Hamas War

Friday, November 24, 2017

Rethinking Thanksgiving

I have no doubt that many Americans will take umbrage, get super angry and upset at this post. While I was still an American, and yes I do retain official citizenship/passport, I learned of how immigration quotas were put in force to try to keep out undesirables, like Jews. This is a fact, not opinion.

Most American Jews ignore it. But check your American History. Early in the twentieth century, when official statisticians began to notice that massive immigration of Jews from eastern Europe was rapidly increasing the number of Jews, they instituted quotas based on much earlier statistics to keep Jews out.

Jewish refugees were never welcomed to the United States; they were grudgingly allowed in. For Jews, the Thanksgiving holiday was more of a "whoopee we got in," rather than "thanks for the hug."

Remember the closed doors prior to World War Two and afterwards. Jewish refugees, begging for a safe haven, were told to go elsewhere.

And for the "lucky ones" who did make it to the United States, staying strictly Jewish became another challenge. Even if there was a five day school week, important tests were on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. In addition, many jobs required work on Saturdays or Fridays after sunset. This continued well into the late twentieth century, and even though there are official laws now protecting "other sabbath days," the United States is still based on the Christian Calendar. That's life. You can make whatever adjustments you like, but you can't deny it. Many Torah observant, aka Orthodox, Jews use up all of their official "days off" or vacation days for the Jewish Holidays. That is the price of living in America.

Live where you wish, but  please don't call the USA the "promised land," because it isn't. The true history of the invasion by Europeans onto two incredibly large and rich in natural resources continents, isn't very pretty.

Thank Gd I am here in the Holyland, Israel. 

7 comments:

Linda Starr said...

I believe it was American Democrats who instituted the policies you refer to about Jewish immigration to America.

As for the "invasion by Europeans", National Geographic published information in the last few years that showed that Europe was the genetic origin of many of the native people who were already here earlier.

People still die trying to get to America (unlike North Korea or Venezuela for example) and I am grateful to the Founding Fathers for the sacrifices they made to create our Constitutional Republic.

Anonymous said...

America is a great country and hkbh will undoubtedly reward those who uphold his world.. for us it is also a test. Will we be satisfied with temporary treats or still strive for the ultimate reward

Kt
Joel rich

Lawrence said...

Well said. Even the self-loathing of American Jews is an internalisation of the hatred directed their way from gentile Americans. Let's not forget - USA is built on slavery and dispossession and destruction of Native Americans. The love affair American Jews have for USA is one way and unrequited. It's actually pathetic.

Batya said...

Linda, Manifest Destiny was the philosophy behind the expansion of the Europeans as USA in its early guises.

Joel, The more Jews make it to Israel the better Israel will be. The USA and other countries are just temporary for Jews, like when Abram and Sarai went to Egypt.

Lawrence, yes.

Chana said...

Blame America First? America is a major power, and that always entails mistakes and imperfections. Americans have generally been honest about this and continue to work to make things *better*. No political entity is ever going to be perfect, but the United States has been more of a refuge and a bulwark to more oppressed people than any other nation in history. Israel strives to provide similar protection for the Jewish people as a State. There are people who believe that because the State of Israel is imperfect, it doesn't deserve anyone's support or praise either. I strongly disagree.

Batya said...

Chana, I'd like you to tell all the Jews turned away by FDR during and after the Holocaust what a great refuge the USA can be. And don't forget the native Indians who've been rounded up and transplanted over the centuries by European invaders and then the American Government. Please don't leave out the Sabbath observers who either lost their jobs, didn't get promotions or had to, and still have to, give up on their religion.

Chana said...

All true, of course. And STILL, it is the most benevolent, least violent major power that has successfully survived and thrived in the history of the human race. Has it made grievous errors? Of course! Could things have been better? Possibly.
But government is never going to be the frictionless surface of physics exercises. Mankind always tends to be weak and lazy when it isn't downright evil. Fantasies of a utopia almost invariably turn out even worse.