Exactly who is a Jew?

As we are constantly bombarded daily with heart-rending images in Gaza where the Netanyahu government seems determined to commit the most vicious acts of genocide in the history of the world, it becomes more and more confusing for some to determine exactly who (or what) is a Jew?

At least to me, it does, for no one set of people can be so cruel! (I feel the same way about those in Somalia who are carrying out even greater atrocities which the world seems happy to ignore. But in Africa, we know that enmity usually goes along the tribal lines that were sown by decades of oppression and apartheid, and watered and fertilized by European conquerors.)

Anyway, as far as Judaism is concerned, I am a bit less certain, so have been searching sources to try and get a concrete answer. The more I searched, the more complicated it seemed to become, so I latched on to the definition in Webster.

 It states in part:

"In the modern world, a definition of Jew that would be satisfactory to all is virtually impossible to construct, for it involves ethnic and religious issues that are both complex and controversial. In daily life, for example, those who consider themselves Jews are generally accepted as such by Jews and non-Jews alike, even though such persons may not observe religious practices."

Interesting, for although I am black, I could describe myself as a Jew if I wished, although I am not Falasha from Ethiopia.

The Jewish line apparently comes down through the female and my maternal grandmother was a Jewess who converted to Christianity when she married my grandfather. If I wished to apply for Israeli citizenship, it would be easily acquired. (A fellow Jamaican friend of mine who had the exact same ancestry as I did, became an Israeli citizen, moved there, and lived in a Kibbutz for more than five years, before escaping to England. That is another whole story!)

 This whole genocidal campaign in Gaza has certainly moved the issue of Jewishness to the front burner!

In my book though, it all comes back to religion.

I concluded decades ago, that RELIGION IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL, and not only does history bear this out, but everyday occurrences today do.

But let’s get one matter straight, it’s not moderate, straight-thinking people in the religions who are the evil ones, but the ultra-conservatives, be they Christian, Muslim, MAGA, Jewish, Buddhist, whatever.

The joke is on me, for there was a time when I swore that the adherents to Buddhism were the only peaceful religious people in the world. Then violence broke out in Myanmar against the Rohingya people and videos surfaced of Buddhist monks burning their villages and attacking the people. These were shown worldwide.

That certainly burst my bubble.

If you are wondering why I am now waxing philosophical, it’s because I was listening to a radio interview on PBS today with an Israeli woman who lived in a Kibbutz next door to Gaza. Their compound was raided by Hamas on October 7^th, 2023, members of her family and friends were kidnapped and many were killed.

That’s when I learned that those who resided in the Kibbutz, accepted that Israel and Palestine could share borders and live in peace, for they were not the ultra-orthodox, rabid, religious Jews like their fellow Israelis living in places like the West Bank.

 Those are the ones who perpetuate the crap that they are the chosen people and that the Middle East was given to them by god and anyone who says nay is anti-Semnite!

 They are also the ones who have been included in the Netanyahu government for decades, operating an apartheid system that made Gaza into the largest prison in the world, thus leaving no alternative for the oppressed but terrorism.

The problem with terrorists however is that they tend to be cowards, be they IRA, Hamas whatever. For, instead of fighting those who oppress them, they inevitably attack innocent people and at times, even those who are sympathetic to their cause, as happened on October 7th! For they killed some fellow Arabs and kidnapped a Bedoin then!

Until the world gets rid of religious intolerance as practiced by right-wing adherents like Netanyahu and his cronies, cruel genocidal actions will continue all over the world.

And innocents will continue to be massacred.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proud of Turkish women

Turkey, though a Muslim country, is far more liberal than I expected, as you see women involved in every type of activity.

At least in Istanbul.

There, I  saw very few covered heads outside the mosques and even saw a few girls in really short shorts on the streets.

We supported their fund raising effort, buying bracelets with the Palestinian flag

The only real distinction I saw was in the mosques where the prayer section for females is not open and they have much smaller spaces for this.

     Modesty clad Indonesian Muslim women. That's how I had visualized Turks too😊

Clearly the type of reports you see about women in Muslim countries, does not prevail in Istanbul.

It was great too, to see that the majority of people active in Sultanahmet Square, in Istanbul, not only to publicly standing with and showing support for the people of Gaza where especially women and children are being massacred by the Israelis, but they were also raising funds to help feed them.

For as you know, a vast number of Palestinian women and children living in Gaza, are being starved to death too.

