The fallacy of the BLM accusation of Jewish "White Privilege"

When I was growing up in the pre-Civil Right era in the "Heart of Dixie" Birmingham Alabama. My grandfather Ernest (Elisha ben Natanel HaLevi) had owned several small stores in the millinery business (primarily Hats and gloves) throughout the "Greater Birmingham Area" in the pre-Jacqueline Kennedy period when it was "fashionable for women to wear hats and gloves. He also had "Hat" departments in the large Department Stores owned by my "Mishpucah" relatives in the area.

Many times, they came to the Department Store owned by my relatives -which had "Hat" departments and would purchase clothing for their children. When I was just 14 my grandfather took me to work with him. I would run items to the stores and collect the daily sales receipts from the stores in downtown Birmingham Alabama. When I went out on my runs, I would stop at my other maternal Grandfather Ben Levy's "Levy Brother's Drugstore" where my grandfather was the pharmacist.

In the past it was quite common, as it regretfully is today, that many "Afro American" women worked to support their families, as single mothers. Many worked as maids in the homes of middle and upper class wealthy white families from before dawn to late at night for meager pay. These women were dependent on local city-wide public transportation "bus service" on the "segregated buses to reach their "jobs" in the suburbs.

Many of these women had been studious in school and had achieved education. Many found that the doors to better paying jobs were few in number and the job market was severely limited due to outright racism and jealousy by lower class whites who were not willing to allow a Black man and especially a Black woman to be superior to them.

 Since these Afro-American women were very "devout Christians" they were the main customers of my grandfather's and relatives' businesses. In the days before "credit cards" these women would purchase Hats and gloves months in advance on a "Lay-away" plan for Easter. Many of these hard-working women would go to the Department Stores owned by my relatives and purchase clothing items also in "easy payment plans" that were highly flexible -many times based on the very close and personal relations that developed between Jewish families and Afro-American families.

Therefore, when Easter approached and my Grandfather's Jewish accountant Sarah Lischkoff saw that some of these women were in arrears, my grandfather would ask Sarah to have the women who managed the hat departments or stores to notify them that they could have their items that they had placed in "Lay-a-way" to wear for Easter.

My grandfather never "demanded" payment of them since he knew many of these women and their families. Sometimes he would leave an envelope in their box with money knowing their hardships they faced. I remember my "Uncle Leon Aland" and his brothers would do the same.

In the drugstore of my other maternal grandfather Ben Levy there was a "coloured only section" in the rear of the store. I remember many times when my grandfather or his younger brother Morris z"l would see that a customer was hesitant to ask for a needed medication that they would give it to them. Sometimes so as to not go against the pride of the person who could not pay, he would place the ordained medicine in place of the cheaper item that the customer took so as to not offend their pride.

I can also remember how he gave out treats and candies to the children. Occasionally when he saw that a child was hungry, he would go to the food counter of the store and ask the worker to prepare something for the child.

 As Jews in the deep South, we were considerate and highly aware of the conditions of the Blacks and sympathized deeply with their plight because many of the same limitations and manners of discrimination that over the years had once been carried out openly became "discreet".

All of our grandparents were aware of the story of Leo Frank and the underlying ancient hatred of the Jews that led to his murder and especially that hatred motivated by the Jewish connection to the Red Scare of 1919–1921 that had fueled xenophobic fears of foreign radicals migrating to undermine American values and provoke an uprising like the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

Many "White Americans" primarily those from the "superior European lands" suffered from generations of open anti-Jewishness and anti-Semitism. I personally found that the highest level of Jew hatred came from the Catholics of Irish descent and their hatred was applied against us Jews and the Afro-Americans.

I have always found that hatred was taught. That when those of "superior European lands" and the Catholics of Irish descent came into direct personal contact with us Jews and learned that we were not "monsters" and "children of Satan" their views and relationship changed.

There are many detractors among the Afro-Americans of America today -especially those brainwashed members of Black Lives Matter, that claim that Jews were NOT as badly treated as Afro-Americans because we are "White" and appear to be the priviledged "Caucasians".

These instigators of hatred say that we Jews have "White Privilege" because after generations of living in Europe many Jews are indeed fair skinned, which is obvious to the eye and therefore we could "assimilate" and acquire "Privilege". These hate-filled "Historical Revisionists" and rabid anti-Semites have embraced the writings of Arthur Koestler from his 1967 book "The Thirteenth Tribe: The Khazarian Empire and its Heritage" as "proof" of the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories around the Khazars’ reported conversion to Judaism. This spurred anti-Semitic beliefs that they were building a secret empire which sought widespread control through financial gains.

They point out that the Khazars moved into and settled in Eastern Europe, and antisemites push the conspiracy theory that Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe—are not “real Jews” - a phrase claiming that today’s Jews are not the chosen people referenced in the Bible and are working to infiltrate other nations on their quest for world domination.

The Khazarian trope is being widely spread by the minions of the "falestinian Nachba Tragedy Tourists" and their brainwashed and bamboozled sycophants to undermine the Jewish connection to Israel, and therefore Israel’s right to exist, because it falsely says Jews originated from the northern Caucasus region and were part of the Turkic empire—and not the Land of Israel.

Some antisemites on both the right and left now openly claim that Ashkenazi Jews are “fake Jews,” and that Israel is a “fake nation.” This accusation has been used historically and continues to be used by those who believe in the "Khazarian conspiracy theory" dispelling the Jewish connection to Israel

Few of these same brainwashed detractors today are oblivious to their "bamboozlement" that this part of "Aryan racism" was a major part of the Nazi regime. And they are uneducated in the historical truth of how the Nazi doctors and scientists made portfolios of the "Hated Jews" to "Prove" that Jews were not a religious denomination, but a dangerous "non-European race.”

The Nazi's believed the Jews were not a religious denomination, but a dangerous "non-European race" and their racial antisemitism was based on false scientific theories.

