not those
who are part Latino and part Jewish/, Linda Wertheimer, Seigel—the list goes on and on).
Thus, at every turn in America, from the overt media and money usage to the mythology that
is perpetrated by our movies and TV shows that Arabs and Muslims are terrorists and Jews
and Israelis are always victims, and that all Jewish men are warm and generous and never
hard faced businessmen, mafia (the only bad mafia guys are Italian, even on the Sopranos, the
myth is perpetrated because Tony and the boys always go talk with the Jewish godfather
friend of Tony‘s father—this is pure hogwash to any true Mafiosi or anyone who has worked
in the ―Business‖ as it is really called, the Italians only talked with the Italians, and especially
the Sicilianos, they were in endless, brutal competition with the Jewish criminal gangs headed
by Lansky, Siegel and others—but when Bugsy or Lansky are shown in a TV or movie
fiction, they are always good guys who went wrong or old men just trying to make their way
in the world).
Even the Pollard case, a spy in our military intelligence unit of the U.S. Navy, was
downplayed; the constant request by Israel for his release has also been hushed up.
In the Washington, DC, during the Pollard matter, the media often showed his crying wife
who kept saying, ―He‘s not a spy,‖ even after they had hard evidence on him; the newspapers
covered it but soon put it on the back pages if at all. Even some rabbis came forth asking that
he be sent to Israel for trial! Imagine, sending a spy back home to be tried for spying for his
home country; amazing.

Of course, the Israelis are only out to defend themselves, that is why they bulldoze homes in
Palestine (no, not in Israel itself), continue confiscating land from Palestinian farmers (who
must be terrorists, otherwise why would they use the disguise of being a shepherd in a field of
sheep or a farmer with olive trees—obvious cover-up disguises!), confiscate Palestinian funds
in Israeli banks, ask America to freeze bank accounts of Palestinian humane charities, never
shoot children or women, and if they do, it is only by accident or with rubber tipped metal
bullets (which also kill and maim, like metal bullets, but not as rapidly), and the missiles they
send in to hospitals, schools and ambulances are because the children must have done a
terrorist act secretly while they were in school—I make these absurd statements because they
are no more absurd than some of the press releases and public pronouncements the Israelis
make after killing people and excusing it (never apologizing), but always ―launching
investigations‖ that never seen to be finished and never come up with any Israeli guilt under
any circumstances.
Of course, those Israeli soldiers who get sick of this behavior and these lies are branded as
―traitors‖ and ―liars‖ and shunned, put in prison, and God knows what other punishments they
undergo (this from Felicia Langer when I spoke with her some years ago who, as a Holocaust
survivor, is one of Israelis top defense lawyers who often defends Palestinians and Jews for
peace or military men who refuse to continue to participate in this myths and cruelty of the
Israeli politics of brutality, and others who have come to America and spoken of these cruel
and inhuman acts, Nurit Peled (the winner of the Sakharov Prize for Peace in Israel), her
brother Miko and others who participate in the peace dialogues in San Diego and other cities
in America—people who genuinely want peace and what is best for their own Jewish brethren
and for the Palestinians (their blood cousins, see Blood Brothers by Chacour).
We need not mention Sharon‘s assault on the Palestinians in Lebanon, and his assisting the
Phalangist group that carried out the horrible and unforgiveable massacres at Sabra and
Shatilla Refugee Camps, while Israeli military men stood by hearing the cries and seeing
bloodied and children running from the camps asking them for help, shining their flood lights
for the Phalangist Gemayal families and their allies while they did the killings; nor the
constant destructions of villages, homes and human beings under Sharon‘s government, nor
the lies of Bill Clinton and Barak when they kept saying ―we‘re giving the Palestinians 80%
of what they want‖—when in fact, Barak, with Clinton‘s knowledge was building settlements
as fast as they could be built on seized and occupied Palestinian territory.
The facts go and on, one has but to look at UN reports on these matters of Israeli abuses to see
that it would take me dozens, nay hundreds of pages to cite all the abuses of even the last
dozen years—not to mention the previous and ongoing atrocities being committed in the name
of ―security‖—very much like Hitler needing more and more land for German‘s ―security‖.
Of course, the more you expand, the more other land you need to keep security in the newly
taken land that was allegedly for our ―security‖—an ultimately expanding, never receding
state. All the time, American presidents, congress and media look the other way; the
American people know little of the truth of this because the truth comes out only at the UN or
in such limited outlets as the National Geographic (which has the very best article on Israeli
settlements and how they have destroyed any sense of a Palestinian ―west bank‖ and Gaza and
a contiguous Palestinian state (see Andrew Cockburn in the October 2002 issue of National