It's not too many places outside of university campuses, that you see every-day people showing concern about the terrible massacre occuring in Gaza.

 At this venue however, the dominant leaders were definitely ladies.

Later the women were joined by a formal group of men for what appeared to be speeches and some kind of concert.

Proud of them all.

I wish people all over the world would show some concern for the suffering of others, rather than just complaining about every little thing that affects us personally!

Istanbul-Asia

Istanbul, the beautiful exotic city which is over 3000 years old, has a population of more 20 million, of which 2/3rds live on the European side and a third on the Asian side.

Our tour group comprised of two Jamaicans, two Austrians, and a British Couple. It was a friendly group led by Turkish students, Emre who lives on the Asian side and Burrak who lives on the European side.

It was am interesting , wonderful and educational tour.

I didn't find an 'Asian' look as over time, as both sides appear to have integrated totally so look rather similar.

However, I personally prefer the Asian side, as it attracts far fewer tourists, so is less congested.

There are  three distinct sections, Muslim, Christians (mainly people of Armenian descent who were mostly followers of the Roman Catholic faith) and Jews. 

However we were informed that while this was how it was originally, its mostly older Jews and Catholics who remain now.

 The synagogue was recently vandalized due to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, so it is being repaired.

As Turks tend to be mostly Muslims, every square has several elegant mosques. 

This is a modern mosque built by the current government.

In the olden days,  Muslims knew when it was "prayer time" based on the position of the sun. This plaque shows how.

The Bosphorus Strait separates Istanbul's European from the Asian side.

Numerous ferries take residents and visitors across daily. It's about a 20 minute ride.

You get a great view of European and Asian Istanbul from the Strait.

A community garden. You can only reap if you sow!

Fresh sardines. Had only seen tinned ones before😊

Where you wash up before entering a mosque 

The European side behind us.

A Turkish submarine heading to the Black Sea

Six streets converge here

A street of lamps

A Christian church 

Of wars and criminals

In July 2023, Reuters reported that The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s arrest. (The ICC is distinct from the International Court of Justice, an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states.)

This is because he is held responsible for the actions of his army and ‘Russian forces in Ukraine are responsible for rapes, widespread" torture and killings.’

The article further clarified that ICC can bring a prosecution against political leaders for "waging aggressive war" in the event of an unjustified invasion, or conflict not undertaken in self-defense.’

I was happy to learn from a PBS report on December 23rd, that “South Africa launched a case at the United Nations’ top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks — the first such challenge made at the court over the current war.”

South Africa’s submission to the International Court of Justice alleges that “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character” as they are committed with the intent “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza” as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.”

This excellent submission put forward by the South Africans needs widespread support, for when you see the reports on the nightly news showing the results of the days activities in both Ukraine and Gaza, there is little difference between Putin and Netanyahu’s government.

In fact, in terms of cruelty, the Israelis seem to be way ahead.

I am certainly no defender of Putin or the Russians, but in their effort to steal the Ukrainian’s land, the Russians seem to be targeting mostly soldiers, whereas in Gaza, the government and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) clearly aim to eliminate as many women and children as possible!

In a chilling report on December 31, 2023, The Daily Ground reported that the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, told the Israeli army radio that ‘Israel must control territory in Gaza and significantly reduce the number of Palestinians living there. "If there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not two million, the whole discourse about the day after will be different," he said.

If that news report is correct, since the population of Gaza is around two million, this means the likes of Smotrich have no reservations or qualms about wiping out up to 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza!

If that isn’t genocidal, nothing is.

It has been very clear for some time that the Israeli government is also not simply setting out to kill as many of this generation of Palestinians as possible but also as much of the future generations as well.

So, they are promising to carry on this campaign for much longer.

This campaign cannot only cause Israel to become an international pariah, but also ensure that the country cannot ever exist in peace, for by their own actions, they are simply forcing the future generations in the territories that it oppresses, to become terrorists!

You know, some powerful people like to label all criticism of the Israeli actions in Gaza as anti-Semitic. This is absolute nonsense however, as social media is replete with videos ofJews from all over the world, including descendants of victims of Hitler’s genocide in Germany, opposing the Netanyahu government’s acts of genocide against the Palestinians and the apartheid regime that passes for democracy in Israel!

Even Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper has been reporting that ‘Protests calling to oust PM Netanyahu are taking place night across Israel, including a Tel Aviv solidarity rally with the families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.’