This aspect of racism was always an integral part of Nazism and it is has become an integral part of the "Historic Revisionist" put forward by the Arabs of the Mandated Areas aka the "Palestinians" in their efforts to usurp the connection of the Jewish people to our indigenous homeland of Eretz Yisrael.

This "Historical Revisionism" now has Black supremacists claiming Black people—not Jews—are the true chosen people of God and that Black supremacy has roots in “Black Chosenness”— the belief that African Americans are the descendants of the twelve Hebrew tribes of Israel who settled across Africa after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and were eventually sold into slavery during the Atlantic slave trade.

 Black supremacy argues that Black people are superior to all other races and that “white” Jews are imposters. Elements of Black supremacy can be found within the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, as well as within Nation of Islam under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan and his supporters. In the age of social media, some Black supremacists have co-opted the language of white supremacists when discussing Jews: calling them “termites” and “bugs” with subhuman features

The "White Priviledged" accusation regarding Jews received notoriety in the aftermath of the riots in Fergusson Missouri when the "Palestinians" and their communist left wing anti-Zionist backers "hijacked" the momentum to finally undermined the once very close relationship between Jews and Afro-Americans.

As a Jew in the Deep South, I grew up learning that we Jews -from our experiences in Eastern Europe lived always with the realization that anti-Jewish sentiments lurked in the "darkness".

That the little help we gave in kindness to the poor -yes even the poor whites, was overlooked when it came to the "Mark of Cain" that still exists and lurks openly and increasingly on the Internet through various World Wide Web formats even today in the teachings that; "Jews murdered the Christ". 

Hatred never dies, it only mutates and thrives in the hearts of those who are unwilling and cannot accept that there are those who are different from them.  

Patriotism and the need for sanity in America

I had posted a previous blog entry the other day regarding the Facebook query, What is on my mind? And like yesterday I was concerned about an item lost among many young Americans. So the post was entitled; "Patriotism and SANITY. More importantly EDUCATION!!!"  I had asked those on Facebook who read it to share my "Thoughts" 

What has been bothering me for the past few days, and has caused me to lie in bed unable to sleep, is the image of Gwen Berry the "Black American". 

When receiving the high honor of a medal for athletic achievement in the name of "OUR" country, Gwen Berry choose to show the resentment and hatred that she has been taught by those who adhere to a hatred of an old norm in American society by standing with a clenched upraised fist her head bowed and turned away in disrespect.

As I looked at the image, I was reminded of a ship captain from Massachusetts named William Driver who coined the nickname “Old Glory”.

When writing about his thoughts to recollect the reason he referred to the American flag “Old Glory,” Driver proclaimed; 

“It has ever been my staunch companion and protection. Savages and heathens, lowly and oppressed, hailed and welcomed it at the far end of the wide world. Then, why should it not be called Old Glory?”  

I think ALL Americans can readily agree with our fellow "Black American" citizens that the issue of racism and "white supremacy" and the values spread by those who are so blinded by hatred need to be dealt with severely. With that said, those "educators" who teach "racial toleration" and "diversity"should also keep in mind the words of unity and freedom.

As a historian who actually READ the poem "Defense of Fort M'Henry" I can most readily agree that the wording of the third stanza of the poem, which later formed the basis for the lyrics of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” -those three stanzas were NOT used. It is apparent that the stanza WOULD be repugnant and offensive to Black Americans like Gwen Berry. So YES, these offensive stanzas SHOULD BE stricken from the entire congressional resolution from March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301)!

For those who do not know the wording of the third stanza, it DOES speak in a very derogatory manner about Black slaves who fled to join the British army and navy to gain their freedom and to fight against the American forces. 

As Gwen Berry stated:

"If you know your history, you know the full song of the national anthem, the third paragraph speaks to slaves in America, our blood being slain...all over the floor. It's disrespectful and it does not speak for Black Americans. It's obvious. There's no question."

But Gwen dear if you knew your history as YOU and ALL your "Black American activists" claim, it does NOT "allude to the catching and beating slaves!"

This is why in education reading comprehension and the meaning of words and HISTORICAL CONTEXT  is IMPORTANT!

Key was referring to ex slaves who joined the British forces to fight against America.

Yes, Gwen, Francis Scott Key WAS a slaveholder! 

Which regrettably was an abhorrent "norm" in the pre-Civil War American society, but nary a mention is given to those thousands of Americans who died in a bloody Civil War fighting to emancipate Black Americans.

In his famous line, from his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” written by a British soldier and poet Wilfred Owen during the First World War in 1919, and published posthumously in 1920.

“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori – It is sweet and glorious to die for your country” is a line from the Roman lyrical poet Horace's Odes (III.2.13) 

This phrase inspired numerous nineteenth- and twentieth-century nationalist patriots in various countries. 

The phrase can be rendered in English as; "It is sweet and honourable to die for one's country," or "It is sweet and fitting to die for the fatherland” and the words can be heard echoed in Joseph Trumpeldor’s last words at Tel Chai:

‘Ein davar, tov lamut be'ad arẓenu’ (‘Never mind; it is good to die for our country’).”

Owen's line speaks of the old Latin phrase of honor in dying for one's country, as so many of our country men have. 

Just as in the famous last words attributed to Nathan Hale; “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

And these haters must realise that our Flag and our nation symbolise the lines that Emma Lazarus immortalized in her poem "The New Colossus":

"Keep ancient lands your storied pomp!" cries she

with silent lips "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

 

All night long I could see the images of these hate filled ignorant "Americans", both Black and white NOT standing with tears in their eyes, filled with the emotion that the AMERICAN FLAG symbolizes. 

For me, in my mind's eye, I could only see the rows and rows of American patriots; young and old men and women of ALL colors and races who had either been born in the "Free land of America" or in foreign lands who had laid down their lives for the "Freedom of Speech", these arrogant, egotistical, sniveling brat narcissists so readily abuse by kneeling or standing in protest not realizing that they have allowed those who teach hatred to erroneously educate them.