Geographic for excellent maps, commentary and factual materials on this theft of land,
resources and culture).
Finally, there are the WMDs and atomic weapons. America, since the 50s, has allowed Israeli
scientists into Oak Ridge and Los Alamos; they have had carte blanche access.
Israel at this time has a huge stock of atomic weapons, thanks to our assistance. Israel also has
major supplies of anthrax and other poison weapons, again, thanks to the assistance of the
U.S. Government who at one time feared Arab attacks on Israel. These are the reasons that
Israel will not allow atomic inspectors into Israel and will not sign the vaunted American
pushed, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that America wants everyone else to sign, and uses
pressure to achieve this, but never on Israel. As to the poison weapons, neither America nor
Israel will sign this accord banning poison weapons because they have so many in their
security vaults. Thus, to many experts in the world, the U.S. attack on Iraq for WMD and
poison weapons, was very much a bald-faced farce, without merit, when two of the biggest
abusers of atomic proliferation and poison weapons were the ones calling for the war,
America and Israel (and of course, followed by the poodle himself, Tony Blair, who has his
own weapons secrets that have not yet seen the light of day).
It is time the myths of ―poor Israel‖ be laid to rest. It is time for Americans to wake up and
look clearly and honestly at one of the prime movers of terror in the world, Israel.
It is time that American citizens be told by their government and by their media the truth
about why so many Arabs and Muslims throughout the world are now becoming, not just antiBush, but anti-American, because of Israel‘s cruelty toward their fellow Arab and Muslims,
the Palestinians, and the brutal unnecessary take-over of Iraq (which was number one on the
Israeli agenda and thus the influence of key congress people and appointees such as
Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith and others to help achieve Israel‘s goals through that way—not to
mention that Israel is now going to get cheap Iraqi oil, courtesy of America). Unless America
comes clean about Israel, I can speculate with some accuracy, that the war between Arabs and
Muslims and America will never come to an end until this problem of Palestine/Israel, and in
addition now, prompted by Israel and the pro-Israeli influences in America, the Iraq/AmericaBritish occupation, is settled justly—all of us will suffer from terrorism and the fear of
terrorism—physically, emotionally and financially ( the financial costs are beyond
speculation, just see what it has done to our airlines, our manufacturing, our tourism—every
sector of our economy and the economies of other nations—all because we refuse, in America
especially, to face up and to deal with the Israel/Palestine problem in a just way—because of
the long reach of the Israeli tentacles, I would say that even American presidents and congress
people are afraid to speak openly or to act strongly against Israel because they may fear either
exposure that would ruin their career (as happened to Nixon when he suddenly put pressure
on Israel to desist in its settlements and threatened to cut off funds by executive order, and to
Carter when he lost the support of the entire Democratic Party and a lot of funds in his reelection campaign because he was trying to force Begin to abide by the Carter/Begin/Sadat
agreements of Camp David), be tarred and feathered as was done to Pat Buchannan because
he refused to shut up about Israeli abuses of American funds and weapons and their killing of
Palestinians, to the point that even Robert Novak, an internationally respected journalist, has
recently been attacked as a ―self-hating Jew‖ because he condemned Sharon‘s behavior an the
settlements and breaking of peace negotiation deals. Others politicians up to presidents,
according to FBI agents I spoke with in the 80s while I was Director of the Islamic Center in
Washington, DC, were afraid of assassination by Mossad or their related agents within even