No one is more responsible for what is taking place in Gaza today, than that Israeli prime minister Netanyahu and his blood-thirsty cabinet which cannot see beyond totally eliminating the Palestinian population.

So far, their army has killed almost 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza and under the watchful eye of the IDF, settlers in the West Bank have been murdering Palestinian farmers and stealing their land.

That is what the government of Israel wants as they are determined that the Palestinians should never have their own state but simply remain in eternal bondage or flee their land.

The proof of this is reported in the Times of Israel on December 31, 2023, which quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying during a press conference at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv that 'he was “proud” he prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state and took credit for “putting the brakes” on the Oslo peace process.' 

2024 will see no improvement in the Middle East and many have been wondering if the Falasha’s living in Israel are not in danger of elimination too.

This concern is based on a declaration made even before November 8^th by Judith Varnai-Shorer. This influential politician is a powerful former Israeli Consul for General the Southern United States, a former ambassador to both Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as a former minister of congressional affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. Her most recent post was desk director at the Center for Policy Research.

In a video circulating on You Tube, she is heard warning other powerhouse Israelis at a secret meeting in the US that major problem Israel has is with ‘the young generation of the black community.’

That smells like trouble for the young Ethiopian Jews. The older ones migrated to Israel and while their population is listed at 85,000, some 20,000 were born there according to Israeli statics.

Research for yourself the terrible discrimination the Falasha’s are currently subjected to in Israel!

The European Jews who control Israel, clearly don’t want any people there who are not lily white and by giving them full support, the Americans are being drawn into that mire.

 

 

 

 

Karma is real

 As I listened and watched Dr. Sasa, special representative to the UN representing the parliament of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) on BBC's Hard-talk, during which videos showing extreme brutality against peaceful demonstrators in that country were shown, my heart  broke. 

For the benefit of those who have not been keeping up to date with matters there, briefly; on the 1st February 2021, the democratically elected government which was led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was overthrown by the military, and she was put under house arrest. 

Suu Kyi had been a Nobel Prize winner for the years she had stood up to the military rulers there and had endured imprisonment. After much trial and tribulations, she was elected by landslide in 2016 and became prime minister,  In November 2020 she again led her party to victory, but the army refused to accept the results, so like Trump, they claimed the election was stolen and staged a military coup. (Trump would have loved to have the support of the USA army to stage a similar coup on the same  grounds, but all he had was a bunch of morons who wrecked the capitol building😡!) 

Since February 2021, a large majority of the voters in Myanmar have been staging peaceful protests against the military, but instead of giving in,  the brutality of the military rulers has been increasing exponentially and the death toll keeps rising daily, as they fire live bullets into crowds of peaceful demonstrators.

In the interview on Hard-talk on March 12th, 2021, Dr. Sasa was begging the free world to come to the assistance of his country, and as I listened to his pleas, memories start to flood in. 

That is, memories of the images of mainly women and children who belonged to the Rohingya tribe.

They had lived in Myanmar for decades, but suddenly, they were being attacked and beaten, raped and brutalized and their homes and villages burnt to the ground by that same military. 

This started in 2017, when the majority people in Buddhist Myanmar decided that they did not want those Muslims around. Of the 1.4 million Rohingya's who lived there, thousands were killed and almost 800,000 now live under the most terrible conditions in camps in Bangladesh.

When those atrocities were being committed against the Rohingya's, the International Curt of Justice, in January 2020, unanimously ordered the government of Myanmar to stop the genocide. 

But guess who had gone to the court in December 2019, to testify court that the military were not committing atrocities against those hapless people?

Aung San Suu Kyi of course!

As I watched the interview with Stephen Sackur on BBCTV, this poem came to me. It is said that the writer is unknown for it had been found in one of the gas chambers in Germany, after the holocausts;

First they came for the Jews

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists

and I did not speak out

because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me

and there was no one left

to speak out for me.

As I listened to the interview, I wondered out loud if Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Myanmar had ever heard that poem!

There is now absolutely no doubt in my mind that Karma is real.

(169) Joan Williams, author - YouTube

Whites inherently evil?

An afro-American millennium really had me thinking this weekend.

We were discussing the increased racial tensions in the USA and the decades of struggles of people like Representative John Lewis, who recently died, for racial equality. Lewis's achievements were being celebrated all weekend as a precursor to his burial which will take place around mid-week.