To them I say clearly and loudly: Honor the Flag, honor the words of the anthem and not the poem!! 

When you stand with a clenched fist and turn aside your head aside.

And you cannot accept the fact that the words are important and symbolize greatness, then YOU are blinded by hate! 

When you close YOUR ears to the words that speak of honor to our nation

And YOU cannot accept the fact that the words of the National Anthem express the exhilaration and ecstasy of the sight of OUR Nations flag still standing, in light of the adversity of a severe bombardment, then YOU are blinded by hate! 

When you cannot see the blood of those Black Americans who fought despite the adversary of the "Old" norms to keep OUR nation free YOU are blinded by hate! 

And YOU cannot accept the fact that free men of ALL colors have built this nation and have thrown off the "Old World" mentalities that were once the norm, then YOU are blinded by hate! 

When you are so blinded by ignorance and hatred of it's symbolism held in love and cherished by those who died, YOU are blinded by hate!  

And you cannot accept the fact that the beauty expressed in its color and make up of stars and "bright bars" that represent its unity and its resilience to the tyranny of our oppressors is "racist", then YOU are blinded by hate! 

If you cannot accept the fact that men and women of ALL colors, races and religions have died with its image in their hearts, then YOU are blinded by hate! 

If you cannot honor OUR "Old Glory" and OUR Anthem then OUR home is NOT yours!    

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

    What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

    O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?

        And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

        Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there —

            O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

            O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

I say God Bless America! The land that symbolizes freedom!

Gwen Berry and the Star Spangled Banner

The U.S. Olympic hammer thrower, Gwen Berry, who while being "honored", turned away from the flag as the national anthem blared and covered her face with a shirt that read "Activist Athlete."

In her "defense" Berry later clarified that as a "Black American" she has an issue with a line in "The Star-Spangled Banner," which she said "alludes to the catching and beating slaves."

Berry said:

"If you know your history, you know the full song of the national anthem, the third paragraph speaks to slaves in America, our blood being slain...all over the floor. It's disrespectful and it does not speak for Black Americans. It's obvious. There's no question."

Gwen, you should have listened more closely in your history class because the National anthem DOES NOT "allude to the catching and beating slaves."  

The poem; "Defense of Fort M'Henry" which later formed the basis for the lyrics of the “The Star-Spangled Banner”, speaks about Black slaves who fled to join the British army and navy to gain their freedom and to fight against the American forces. It does NOT "allude to the catching and beating slaves."

What DOES SCREAM to be noted is that the offensive third stanza of the poem is NOT PART of today's National Anthem!!

 The Background:

There is no single cause for the War of 1812 but several related causes

In Europe, Britain, the naval power, and France, the land power, were at war with each other. Each side was trying to cripple the other’s economy with blockades and confiscation of trade goods. And the United States was trying to remain neutral. Britain issued Orders-in-Council, treating as an enemy any vessel that tried to enter a French port without first stopping at a British port to pay a fee and get a license. The British felt this was necessary in order to defeat Napoleon, but the Americans felt Britain was insisting they should have no trade of their own and that she should control all their foreign commerce; they felt their independence was at stake.

The United States retaliated with the Embargo Act, which stopped all United States merchant vessels from sailing from United States ports and forbade commerce with any foreign nation.

The Embargo adversely affected all regions of the United States, resulting in a depression that all but paralyzed the economy of the United States. Smuggling along the Canadian border flourished.

 MARITIME ISSUES

Impressment was the most volatile issue between the United States and Britain. This was because it dealt with sovereignty. Impressment involved the right to search commercial ships for deserters. Poor food, hard work, and harsh discipline caused British sailors to desert by the thousands. Most of them ended up in America. Britain never claimed the right to search vessels of the United States Navy. She did claim the right to search private vessels as she felt this involved no invasion of another nation's sovereignty. Americans considered this to be an insult to their sovereignty.

 EXPANSIONISM

The division of land after the Revolution did not leave everyone satisfied. The loss of the Ohio River valley, housing vital fur trade routes, displeased Canadian and British merchants. It also served home to a large Indigenous population, a large part of which had supported the British during the American Revolution and now argued for an autonomous Indigenous state to be created south and west of Lake Erie.

The Americans felt that British support of the First Nations was a threat to their expansion and their policy of forcing the conversion of First Nations peoples to farmers, giving up their hunting lands for American use.

The primary cause for the call to invade Canada was the perceived support the British in Canada were giving the Natives of the Northwest. The Americans did not miss that Canada was Britain's last foothold on the continent either. As relations with Britain worsened, the call for expansion both north and south increased in volume and frequency. The exhaustion of the farm lands in the Old Northwest caused land-hungry farmers to call for the conquest of Canada with its good lands.

 POLITICAL

All these issues resulted in the surfacing of a small yet persuasive political faction known as the War Hawks, led by Henry Clay of Kentucky, who was elected to Congress in 1810. The War Hawks demanded war with Britain.

The Story 

Following the Battle of Baltimore on Sept. 14, 1814, against invading British forces — Francis Scott Key had been “dispatched by President James Madison on a mission … to negotiate for the release of Dr. William Beanes, a prominent surgeon”.

While onboard the British flagship Francis Scott Key witnessed the 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry (And the rocket’s red glare! /The bombs bursting in air!) by British ships of the Royal Navy in the Chesapeake Bay. Inspired by the sight of the Stars and Stripes still flying the next morning at Fort McHenry — Gave proof through the night/That our flag was still there/Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave.

Key penned the poem; "Defense of Fort M'Henry" which later formed the basis for the lyrics of the “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first stanza forms the National Anthem today. Here are all four stanzas of “The Star-Spangled Banner”

First Stanza:  the National Anthem today.