the American security apparatus. Some may scoff at this because they‘ve never been inside
this big game, but having seen it at work close up, one has to see it to believe it.
But newsmen who have worked in South Africa and other parts of the world, especially the
Middle East know the verity of what I speak. Israel is not this ―poor little nation, just wanting
to survive,‖ but is a small nation, with a huge big brother who protects it because many from
Israel and its sympathizers have a knife to the jugular of its American big brother, and when
anyone in America decides to let the truth be known, their career in politics, show business,
economic, or academic affairs is short-lived except in very few exceptional cases—and these
tentacles, as I said earlier, reach out throughout the world, supported by massive funds,
discreet placements for influence and media power beyond compare (Rupert Murdoch at this
time controls all satellite transmissions to the world‘s media save one transmission line; if the
FCC rulings are not reversed and he is allowed to buy this last line of satellite transmission,
he will own them all—and Murdoch is a long-time Zionist of the first order; one has but to
watch his Faux News or read his newspapers to understand how committed he is to Israel and
to his anti- Arab, anti-Muslim positions, aside from attacking any politician anywhere in the
world who has, or should dare, say a thing against ―tiny Israel.‖
Finally, even in the religious arena, the Zionists have been hard at work. Their major new
alliance is with the ultra-rightist, Evangelical Christian movement that is praying for
Armageddon and the final war that will bring about the return of Christ. In order for this to
take place, Israel must triumph over its adversaries; to this end, the Evangelical movement has
sent many people to Israel to prepare for this soon-coming day, GW Bush has enlisted his
support as has Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and this has translated into bonds
between this new alliance and the Republican Party and especially support for any and all of
GW Bush‘s actions. Of course, since Sharon is the head of the Israel heading for
Armageddon, Bush allows him carte blanche in his killing of Palestinians and refuses to see
Sharon‘s terrorism, according to Bush, only Hamas and such are ―terrorists.‖ Yes, the world is
aghast at this twisting of the Christian Gospel, but few of the actual Christian Church scholars
from established seminaries or universities are allowed to speak on television or radio in
America, and few are published in major newspapers—rather, the ignorant and crazy right
wing has control of these media—so you get Falwell, Graham and son, Robertson and others
putting forth their nonsense on a nightly, weekly and monthly basis for the consumption of
the gullible American public.
It has gone so far in the religious arena that some of these right-wingers have called Islam a
―religion of evil,‖ have branded Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, as a pedophile based on
―evidence‖ they say (but the evidence is from one of their own wacko right-wingers or a
zonist ―scholar‖). Many of the Zionists and ultra-right evangelicals have tried to keep Muslim
scholars and speakers out of interfaith forums and out of university speaking engagements.
This type of apostasy is allowed to go on in the name of a false brand of Christianity and
Judaism. Thus, it has gone from politics to the politics of religion, a base type of behaviour
that is immoral and certainly is an insult to any God they allegedly believe in. I sometimes
wonder if any of these groups have any God but the almighty God of power, just another
extension of the Golden Calf that Moses, Jesus and Muhammad railed against.
There you have it, this ―tiny, little, poor nation of Israel, just struggling to survive.‖ Let us
now get rid of this myth; let us face the reality. This Israel is not the Israel Moses would have
wanted, nor Jesus, nor the God these religions profess to believe in. For this Israel is a
powerhouse of intrigue, lies, brutality and cunning with only destruction of others in mind—

with lessons the Ashkenazim Jews learned from Hitler—so that even to this day, the Falasha
(Ethiopian Jews), the Sephardic (the true Mediterranean Jews) are treated like second and
third class citizens in their own land (they have lived there for thousands of years, the
Ashkenazim of Europe, descendents of the Khazars, converts from Slavic tribes to Judaism,
have only come to the Middle East in the 20th century), and of course, the Palestinians
(Philistines in Arabic and Hebrew) who have lived there for several thousand years are being
brutalized so that Sharon and his minions may push them out of this false Israel, aided by
their ignorant American ―Christian‖ allies who hope that when Armageddon comes, all the
Jews will convert to Christianity.
Fat chance—just more mythology—but we‘ll save that for another day.

Sam Hamod is an expert on world affairs, especially the Arab and Muslim worlds. He writes
often for www.CounterPunch.com and www.todaysaltnews.com ; he is a former advisor to
the U.S. State Department and served as editor of Third World News in Wash, DC. He may
be reached at [email protected].

.