That's when he sprung this question on me;  "Did you know the term racism was coined by whites?"

Taken aback I told him I had never given it a thought, but racism in the USA is certainly toxic.

Then he added, "whites are inherently evil."

My initial reaction to that was one of amusement since I had been around when the late Elijah Mohammed, founder of the black Muslims, used to declare that the "the white man was the devil".

More specifically, according to the Independent, with reference to the white people in America,  Elijah's often declared that "The white man is the Devil. We do believe that. We know it he is a  blue-eyed, blond-headed Devil! No good in him, no justice, he’s gonna be destroyed!"


Even my hero, the late Mohamed Ali who was an ardent follower of Elijah Mohamed, had often repeated such sentiments, but since the death of Elijah and the divisions in his organization, I really had not heard that argument again. In fact,  as a student of the late Malcolm X, I had dismissed or rather, ceased to give it even a second thought since Malcolm's rejection of that philosophy after he returned from Mecca, where he discovered that, unlike in the USA, Muslims came in all colors, and it was illogical to brand any one race as all bad.

Anyway, I decided to engage my young thinker in further discussion.

His philosophy was that white people are inherently evil since from the beginning of written history, each generation of whites has tried to either enslave or commit genocide against every other race. This as they pillaged and stole their possessions. To detract from this inherent evil as a race, he continued, some devious white person coined the word "racism," so we would become distracted from the real issue and instead waste time arguing about which whites, groups, or parties were more racist!

Well, that certainly stopped me in my tracks and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how correct he could be! And now I understand perfectly, the sentiments expressed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tom-cotton-slavery-necessary-evil-1619-project/)that;  " US founders viewed slavery as a "necessary evil upon which the union was built".

Yup, necessary in the view of whites, as it comes naturally to them to either erase every other race or work them to death, so the white race can prosper! 

I am sure we all know some really good white people so may very well reject this thesis, but before we do we need to remember always,  that there are exceptions to every rule!

The child is surely the father of the man (woman).

https://youtu.be/9nWaAEZi8SM

Divide and rule

When the first white settlers set foot in North America, they tried to wipe out the native people totally, in order to steal their land. 

The rest of the well-armed white world stood silently and observed the attempted genocide but did nothing.

The white settlers learnt a lifelong lesson about the inaction of spectators.

So since gaining control of this great land, they have perfected the art of maintaining total dominance and control over every other race, whether native or fellow immigrants, by exploiting differences and picking them off one by one.

For they recognize the truth of  Edmond Burke's words; " The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (people) to do nothing."

They brought in black slaves from Africa and when they could no longer work them to death, their various white supremacist groups tried to violently eliminate them. Those that survived were subjected to the most vicious psychological, financial and physical atrocities. While a few whites were uncomfortable with this, because they loved the benefits of white privilege more, the majority remained silent. 

Many minorities here, also remained silent as they had never been enslaved.

Next, the oppressors targeted the Japanese who had come in and helped to build their railroads.

Other minorities kept their eyes tightly closed.

After 2002, it was the Muslims, because of the bombing of the twin towers and because their religion was different.

Most other minorities have remained basically silent, whether out of religious differences or fear.

Hispanics who had long been conveniently divided by the 'rulers' between the privileged Cubans and others, were next in line. So after 2016, they were lumped into one group because they were procreating too rapidly and they were just not white enough for the ruling Republican establishment.

Most members of other minority groups have basically looked on in silence.

Then in 2020, Corona virus made not only Chinese citizens in the USA but also anyone looking like a south east Asian, the target of the hatred. So today, hourly news reports about such people being harassed, cursed, spitted on and violently attacked, lead the news. 
 I have even seen tweets and other comments from minorities who comment approvingly, for they had long resented the superior attitude of many of the Asian people and the advantages some are given in the universities.

The ability of the white American establishment to find and exploit differences that keep minorities dividied while they rule supreme, has led me to wonder whether most of us have never understood the depth of the poem written in the 1930's by German cleric Martin Niemoeller. 

It said;

“In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

 Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. 

 Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

 Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. 

Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

When will we learn that "divide and conquer" will always give oppressors the edge over us?

https://youtu.be/HUTn8cmBi9c

Cambodia surprised me

Entrance to the "Killing Fields" memorial in Sien Reap

Cambodia is a country that I had little or no interest in visiting when I decided to visit South East Asia. You see, I had closely followed events there during the terrible period, 1975-1979 when the despot, Pol Pot murdered over a quarter of the population in that country. His terrible regime was backed and armed by the Chinese communists.