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

 What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there —

O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

 Second Stanza:

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines on the stream —

'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Third Stanza:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havock of war and the battle's confusion

A home and a country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wash'd out their foul foot-steps' pollution,

No refuge could save the hireling and slave,

From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave;

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

 Fourth Stanza:

O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand

Between their lov'd home, and the war's desolation,

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land.

Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto — "In God is our trust!"

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” was recognized for official use by the U.S. Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

 About the author

Francis Scott Key was born August 1, 1779 and died January 11, 1843. From the time of the creation of the southern colonies with their large agriculturally based lifestyle, slavery had become a "necessary evil". By the beginning of the nineteenth century most of the large "plantations" were wholly dependent on slave labor.

Key inherited not only his family's Plantation "Terra Rubra," in Frederick County, Maryland, upon the death of his father he also became a slave holder.

According to historical records, Key purchased his first slave in 1800 or 1801 and owned six slaves in 1820. He freed seven slaves in the 1830s, one of whom continued to work for him for wages as his farm's foreman, supervising several slaves.

Key also represented several slaves seeking their freedom, as well as several slave-owners seeking return of their runaway slaves. Key was one of the executors of John Randolph of Roanoke's will, which freed his 400 slaves, and Key fought to enforce the will for the next decade and to provide the freed slaves with land to support themselves.

Key is known to have publicly criticized slavery's cruelties, and a newspaper editorial stated that "he often volunteered to defend the downtrodden sons and daughters of Africa." The editor said that Key "convinced me that slavery was wrong—radically wrong".

There is a quote being falsely attributed to Key taken out of context from ambiguities in the 1937 biography of Key by Edward S. Delaplainem that is being used to defame Key as a "racist".

The truth is Key, who was a leader, fundraiser and was a founding member for the American Colonization Society organization, was in actuality describing the attitudes of Southern religious institutions in reply to an 1838 "questionnaire" that he wrote to Reverend Benjamin Tappan of Maine.

In his reply to Reverend Tappan, Key cities the attitude of Southern religious institutions that asserted that; "formerly enslaved blacks could not remain in the U.S. as paid laborers".

Key's personal thoughts, as a leader and fundraiser for the American Colonization Society organization, was not to send the men and women he freed to Africa upon their emancipation.

It was the attitude of the Southern religious institutions and most members of Southern Society who in many cases were wholly dependent on slave labor that free blacks are;

"a distinct and inferior race of people, which all experience proves to be the greatest evil that afflicts a community".

Prejudicial historians have argued that upper-class American society, of which Key was a part, could never "envision a multiracial society". These "historians" are writing from a viewpoint now blinded by the passage of time and of norms in society at that particular period, no matter how antiquated and despised they are now.

It is a HISTORICAL FACT that in the northern part of the newly founded United States -North of the "Mason Dixon Line", the majority of the populace was of "White Europeans". There had previously NOT been a number of "racially" different citizens since in the Northern US Colonies there was little need for field hands like on the large farming plantations of the South. Because of this there were very few if any "Black" slaves in most of the New England colonies.

By the beginnings of the 19th Century, the majority of free blacks born in the Northern colonies which became the United States.

The American Colonization Society of which Francis Scott Key was a leading member was not supported by most abolitionists or free blacks of the time since the members were predominantly slave owners. It was through the organization's work that eventually led to the creation of Liberia in 1847.

Abolitionists alleged that as District Attorney, Francis Scott Key suppressed abolitionists and did not support an immediate end to slavery. Yet these detractors failed to note that Key was also a leader of the American Colonization Society which endeavored to send freed slaves to lives of freedom in Africa. Key freed some of his slaves in the 1830s, paying one ex-slave as his farm foreman. He publicly criticized slavery and gave free legal representation to some slaves seeking freedom, but he also represented owners of runaway slaves.

By 1810, more than 15 percent of the U.S. population was enslaved. Some 6,000 African Americans fled to the British during the War of 1812, on the promise of freedom and were recruited into the Royal Navy or into the Colonial Marines, which was a mostly black unit. The Colonial Marines was part of the British forces that overran Washington, D.C., in 1814 and set fire to the White House.

From March of 1813 to September 1814, the British Navy occupied the Chesapeake Bay and its islands. On April 2, 1814, Admiral Alexander Cochrane proclaimed that any escaped slave who made it to British lines or a British vessel and was willing to enlist in the Royal Marines would be freed. Several thousand Maryland slaves risked capture from slave patrols to escape to the British. Seven hundred slaves enlisted in the British Marines and served with bravery at the Battles of Bladensburg and North Point.

The first three lines refer to the slaves who took advantage of the war to escape, but "their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution." There was "no refuge" for the "hireling and slave from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave." 

For many when Key wrote these words, he was expressing his despisal for those former slaves, who had joined the British as part of their Colonial Marines, to be slaughtered and killed as they attempted to take Baltimore. Though Key never told anyone what he actually meant in this line it more than probably is correct.

What is shameful is that those 700 Black American men who escaped bondage and offered themselves to serve the British did so not only their own freedom, but the freedom of all who were enslaved in the "land of the free". These men were true heroes and should be honored. The pity is they had to fight for the British, not the Americans.

In light of today's values it is regretful that this highly controversial and problematic third stanza was included as part of the original full U.S. anthem. This fact tarnishes both the song and our nation. Yet, it SCREAMS to be noted that the controversial third stanza is omitted and NOT used in today's National Anthem.

In conclusion:

It should be noted that on Christmas Eve of 1814, the peace treaty was signed and sealed. The eleven articles stated that the U.S. and Britain would return to the status quo ante bellum, or the exact same state of affairs as before the war. There was no mention of impressment or the Orders-in-Council; the issues which had spurred the U.S. into declaring war. On paper, it was as if the war had never been fought.

What does stand out is that during the talks the United States requested the return of “such slaves as may be in your control, belonging to any inhabitant or citizen of the United States.” The British refused and by doing so tarnished both the song and our nation.