The Myth of Tiny, Little Israel: Zionist Tentacles
Everywhere
Sam Hamod, Ph.D.
06/26/03: (todaysaltnews.com) No decent human being in this world can see Sharon and his
zionist minions killing women, children and elderly, destroying their homes, schools and
hospitals and not feel a moral repugnance. There are many Jews as well as others who abhor
this, in fact, these Jews are among the most heroic in fighting this brutality that is being used
against the Palestinians and the espionage Mossad is perpetrating all over the world. This
group includes such people as Nurit Peled (the winner of the Sakharov Prize for Peace in
Israel), Anthony Lewis, Professor Naom Chomsky, Rabbi Michael Lerner and many other
courageous and moral people. So let it be known that we must get past the myth of "tiny, little
Israel" to see the truth about Israel and her supporters whose tentacles have spread throughout
the world.
This article pertains to those who are zionists who support the brutal tactics of Sharon and his
predecessors in Palestine and in the U.S.; it is this group that has infiltrated American politics,
media and military policy ( and the policies of other nations as well) through secret agents,
those who carry dual citizenship but are more loyal to Israel than to the US or other nations,
through the Mossad agents that have been hired for security reasons in various nations who
then branch out to recruit others who then become agents for Israel, and through the
academics whose political connections and media connections that make them overnight
―authorities‖ so as to be an asset to Israel (Daniel Pipes, Frank Gaffney, Richard Perle,
Bernard Lewis to name but a few).
Too few people in the world realize that this ―little nation‖ of Israel has its tentacles

throughout the world, in terms of its political action committees, appointees and elected
officials in governments and the hiring out of its active or retired Mossad agents. I write this
article to awaken people to the reality of what is actually going on, so that they may wipe
away the myths spread by the Israeli propaganda machine that has mainline access to
American media (newspapers, TV, radio and film) and enormous influence on the politics and
economies of many nations, among them, America, Britain, Venezuela, Germany and others.
Here are but a few examples:
1. Many airport checkers at the Frankfurt, Germany, airports are members of Mossad; this has
been attested to by many Arab and Arab American travelers who have been harassed by them
(many of the guards spoke Hebrew to one another during checking).
2. Many new hires in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the CIA and FBI, this
according to people working in those agencies and even reported briefly in some newspapers
are former, or on loan, Mossad agents;
3. Iraqis report Hebrew speaking troops with the American troops in Baghdad, even American
papers have reported that Israel is ―aiding America‖ in its search for WMD; the methods
being used by American troops in Iraq are exactly like the Israeli methods used in Palestine—
shooting heavy weaponry at a house, then breaking down the door and bursting in, even
without evidence, and arresting young men and fathers in the house and taking them away to
unknown locations, or simply destroying homes with tanks, mortars or missiles simply
because of a ―tip‖ that ―terrorists‖ or ―pro-Saddam‖ people are there
;4. It is common knowledge that Mossad trained the apartheid South African regimes police
and military that terrorized Blacks and Browns in that country for years, Israel also sold the
weaponry and technology to South Africa that was banned by the UN and the USA that
helped hold the African natives of the region and nation in check; experts on Africa say there
are others operating in Africa at this time in Nigeria and Kenya.
What is interesting also is how much Israel and its agents have infiltrated American
intelligence and politics. It is a known fact that Wolfowitz, Fleischer, Perle, Lantos and some
others have dual citizenships between Israel and America. Some of their behavior helps
reinforce this loyalty to Israel; at times, Lantos asks for more funds for Israel than for the poor
in America or even in California (his district and state). It is well known by every literate
person in the world that Wolfowitz and Perle were two of the prime movers for an attack on
Iraq and continue their pressuring for attacks on Iran, Syria and Lebanon (which are at the top
of Israel‘s hit list). AIPAC, the American Israel Political Action Committee uses millions of
dollars of its funds to get billions in aid for Israel through donations and political pressure on
American presidents, congress people and senators.
The pro-zionist groups also have powerful influence in the media through ownership of the
NY Times (the Sulzberger family), Washington Post, others who owned ABC
Goldenson)CBS(Paley) and NBC (Sarnoff)—all of whom were loyal zionists and their
donations to AIPAC is legendary. Fred Friendly, the first president of NPR and PBS was a
known supporter of Zionism when he was at CBS and carried this over to NPR, where a
majority of the newscasters and analysts are pro-Israel (Scott Simon, Dan Shorr, Linda
Gradstein, just go down the list and see how many Arabs, Muslims, real Latinos /not those
who are part Latino and part Jewish/, Linda Wertheimer, Seigel—the list goes on and on).