Skulls found in mass graves in the region, on display

 

His reason for the genocide, resonated a great deal with us thousands of miles away in Jamaica, as it was in our view, a typical aspect of a communist cleansing.

This was the period during the cold war era when communists were trying to foist their violent ideology on the world. We too in Jamaica were in grave danger of being overcome by communists, as local communist forces were being armed and assisted by the Castro regime in neighboring Cuba.

From 1976-1980, we fought an "undeclared" civil war to keep the communists at bay, so the atroicities we were learning about in Cambodia which were broadcast daily by the British BBC, would not overtake us. By the time Pol Pot was stopped in Cambodia, he had massacred over two million of his countrymen and totally dislocated the population by moving people from their homes and dispersing them all over the countryside.

A shrine to the victims at the "Killing Fields" memorial

That period has long passed and the Berlin wall has fallen, so in 2018, communism was no longer a threat, but my memories of the story of Cambodia remained so entrenched, that it took my friend Gabby, a Jamaican resident in Vietnam, quite some time to convince me that Cambodia was worth visiting. The cheap air fares in the region were also another incentive!

The final spur though came from a young lady I met on a visit to Ha Long in Vietnam. She was a teacher in Britain but had been undertaking the arduous task of having to work while studying for her master's degree. So she said she decided to take a break to tour Southeast Asia and had been doing so for some three months. When I picked her brains about which was the most scenic country she had visited so far, the unhesitant answer was Cambodia.

On a  Tuk Tuk tour of Angkor

With only two days to spare, we flew from Thailand to Siem Reap, a highly recommended UNESCO World Heritage site.

 That was probably the best decision of my life as from what I saw of Cambodia in that short time, certainly indicates that my British friend and Gabby were both on target.

To begin with, the Cambodian people were by far the most friendly, helpful and humble people I encountered during my short visit to South East Asia.

In questioning some who I met about the events during the Pol Pot genocidal period, while I discovered that most had not even been born then, just about everyone knew someone who had either been killed, forcefully relocated or imprisoned during the period so knew everything about it. I also learned that nothing was taught in the schools about that aspect of their history but the older generation always spoke about it, always expressing bewilderment with the question; "Why did he do that to his own people?"

No one seemed to have a real explanation and it is something that I suspect will remain unanswered during their entire history.

The impressive Angkor Wat (Wat means temple)

While the government does not give much information about the period, I was told, to their credit, all over the country there are killing fields memorials where skulls retrieved from mass graves are put display along with written, harrowing tales as told by survivors and of course shrines for the souls of the dead.

We got the opportunity to visit the memorial at Siem Reap and it certainly brought home the real brutality of that terrible period and communism in action.

Cambodia is now open for business though and no more is this more obvious than in Siem Reap where the

A young Buddhist monk performs rites at Angkor Wat

US dollar is even used interchangeably with their own Reil. That province is certainly very tourism oriented with a night market where just about every type of Asian food can be found as well as arts and crafts. And the prices are really good.

The big drawing card is, of course,  the Angkor Complex which has been recognized and protected by UNESCO  for 25 years. This is located on over four hundred acres of land, much of which is still in the forest.

Here you have on display, one of the largest collections of religious monuments in the world some of which are still being used.

Hindu carvings are visible all over

This area was originally constructed in the 9th century as the center of the Khmer Empire but was finally abandoned in the early 1400's.

What you find here are the most intricate designs and architecture and even where huge tree roots take over buildings, they seem to do little damage as happens with modern buildings.

A massive tree trunk envelops this temple but does little damage

As I toured a minuscule section of the vast complex in wonderment, I was also enthralled by elephants all around transporting people and the monkeys which wondered easily among their human relatives!

When one baby tried to climb up the long, colorful Cambodian skirt which I had to buy to enter the sacred temple complex, I was tempted to pick it up but was reminded that they often have diseases.

One of the most inappropriate businesses I saw in' Cambodia though was a restaurant near our hotel named "Trump cafe."  Although I wondered about the choice of name, was amused to see that during

 my entire two days there, I never observed anyone entering or leaving the premises. Does this mean the American president has no fans in that part of Cambodia, I wondered?



Some other images from Angkor

Elephants demand right of way!