 

 

 

 

Operation Guardian of the Walls and "Civilian Deaths"

After 11 days of hostilities, Operation Guardian of the Walls ended with a ceasefire at 0200 on May 21, 2021. The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continued firing rockets until shortly before the deadline, and since the ceasefire there has been a tense quiet in the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah said they would adhere to the ceasefire as long as Israel did.

During the 11 days of Operation Guardian of the Walls more than 4,360 explosive laden rockets were fired at Israel, of which 3,573 fell inside Israeli territory, the other 787 falling either inside the Gaza Strip or into the sea.

The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted about 90% of the rockets. Eleven civilians were murdered in Israel by these explosive laden missiles:

-one a Philippine Nation and another a Thai.

Nine were Israelis;

Of these three were Arab-Israelis and one IDF soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile.

Several hundred people were injured and there was property damage to homes, schools, industry, commerce and agriculture.

The IDF attacked about 1,500 terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. As soon as the ceasefire went into effect Gazans began began to realise the extent of the cost of destruction as a result of the firing of explosive laden rockets on Israel and the results of Israel’s response.

On May 21, 2021, the Hamas ministry of health in Gaza reported that all together 248 Gazans had been killed, 122 of those killed: 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021).

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s oPt | Situation Report No. 1 (21-27 May 2021), confirmed that the majority of those killed after seven days were members of Internationally recognized terrorist organizations.

"According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), up to 27 May, 256 Palestinians, including 66 children and 40 women were killed, of whom 128 were believed to be civilians."

By simple math if we deduct the 66 children and 40 females -who were not members of either FTO that totals 106. If we deduct 106 from the total of 128 civilians killed 22 were male adults.

And if we deduct the 91 confirmed killed by errant rockets that leaves 15 civilians whose deaths MAY have been caused by Israel actions.

The UN report based on the information from the Hamas controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that 128 or 52% of the 256 Palestinians killed were members of Izz a-din Al-Qassem Brigades of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.

 

It is worthwhile noting that 91 of the 256 Palestinian killed were actually recorded as NOT being killed by Israel but by misfired Palestinian rockets, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 

Because Islamic Jihad are the rivals of Hamas, the Ministry of Health in Gaza controlled by Hamas confirmed the reports of ONLY 11 deaths by misfired rockets.

Therefore, since Hamas fired many more of the 787 misfired explosive laden rockets, how many were murdered by their rockets -which are NOT reported!

During the first two days of Operation Guardians of the Walls. That report concluded the following:

16 (21%) were killed during the unsuccessful launch of rockets at Israel (including ten who were 18-years-old or less)

At least 41 (55%) were terrorists: 30 Hamas, 3 Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and 8 Fatah

17 (23%) were possibly civilian.

On May 21, 2021, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 248 Gazans had been killed, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021).

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad military-terrorist wing issued a mourning notice for 19 of its operatives killed during the operation, the most important of whom was Husam Abu al-Rabid, commander of its northern brigade.

As in previous incidents Gazans were instructed to be more conscious of security and not transmit information about what had happened or the sites hit by Israeli attacks. They were also warned not to transmit information about operatives or their movements (Dunia al-Watan, May 22, 2021).

The Palestinians as per their usual "Blame Israel", reported serious infrastructure damage including;  water and sewage pipes, roads and communications networks.

Rebuilding the Gaza Strip began immediately after the ceasefire was announced. Unlike previous rounds of hostilities, Egypt has taken upon itself not only to send money, but to establish a mechanism for transferring the funds and for coordinating donations and the supplies entering the Gaza Strip. 

According to the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, Egypt promised to transfer $500 million to rebuild the Gaza Strip and now fills a key position in its implementation. According to report, Egypt’s efforts will not be limited to delivering materials for construction but it will also determine how the $500 million will be used and coordinate donations and supplies that enter the Gaza Strip. Generally speaking the reconstruction project will be carried out by companies belonging to the Egyptian army, limiting the influence of Turkish companies and strengthening cooperation with the Gulf States, which will also send aid in the coming days. According to “sources,” Egypt wants to restore its relations with Hamas and the other “organizations” to the point where they will protect the interests of Egypt, which aspires to ensure the continuation of the lull (al-Akhbar, May 22, 2021). 

Hasan Abd al-Aziz, a member of the Egyptian contractors’ association, said that for Egyptian private and public companies the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip would be a national mission and not a profit-making operation. He said the funds Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi promised would be translated into projects, raw materials and materials for construction, and not cash donations (Sputnik, May 22, 2021). 

It was also reported that Egypt is making contacts to hold a conference in Cairo for rebuilding the Gaza Strip through international cooperation (al-Arabiya, May 21, 2021). Following instructions from the Egyptian president, a convoy of 130 trucks will arrive in the Gaza Strip bringing 2,500 tons of food, drugs, clothing, furniture and electrical appliances (Facebook page of the Egyptian president’s spokesman, May 22, 2021)

Hamas and PIJ spokesmen celebrated their “victory” and Israel’s “defeat.” According to the Hamas narrative, they attacked not for the Gaza Strip but rather for Jerusalem, al-Aqsa mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem.

Even though the enlistment of Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem was only partial, the Hamas leadership continues claiming that all the Palestinians participated in the Hamas-led hostilities. 

During the 11 days of the operation more than 4,360 explosive laden rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel. Of which 3,573 penetrated Israeli airspace, about 680 fell inside the Gaza Strip and about 280 fell into the sea. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted about 90% of the rocket fire.

Two anti-tank missiles were fired at Israel and several launches were prevented. One killed an IDF soldier when it hit his jeep, the other superficially injured an IDF soldier.

The joint operations room of the terrorist organizations in Gaza held a press conference where they claimed they had used “new technology” to fire rockets and that Israel had failed when it relied on “deception” to attack and destroy the “resistance” [i.e., terrorist] leaders and operatives. They also claimed they could have continued firing rockets in response to any Israeli “aggression” against the Palestinians (al-Aqsa, May 21, 2021).