Thus, at every turn in America, from the overt media and money usage to the mythology that
is perpetrated by our movies and TV shows that Arabs and Muslims are terrorists and Jews
and Israelis are always victims, and that all Jewish men are warm and generous and never
hard faced businessmen, mafia (the only bad mafia guys are Italian, even on the Sopranos, the
myth is perpetrated because Tony and the boys always go talk with the Jewish godfather
friend of Tony‘s father—this is pure hogwash to any true Mafiosi or anyone who has worked
in the ―Business‖ as it is really called, the Italians only talked with the Italians, and especially
the Sicilianos, they were in endless, brutal competition with the Jewish criminal gangs headed
by Lansky, Siegel and others—but when Bugsy or Lansky are shown in a TV or movie
fiction, they are always good guys who went wrong or old men just trying to make their way
in the world).
Even the Pollard case, a spy in our military intelligence unit of the U.S. Navy, was
downplayed; the constant request by Israel for his release has also been hushed up.
In the Washington, DC, during the Pollard matter, the media often showed his crying wife
who kept saying, ―He‘s not a spy,‖ even after they had hard evidence on him; the newspapers
covered it but soon put it on the back pages if at all. Even some rabbis came forth asking that
he be sent to Israel for trial! Imagine, sending a spy back home to be tried for spying for his
home country; amazing.

Of course, the Israelis are only out to defend themselves, that is why they bulldoze homes in
Palestine (no, not in Israel itself), continue confiscating land from Palestinian farmers (who
must be terrorists, otherwise why would they use the disguise of being a shepherd in a field of
sheep or a farmer with olive trees—obvious cover-up disguises!), confiscate Palestinian funds
in Israeli banks, ask America to freeze bank accounts of Palestinian humane charities, never
shoot children or women, and if they do, it is only by accident or with rubber tipped metal
bullets (which also kill and maim, like metal bullets, but not as rapidly), and the missiles they
send in to hospitals, schools and ambulances are because the children must have done a
terrorist act secretly while they were in school—I make these absurd statements because they
are no more absurd than some of the press releases and public pronouncements the Israelis
make after killing people and excusing it (never apologizing), but always ―launching
investigations‖ that never seen to be finished and never come up with any Israeli guilt under
any circumstances.
Of course, those Israeli soldiers who get sick of this behavior and these lies are branded as
―traitors‖ and ―liars‖ and shunned, put in prison, and God knows what other punishments they
undergo (this from Felicia Langer when I spoke with her some years ago who, as a Holocaust
survivor, is one of Israelis top defense lawyers who often defends Palestinians and Jews for
peace or military men who refuse to continue to participate in this myths and cruelty of the
Israeli politics of brutality, and others who have come to America and spoken of these cruel
and inhuman acts, Nurit Peled (the winner of the Sakharov Prize for Peace in Israel), her
brother Miko and others who participate in the peace dialogues in San Diego and other cities
in America—people who genuinely want peace and what is best for their own Jewish brethren
and for the Palestinians (their blood cousins, see Blood Brothers by Chacour).
We need not mention Sharon‘s assault on the Palestinians in Lebanon, and his assisting the
Phalangist group that carried out the horrible and unforgiveable massacres at Sabra and

