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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kick the dog!

 

I have noted some pathetic attempts in various media to validate Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. This unprovoked war has led to the murders of thousands of civilians in Ukraine including women and children plus serious instability worldwide.

Apart from creeping international inflation caused by the disruption and increases in oil prices, the war has also had serious repercussions in poor, drought ridden countries, where starvation is now rampant. They had previously been able to buy basic foods such as wheat and corn from fertile Ukraine, but the disruptions caused by the war, have driven up the prices of these products where they are available.

If it wasn’t so serious, it would be hilarious to see and listen to the excuses by the apologists whose reasoning seems steeped in nothing but the ‘kick the dog’ philosophy!

For those who are not familiar, the kick the dog reaction is most often used by cowards. For when one cannot confront the real source of their displeasure or hurt, they find the weakest thing to abuse and take out their anger.

Often this is a harmless dog lying around at home!

This philosophy shines clearly throughout the writings and reasoning of most who have come out in support of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The latest attempt at justification was written by one Maxim Artemyev, a so-called journalist at the state-run media empire in Russia called RT. His piece published on 9th September, is entitled “The West took advantage of Russian weakness in the 1990s and is unable to understand the trauma it unleashed.”

It begins “A series of articles published in the Washington Post in August about the events leading up to Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, and its first stage of operation, raise a significant question. “How realistically and objectively do people in the West perceive the situation?”

In putting forward his justification for the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Artemyev spouts a series of injuries/indignities he claims Russia suffered since 1985-1991, when Mikhail Gorbachev pulled the USSR out of the arms race and ended the Cold War.

In the long diatribe which wreaks with self-pity (as a Russian), he itemizes the various indignities, financial and reputational losses Russia has suffered since 1985. While doing so, he pointed an accusing finger at many in the west and NATO but reading it through carefully, I could find nowhere that the Ukrainians were the villains.

Clearly by his own admission, Ukraine is just the dog!

And he knows that too, since he places the blame squarely where it should fall, writing; “The collapse of historical Russia was the result of Gorbachev’s remarkably weak leadership and Yeltsin’s personal ambition, as the latter tried to consolidate power even if only over a smaller state.”

So, Mr. Artemyev, if the Russian empire disintegrated as a result of poor leadership in Russia, how does that justify the murder of thousands next door?

Maybe this article was intended to be a salve for those Russian readers who wondered why their brothers and sisters in Ukraine were being murdered by Russian soldiers and not for an international audience.

What is clear though is that Russia had expected the dog to run away whimpering, but instead, it is biting back!

So, the carnage and war crimes continue.

Silver Sands Beach

This weekend, I learnt something about most muggers. That is, they are really cowards who when not having the element of surprise to jump the defenseless, are mere wimps.

Here I was at Silver Sands resort in Duncans, Trelawny, when on Sunday, for my exercise I decided to walk up to the town. I had my earphones in my ears as usual. On the way back, I saw a man appear behind me and heard him calling out to me as I walked down the hill. I ignored him. He followed me the entire journey down, crossing the road when I did and saying things that I could not hear because of the music.

As we got to the lonely spot where there is a gravel turnoff to Duncan's Bay, I decided that I did not want this man following me further as that section was quite bushy and less trafficked. So I walked on to the gravel track, pretended to be heading to Duncan’s Bay. I then picked a large stone and quickly turned around to confront him with my hand with the stone in it, raised right in his face and shouted "Weh yu a fallaw mi fah?" 

I suppose he had thought I was just another defenseless woman whom he could intimidate, mug or whatever. What he did not anticipate was my reaction so he jumped out his boots when he saw my upraised hand and the large rock. He certainly had no time to get to any weapon if he had one.

 Although he had followed me on to the path to Duncan’s Bay he protested rather weakly in a very shaky voice that he had not been following me. I told him was he was a dirty liar for he had crossed the road each time I did and was calling out things to me. It was really quite funny to see him cower but I did not press my luck, instead, pushed him aside and went back on to the main road. I then stopped to see what he would do but he walked off into the bushes, so I continued my exercise. 

I suppose he will be more careful who he chooses to mess with in the future.

Apart from that incident , it was an absolutely wonderful weekend. We got down there around 7 pm Friday night and after drinks with Bernie (my brother) his wife and friends, turned in.

On Saturday morning at 6am., we went out fishing in a 28 foot Boston Whaler with experienced fisherman Errol. Thank God for that for if we hadn’t, we would probably have all ended upon in hospital. This is because Joan the great fisherwoman, caught the largest fish....about a 3/4 pound fish called a "stinging grouper"(aka Scorpion Fish. Thanks to Valerie Charles' suggestion on Facebook, I looked it up and found the info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpaenidae ).

 None of us knew anything about these fish at the time, but Errol quickly cut it off the line and threw it back explaining that if any of the bones touched our skin, it was instantly poisonous and some people even became swollen and had to be hospitalized. 

He further told us that for years there was a doctor in Falmouth by the name of Dr. Foote and for years that fish was called "Dr. Foote" for that is where those who caught it and tried to release it from the line in the normal manner, ended up!

I was extremely sorry to see my fish go back in the water (dead of course) since it was the biggest fish I had ever caught! Would you also believe that there is a fish called Nayga fish? Apparently the colonial masters gave it that name because it is jet black and our people have just continued to use that name. It resembles a doctor fish and but is full black. Bernie caught one.

As usual the beach was absolutely beautiful, warm and calm. At about 11am the visitors started to arrive for the domino session. My very first set with Stewie as my partner, we got six love. 

But wait for it, we then dropped 17 love before ending the last of three sets with 6/1! At that point I thought I should retire lest I ruined my reputation. So I went to play scrabble and won two of three games.

However it was the draw of the dominoes slamming down that I could not resist. So back I went to one of the tables after a wonderful buffet dinner (there were about 35 guests) only to get two six loves. Temporary retirement from dominoes for me after that, just drinks, animated conversation and listening to great music for the rest of the session.

On Sunday it was back to the beach and later to the pool, until it was time to come back to miserable Kingston. 

Oh for more weekends like this.