Despite the massive barrages of rocket and mortar fire, relatively speaking Israeli casualties were few and there was relatively light property damage. Eleven Israeli civilians were directly killed by rocket and mortar fire. One soldier was killed when an anti-tank rocket hit his jeep. Two Israelis died when they ran for shelter. Several hundred people were injured, most of them superficially, and many had anxiety attacks.

The rocket fire disrupted routine daily life for people living as far north as Netanya, and Jewish-Arab coexistence in the mixed cities was severely damaged by riots that were influenced by the events in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s Response During Operation Guardian of the Walls Israel destroyed more than 1,500 terrorist targets, severely damaging the strategic and tactical capabilities of Hamas and the PIJ.

Among the targets hit was the: Hamas’ tunnel system (the “metro”) in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Yunis: The IDF destroyed more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) of tunnels used by the Hamas leadership and terrorist operatives as hideouts, and command and control centers. Several attack tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip were also hit.

During the fighting an estimated 50 senior Hamas and PIJ terrorist operatives were killed including brigade commanders, and about 20 lower-ranking commanders and about 200 terrorist operatives.

The IDF carried out some 340 attacks on high-trajectory rocket launchers, 230 attacks on surface-to-surface rocket launchers, and about 35 on mortar shell launchers.

The weapons-manufacturing and military- buildup capabilities of the terrorist organizations were hit hard, research and development operatives were killed, and small facilities for the manufacture of weapons, development centers and weapons storehouses were hit.

Dozens of administration offices, 11 buildings belonging the internal security forces, and five banks used to transfer funds for terrorist activities were attacked. A senior source in the Hamas police force said that between 15% and 25% of the police management offices and most of its headquarters were partially destroyed (al-Aqsa, May 22, 2021). The terrorist infrastructure: The Israeli Air Force attacked dozens of bases, posts, command centers and nine multistory buildings where terrorist activity was coordinated.

Terrorist invasions were prevented, as were attacks from anti-tank missile squads, seven aerial threats (armed UAVs) and two naval threats (including attacks by unmanned submarine vessels).

On May 21, 2021, the ministry of health in Gaza reported that 248 Gazans had been killed, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021). Hamas exploited the days following the ceasefire to remove the bodies of terrorist operatives from the tunnels.

On May 21, 2021, a mass funeral was held in Khan Yunis for Hamas operatives killed in the tunnels in the al-Fakhri and Soufa areas east of Khan Yunis. The bodies were wrapped in Hamas flags (Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, May 21, 2021).

The PIJ’s military-terrorist wing issued a mourning notice for 19 of its operatives killed during the operation, the most important of whom was Husam Abu al-Rabid, commander of its northern brigade. During a press conference held by the police the names of police casualties were read (al-Mayadeen, May 22, 2021). 

It was not the first time serving policemen participated in hostilities as operatives in the military-terrorist wings. After the declaration of a ceasefire, Hamas’ internal security forces warned that Israeli security and intelligence forces were increasing their efforts to collect information to renew their bank of targets.

When the ceasefire went into effect Gazans began to understand the extent of the damage and destruction, reporting serious damage to the infrastructure, including water and sewage pipes, electric lines, roads and the communications networks. Iyad al-Buzum, spokesman for the ministry of the interior in Gaza, said that immediately after the ceasefire police and security forces were deployed to attack sites and to remove unexploded ordnance (Dunia al-Watan, May 21, 2021).

Naji Sirhan, deputy ministry for public works and housing in the Gaza Strip, said that at least 2,000 residences, four mosques and dozens of police stations had been destroyed. The UN reported that about 800 thousand Gazans had no access to clean water and that about half the water pipes had been destroyed, as were 53 schools, six hospitals and 11 public health centers (AP, May 22, 2021). 

Abd al-Hadi al-Agha, deputy ministry of Muslim endowments in the Gaza Strip, said about $5 million worth of damage had been done to mosques and cemeteries. He said three mosques had been completely destroyed and 40 others had been damaged. He claimed the IDF had attacked six cemeteries and the ministry of endowments building in the Ansar facility in Gaza City (al-Quds, May 23, 2021)

Know the Facts: Active Measures, SIG and The Ten Fundamental Principles Of "Dezinformatsiya"

The Ten Fundamental Principles Of "Dezinformatsiya" was part of the "Active Measures" program which began in the 1920s, as instituted by Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (29 March 1899 – 23 December 1953) who was a Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet politician, Marshal of the Soviet Union and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security, and chief of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD). Beria was the longest-lived and most influential of Stalin's secret police chiefs, wielding his most substantial influence during and after World War II.

As early as 1923, Joseph Stalin ordered the creation of a "Special Disinformation Office", however, it should be noted that it was the general practice of Beria to work from the shadows and attribute his work to his superiors, as can be seen in his climb in party status from his other earlier works of deception.

It is therefore theorised by many historians, that Joseph Stalin himself coined the term “disinformation” in 1923 by giving it a French sounding name in order to deceive other nations into believing it was a practice invented in France, since the noun “disinformation” does not originate from Russian, it is a translation of the French word désinformation.

The objective of the "Active measures" program included offensive programs such as disinformation, propaganda, deception, sabotage, destabilization and espionage. These programs were based on foreign policy priorities of the Soviet Union. The purpose of "Active measures" was to influence the course of world events, abroad and domestically, in addition to collecting intelligence and producing revised assessments of it. "Active measures" ranged "from media manipulations the strategy of  "Dezinformatsiya" to special actions involving various degrees of violence".

As part of the Active Measures campaign in 1954 the KGB began organizing “peace” movements in the West by using well-meaning “useful idiots.” to weaken democracies through what was an international organization created in 1949 by the Cominform named the World Peace Council. The organization had the stated goals of advocating for universal disarmament, sovereignty, independence, peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass destruction and all forms of discrimination.