Shatilla Refugee Camps, while Israeli military men stood by hearing the cries and seeing
bloodied and children running from the camps asking them for help, shining their flood lights
for the Phalangist Gemayal families and their allies while they did the killings; nor the
constant destructions of villages, homes and human beings under Sharon‘s government, nor
the lies of Bill Clinton and Barak when they kept saying ―we‘re giving the Palestinians 80%
of what they want‖—when in fact, Barak, with Clinton‘s knowledge was building settlements
as fast as they could be built on seized and occupied Palestinian territory.
The facts go and on, one has but to look at UN reports on these matters of Israeli abuses to see
that it would take me dozens, nay hundreds of pages to cite all the abuses of even the last
dozen years—not to mention the previous and ongoing atrocities being committed in the name
of ―security‖—very much like Hitler needing more and more land for German‘s ―security‖.
Of course, the more you expand, the more other land you need to keep security in the newly
taken land that was allegedly for our ―security‖—an ultimately expanding, never receding
state. All the time, American presidents, congress and media look the other way; the
American people know little of the truth of this because the truth comes out only at the UN or
in such limited outlets as the National Geographic (which has the very best article on Israeli
settlements and how they have destroyed any sense of a Palestinian ―west bank‖ and Gaza and
a contiguous Palestinian state (see Andrew Cockburn in the October 2002 issue of National
Geographic for excellent maps, commentary and factual materials on this theft of land,
resources and culture).
Finally, there are the WMDs and atomic weapons. America, since the 50s, has allowed Israeli
scientists into Oak Ridge and Los Alamos; they have had carte blanche access.
Israel at this time has a huge stock of atomic weapons, thanks to our assistance. Israel also has
major supplies of anthrax and other poison weapons, again, thanks to the assistance of the
U.S. Government who at one time feared Arab attacks on Israel. These are the reasons that
Israel will not allow atomic inspectors into Israel and will not sign the vaunted American
pushed, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that America wants everyone else to sign, and uses
pressure to achieve this, but never on Israel. As to the poison weapons, neither America nor
Israel will sign this accord banning poison weapons because they have so many in their
security vaults. Thus, to many experts in the world, the U.S. attack on Iraq for WMD and
poison weapons, was very much a bald-faced farce, without merit, when two of the biggest
abusers of atomic proliferation and poison weapons were the ones calling for the war,
America and Israel (and of course, followed by the poodle himself, Tony Blair, who has his
own weapons secrets that have not yet seen the light of day).
It is time the myths of ―poor Israel‖ be laid to rest. It is time for Americans to wake up and
look clearly and honestly at one of the prime movers of terror in the world, Israel.
It is time that American citizens be told by their government and by their media the truth
about why so many Arabs and Muslims throughout the world are now becoming, not just antiBush, but anti-American, because of Israel‘s cruelty toward their fellow Arab and Muslims,
the Palestinians, and the brutal unnecessary take-over of Iraq (which was number one on the
Israeli agenda and thus the influence of key congress people and appointees such as
Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith and others to help achieve Israel‘s goals through that way—not to
mention that Israel is now going to get cheap Iraqi oil, courtesy of America). Unless America
comes clean about Israel, I can speculate with some accuracy, that the war between Arabs and