The WPC currently states its goals as: Actions against imperialist wars and occupation of sovereign countries and nations; prohibition of all weapons of mass destruction; abolition of foreign military bases; universal disarmament under effective international control; elimination of all forms of colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination; respect for the right of peoples to sovereignty and independence, essential for the establishment of peace; non-interference in the internal affairs of nations; peaceful co-existence between states with different political systems; negotiations instead of use of force in the settlement of differences between nations.

“In today’s world when nuclear arms have made mili-tary force obsolete, terrorism should become our main weapon” KGB General Aleksandr Sakharovsky (Pacepa, 2006.)

A former KGB agent Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov who defected to Canada in 1970 defined "... Active Measures or ideological subversion as:

“changing the perception of reality to such an extent that despite of the abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions.”

“A person who was demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. Even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents, with pictures; he will refuse to believe it.”

"They are programmed to think and react to certain stimuli in a certain pattern [alluding to Pavlov]. You can not change their mind even if you expose them to authentic information. Even if you prove that white is white and black is black, you still can not change the basic perception and the logic of behavior."

Retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin, former head of Foreign Counterintelligence for the KGB (1973–1979), described the "active measures" program as "the heart and soul of Soviet intelligence":

"Not intelligence collection, but subversion: active measures to weaken the West, to drive wedges in the Western community alliances of all sorts, particularly NATO, to sow discord among allies, to weaken the United States in the eyes of the people of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and thus to prepare ground in case the war really occurs."

According to the Mitrokhin Archives, active measures was taught in the Andropov Institute of the KGB situated at Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) headquarters in Yasenevo District of Moscow. Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin, was a major and senior archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service, the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, copied documents certifying that the head of Soviet foreign intelligence. 

In light of the massive defeat of Arab armies, with their billions in Soviet Weaponry the Soviet Union in the 1956 Sinai and Six Day Wars, together with the withdrawal and lessing of sympathy for communism by Israelis, wanted to "repair the prestige" of "our Arab friends" at the hands of the Israelis.  Therefore, General Alexander Sakharovsky, who was head of the First Chief Directorate (foreign intelligence) of the KGB from 1955 until 1970 set out to destroy Israel through operation "SIG". 

He did so by helping them organize terrorist operations that would humiliate Israel through the use of the main KGB asset -- Yasser Arafat, who was the co-founder of Fatah. Yuri Andropov described Yasser Arafat to Pacepa as a; "devoted Marxist-Leninist since his days in the membership of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) from 1952 to 1956." .  

Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa described the operation "SIG" ("Zionist Governments") which was devised in 1972, to turn the whole Islamic world against Israel and the United States in his meeting with KGB chairman Yuri Andropov who stated:

"a billion adversaries could inflict far greater damage on America than could a few millions. We needed to instill a Nazi-style hatred for the Jews throughout the Islamic world, and to turn this weapon of the emotions into a terrorist bloodbath against Israel and its main supporter, the United States."

SIG is the Russian acronym for Sionistskiye Gosudarstva, or "Jewish (or Zionist) Government" which was a part of the KGB "Active Measures or ideological subversion campaign that was devised in 1967 to turn the Arab world against Israel and the United States and to disrupt the "Western Democracies". 

The KGB SIG mode of operation was to incite hatred and create chaos by the utilization of journalists to disseminate false information, as well as direct military support (funding, arms, training) to terrorist groups against the Jewish (Western Orientated Democracy) as means to create upheaval in their support of their "Client nations" in the Middle East and to replace (Negate) Israel with an Arab Muslim (PLO and Hamas) state. In order to achieve the overall goal of the campaign highly anti-Semitic conspiracy tropes from Western culture as well as vile anti-Zionist propaganda was incorporated  to spread the idea that the state of Israel was an oppressive, imperialist state which was built on unjust terms. operation “SIG” (“Zionist Governments”). 

Operation SIG has been as extremely successful KGB Soviet/Russian campaign to disrupt democracy by creating a subversion of Western Society and formenting a recurrence of deep anti-Israel/Zionism antisemitism, particularly on campuses in rallies, and even in some houses of worship, Jews are called the new Nazis

As an integral part of the KGB "Active Measures or ideological subversion campaign to disrupt the "Western Democracies" in the mid to late 1960's young college student activists on American campuses were enthusiastically following the North Vietnamese "line" in re-framing the Vietnam war from a Communist assault on the south to a struggle for national liberation.

“Progressive” activists on American campuses, enthusiastically following the line of North Vietnamese operatives, had succeeded in re-framing the Vietnam War from a Communist conquest of the South into a struggle for national liberation.

The KGB agents who created and led the KGB’s anti-Israel campaign, Operation SIG were Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa, Major Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn, Major Vasily Mitrokhin, Colonel Alexan-der Mikhailovich Orlov, and Czech Intelligence Officer Ladislav Bittman.

The Ten Fundamental Principles Of "Dezinformatsiya" 

1) The "Big Lie" - Always chose the greater lie at first over the lesser one, so that the masses (the listening or reading audience) can more readily accept it as fact and to make it harder for the real truth to be told.

2) Focus - Use one or two readily "acceptable"or"actual" events as the basis of "truth." 

3) Repetition - Always repeat the same line in your retelling of the event to to lend further credibility to hide the "lie".

4) Accusation - "Blame" be consistent in your libel of the "scapegoat". Do not leave room for doubt and use the three "D's"; Debase, Defame and Dehumanize." 

5) Issues - Critical or Crucial - events or concerns have no "gray areas" leaving no room for doubt regarding what immediate action should be taken. 

6) Terminology (Loaded language ) - Rhetoric used to influence an audience by using words and phrases with strong connotations associated with them in order to elicit an emotional response and/or exploit stereotypes. Provocative words like: "Genocide" "Apartheid" "Occupation".

7) Emotional triggers - the use of specific phrases or slogans that will induce an intense emotional reaction based on; memories, experiences, or events.