Muslims and America will never come to an end until this problem of Palestine/Israel, and in
addition now, prompted by Israel and the pro-Israeli influences in America, the Iraq/AmericaBritish occupation, is settled justly—all of us will suffer from terrorism and the fear of
terrorism—physically, emotionally and financially ( the financial costs are beyond
speculation, just see what it has done to our airlines, our manufacturing, our tourism—every
sector of our economy and the economies of other nations—all because we refuse, in America
especially, to face up and to deal with the Israel/Palestine problem in a just way—because of
the long reach of the Israeli tentacles, I would say that even American presidents and congress
people are afraid to speak openly or to act strongly against Israel because they may fear either
exposure that would ruin their career (as happened to Nixon when he suddenly put pressure
on Israel to desist in its settlements and threatened to cut off funds by executive order, and to
Carter when he lost the support of the entire Democratic Party and a lot of funds in his reelection campaign because he was trying to force Begin to abide by the Carter/Begin/Sadat
agreements of Camp David), be tarred and feathered as was done to Pat Buchannan because
he refused to shut up about Israeli abuses of American funds and weapons and their killing of
Palestinians, to the point that even Robert Novak, an internationally respected journalist, has
recently been attacked as a ―self-hating Jew‖ because he condemned Sharon‘s behavior an the
settlements and breaking of peace negotiation deals. Others politicians up to presidents,
according to FBI agents I spoke with in the 80s while I was Director of the Islamic Center in
Washington, DC, were afraid of assassination by Mossad or their related agents within even
the American security apparatus. Some may scoff at this because they‘ve never been inside
this big game, but having seen it at work close up, one has to see it to believe it.
But newsmen who have worked in South Africa and other parts of the world, especially the
Middle East know the verity of what I speak. Israel is not this ―poor little nation, just wanting
to survive,‖ but is a small nation, with a huge big brother who protects it because many from
Israel and its sympathizers have a knife to the jugular of its American big brother, and when
anyone in America decides to let the truth be known, their career in politics, show business,
economic, or academic affairs is short-lived except in very few exceptional cases—and these
tentacles, as I said earlier, reach out throughout the world, supported by massive funds,
discreet placements for influence and media power beyond compare (Rupert Murdoch at this
time controls all satellite transmissions to the world‘s media save one transmission line; if the
FCC rulings are not reversed and he is allowed to buy this last line of satellite transmission,
he will own them all—and Murdoch is a long-time Zionist of the first order; one has but to
watch his Faux News or read his newspapers to understand how committed he is to Israel and
to his anti- Arab, anti-Muslim positions, aside from attacking any politician anywhere in the
world who has, or should dare, say a thing against ―tiny Israel.‖
Finally, even in the religious arena, the Zionists have been hard at work. Their major new
alliance is with the ultra-rightist, Evangelical Christian movement that is praying for
Armageddon and the final war that will bring about the return of Christ. In order for this to
take place, Israel must triumph over its adversaries; to this end, the Evangelical movement has
sent many people to Israel to prepare for this soon-coming day, GW Bush has enlisted his
support as has Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and this has translated into bonds
between this new alliance and the Republican Party and especially support for any and all of
GW Bush‘s actions. Of course, since Sharon is the head of the Israel heading for
Armageddon, Bush allows him carte blanche in his killing of Palestinians and refuses to see
Sharon‘s terrorism, according to Bush, only Hamas and such are ―terrorists.‖ Yes, the world is
aghast at this twisting of the Christian Gospel, but few of the actual Christian Church scholars
from established seminaries or universities are allowed to speak on television or radio in

America, and few are published in major newspapers—rather, the ignorant and crazy right
wing has control of these media—so you get Falwell, Graham and son, Robertson and others
putting forth their nonsense on a nightly, weekly and monthly basis for the consumption of
the gullible American public.
It has gone so far in the religious arena that some of these right-wingers have called Islam a
―religion of evil,‖ have branded Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, as a pedophile based on
―evidence‖ they say (but the evidence is from one of their own wacko right-wingers or a
zonist ―scholar‖). Many of the Zionists and ultra-right evangelicals have tried to keep Muslim
scholars and speakers out of interfaith forums and out of university speaking engagements.
This type of apostasy is allowed to go on in the name of a false brand of Christianity and
Judaism. Thus, it has gone from politics to the politics of religion, a base type of behaviour
that is immoral and certainly is an insult to any God they allegedly believe in. I sometimes
wonder if any of these groups have any God but the almighty God of power, just another
extension of the Golden Calf that Moses, Jesus and Muhammad railed against.
There you have it, this ―tiny, little, poor nation of Israel, just struggling to survive.‖ Let us
now get rid of this myth; let us face the reality. This Israel is not the Israel Moses would have
wanted, nor Jesus, nor the God these religions profess to believe in. For this Israel is a
powerhouse of intrigue, lies, brutality and cunning with only destruction of others in mind—
with lessons the Ashkenazim Jews learned from Hitler—so that even to this day, the Falasha
(Ethiopian Jews), the Sephardic (the true Mediterranean Jews) are treated like second and
third class citizens in their own land (they have lived there for thousands of years, the
Ashkenazim of Europe, descendents of the Khazars, converts from Slavic tribes to Judaism,
have only come to the Middle East in the 20th century), and of course, the Palestinians
(Philistines in Arabic and Hebrew) who have lived there for several thousand years are being
brutalized so that Sharon and his minions may push them out of this false Israel, aided by
their ignorant American ―Christian‖ allies who hope that when Armageddon comes, all the
Jews will convert to Christianity.
Fat chance—just more mythology—but we‘ll save that for another day.

Sam Hamod is an expert on world affairs, especially the Arab and Muslim worlds. He writes
often for www.CounterPunch.com and www.todaysaltnews.com ; he is a former advisor to
the U.S. State Department and served as editor of Third World News in Wash, DC. He may
be reached at [email protected].

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