8) Denigrate - vilify, defame, denounce, malign, stigmatize and skewer your "scapegoat" as undesirables

9) Disregard Facts - Ignore intellectuals and reasonable arguments; target the least-able minded with powerful emotional pitches.

10) Unethical - be disingenuous, unscrupulous, amoral with no limitation -"The end justifies the means."  

Juneteenth and the Facts

Juneteenth originally termed "Jubilee Day", is described as a holiday celebrated on the 19th June to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US when Union General Gordon Granger arrived at Ashton Villa Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No.3. on June 19th 1865 more than a month after the formal end of the American Civil War. 

Because of the Order the holiday was first celebrated in Texas in 1865, on the aftermath of the Civil War. Slaves were declared free in General Order No. 3 under the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation, or Proclamation 95. 

In reality, freedom for those held in slavery did not come all at once upon the signing and publication of the Emancipation Proclamation. Regretfully it would take three more years until the Confederacy (The South) was defeated and those held in slavery in areas unoccupied by victorious Union forces could be freed. Because many parts of the Confederacy were undefeated in 1863, the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation was often delayed. 

Therefore three years after the original issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation when Union General Gordon Granger arrived at Ashton Villa Galveston, Texas,  after the formal end of the American Civil War he issued General Order No.3.

The following is the text of the official recorded version of the order:

Head Quarters District of Texas

Galveston Texas June 19th 1865.

General Orders No. 3.

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.

The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

By order of Major General Granger

F.W. Emery

Major A.A. Genl.

To clarify, Proclamation 95 was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by the then United States President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, during the Civil War. 

The Proclamation read:

"That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."

Very few of those marking Juneteenth have acknowledged that the Emancipation was made plausible due to the sacrifice of MAINLY young "WHITE" Americans who fought to "preserve the Union"! 

On the left is an actual photo of citizens, soldiers and dignitaries with President Lincoln (indicated by the red arrow) during his famous speech delivered during the heighth of the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg

It is worth noting, in light of the divisions in America today, the words of President Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln described the US as a nation; "...conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," and described the Civil War-"as a test that would determine whether such a nation, the Union sundered by the secession crisis, could endure."

President Lincoln extolled the sacrifices of those who died at Gettysburg in defense of those principles, and exhorted his listeners to resolve:

"...that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Furthermore, to ensure the abolition of slavery in all of the U.S., it must be noted that Lincoln also insisted that Reconstruction plans for Southern states require abolition in new state laws (which occurred during the war in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana); 

Lincoln encouraged border states to adopt abolition (which occurred during the war in Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia) and pushed for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. Congress passed the 13th Amendment by the necessary two-thirds vote on January 31, 1865, and it was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. The amendment made chattel slavery and indentured servitude illegal

The Hope of the Jewish People and the Wizard of Oz

A query upon opening Facebook is; " What is on your mind?

Upon seeing the swill that passes for "news" on today's "woke" mass media outlets were journalist integrity is now no longer exists. I yearn for the day that the people of the world will awaken to the fact that they are being manipulated by unscrupulous owners of the "Social Media" and mendacious liars who pervert the truth that is shown and printed. 

Above all else as a father and as a grandfather I hope and pray for sanity as I hope for an end to hatred,especially towards my people and my nation. It is this same  "Hope" of freedom from hate filled persecution that we Jews have yearned for, for centuries.

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, the 1939 classic and Academy Award winning song from “Wizard of Oz” was composed by Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) a Jew whose family immigrated from Lithuania. The lyrics were written by Edgar Yipsel "Yip" Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981)  the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who grew up in a Yiddish-speaking, Orthodox Jewish home in New York.

Together they put together a song that has won awards and garnered global fame. Among other things they won an Oscar in 1940 for “Best Music, Original Song” for “The Wizard of Oz” and the song was voted the number one song of the 20th century by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The song is about hope, that the bad times will one day be over. It is this feeling of hope within the song that we can all relate to and it is hope that helped the Jewish people through the ages. 

Yip and Harold did not know what the future held for the Jewish people when they wrote this song, but the question is; How much of their experience as Jews affected the lyrics. 

We as Jews can readily relate to the song. Our people experienced troubles throughout our history and they were tired of being in a sad place and yearned to be somewhere better. So when you apply this tremendous desire for hope that this song manifests in the Jewish people, the words of the song take on a whole new meaning.

[Verse 1]

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high

There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream,

Really do come true.

[Chorus]

Someday I’ll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops,

High above the chimney tops,

That’s where you’ll find me.

[Verse 2]

Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly

Birds fly over the rainbow

Why then, oh why can’t I?

[Outro]

If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow

Why, oh why can’t I?

The song was first published in 1939, at a time when the Jews in Europe were coming under increased hostility. Their freedoms were being taken away, their identity being dragged through the dirt, and many of them were feeling isolated. They were trapped, unable to “fly”.

The song is about hope, that the bad times will one day be over. It is this feeling of hope within the song that we can all relate to and it is hope that helped the Jewish people through the Holocaust.

Yip did not know what the future held for the Jewish people when he wrote this song. The lyrics “chimney tops” take on a harrowing new meaning now that we know the horrors of the Holocaust. I am sure many Jews looked to the skies above Auschwitz’s chimney’s, longing for the day they were free.

It was less than ten years after the song was written that the most powerful words of the song were fulfilled.

“There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.”

We Jews have dreamed of returning to our ancestral homeland Eretz Yisrael - "Zion" ever since our expulsion in 135CE. We have dreamed of having a country of OUR own where we can live in freedom and to worship our maker as one people without the control of others. This dream was fulfilled in 1948 when the nation of Israel was reborn. If anything Israel is a testament to the Jewish people that the “dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”

It seems that our world is once again on the edge of dark times. This song reminds us that though we face uncertain events, we still have hope, and our hope is in "Him who blessed the people of Israel".