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Posts by yehudi  

Joined: 27 Jul 2008 / Male ♂
Last Post: 21 Sep 2020
Threads: Total: 1 / Live: 0 / Archived: 1
Posts: Total: 433 / Live: 290 / Archived: 143
From: tel aviv
Speaks Polish?: no
Interests: history

Displayed posts: 290 / page 2 of 10
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yehudi   
16 Feb 2014
Life / Famous Polish music and musicians [48]

There's a concert here in Tel Aviv of Krzysztof Penderecki conducting the Polish Requiem.

ipo.co.il/eng/Series/Subscribers/telaviv/Events,2858.aspx

Can anybody tell me if it's worth going to hear it?
yehudi   
2 Feb 2014
Genealogy / I have Jewish DNA, but only know of Polish ancestry . [120]

An event that's not recorded in the bible: Yafeth and Ham were teasing Shem, as brothers often do, and Shem went and complained to their father Noah. After Noah told the other two to behave themselves, Jafeth mumbled angrily, "You can't criticize Shem any more without being called an anti-Shemite."
yehudi   
29 Jan 2014
Genealogy / I have Jewish DNA, but only know of Polish ancestry . [120]

being a Jew is it a race or to have Jewish religion I think it is just a religion.

It's not so complicated. Three thousand years ago, a tribe in the middle east called Hebrews started their own religion. This people became a nation and for more than 2000 years they almost only married among themselves even while scattered around the world. So Jews are not racially different than other middle eastern people, but they maintained a defined gene pool, a language and culture and a connection to a specific territory. So we are a national/ethnic group that's defined in part by its religion.
yehudi   
28 Jan 2014
News / Don't let Poland become like my country, France. [630]

What's with you people?! Paulina is making perfectly reasonable points and asking relevant questions, and for some reason you keep jumping on her and saying she's "tiresome".

Paulina, it's not you, it's them.
yehudi   
27 Jan 2014
News / Don't let Poland become like my country, France. [630]

"David" by Michelangelo is one of the symbols of Renaissance (and of European culture, I guess).

To me, this sculpture really symbolizes the relationship between christianity and judaism: A christian sculptor took a character from the hebrew bible and depicted him in a way that would horrify the ancient hebrews. (The idea of showing a full body statue of a king is anathema to jews, and a naked one yet!). The depiction is greco-roman if anything. In a similar way, the church fathers took Jewish concepts and stories and then merged them with greco-roman and pagan ideas and turned them into something that jews couldn't recognize as anything like the original.
yehudi   
10 Nov 2013
Life / Catholic "Telewizja Trwam" from Poland - your thoughts? [98]

Are you sure? What about that whole crucifixion business?

That story is your writings, not ours. We don't have to explain an event that may never have happened. What is true is that the Romans in that period crucified Jews right and left, so it's certainly possible that they crucified a man named Jesus. But I never saw any mention of it in the Mishna, the part of the Talmud that was written in those times, so I doubt that his execution, if it happened, attracted more attention than the hundreds of others who were killed the same way.

Oh some of them did now did they? I can't believe you are trying to re-interpret what happened.

As far as I'm concerned the whole event was a legend. Along with the virgin birth, being the son of god etc. Every religion has it's stories and you're welcome to believe in yours. But just keep me out of it.

Utter bollocks: blasphemers were stoned, not crucified.

Maybe in biblical times they were, but in the second temple period and certainly in the roman occupation the Sanhedrin didn't have the power to carry out executions.

But if you want to study religious executions, why go so far back into history? People are executed in the Muslim world for blasphemy even today.
yehudi   
10 Nov 2013
Life / Catholic "Telewizja Trwam" from Poland - your thoughts? [98]

Currently talking about Jews' historical attitude to Jesus.

Jews never had much of any attitude toward Jesus the man or his teachings. We had an attitude toward the christian religion, and anything said about jesus would be an expression of that.

What did they say on the TV show?
yehudi   
27 Oct 2013
Genealogy / How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish? [127]

It works like this:
When you apply for an immigrant status you have to provide a document that shows your a Jew, whether by birth or converted. If a person is Jewish according to Jewish religious law but his spouse is not (and therefore his kids are not), they can also immigrate and become citizens. The idea behind that is sort of a negative of what the germans did: If you're someone the nazis would have killed, then we'll let you in.

I'm not aware of any DNA tests to prove Jewishness.
yehudi   
22 Oct 2013
Genealogy / How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish? [127]

Is there any specific Jewish gene?

There isn't one specific gene, there are many genes that are common in the Jewish gene pool. Since Jews (until the past hundred years) married among themselves for centuries there developed a gene pool that has characteristics, both good and bad. Just like any ethnic group that keeps separate from others. That's why there are some genetic diseases that are more common among Jews, and that's also why we get more Nobel prizes. It's all in the genes.
yehudi   
7 Aug 2013
History / If Poles were antisemitic, would they ...? [240]

again you are generalising in the same style which I didn`t like before. Why Poland??? I thought that poster BiegaƄski has a nick which suggests a single person, not all Poland,

I'll rephrase without generalizing. Often when the question comes up of whether Poles are anti-semitic, individual Poles like Bieganski start getting all excited and show resentment to Jews, as if the best defense against being accused of anti-semitism is to act anti-semitic. That gives the impression to some people that maybe there is substance to that accusation.

1. Why participate here at all?

I don't comment on whether Poles hate Jews, because as i said, it doesn't matter to me. But I do comment when I see obnoxious posts or false statements about Jews or Israelis.

2. If the matter is important to me, may I present my fekking point of view and knowledge in the PF, if you allow, please???? Adding a few photos on the way????

You don't need my permission. But I can express my opinion, just like you can.
yehudi   
7 Aug 2013
History / If Poles were antisemitic, would they ...? [240]

That is how the myth about inborn Polish antisemitism sucked from mother`s breast is propagated today.

Don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say that all, or even most Poles hate Jews. My point is that anti-Jewishness is not focused on our religion. It's focused against Jews as a group, religious or not. My comment doesn't refer to people who don't hate Jews, but to those who do. Are you saying that anti-Jewish hatred is not at all existing in Poland, even between the wars? If that's true then Poland is the only country in Europe that's immune to anti-jewishness.

I think your defensiveness against the charge of "anti-semitism" is exaggerated. All it does is bring out nasty comments from people like Bieganski, who seem to want to prove that Poland actually does dislike Jews. Even your wording "fanatic Jews" is offensive to me. What does that mean at all? A very Jewish Jew? You imply that the more Jewish a person is, the more anti-Polish he is. There are Jews who are barely aware of their Jewishness that say nasty things about "polish antisemitism" and there are orthodox Jews like me who don't think that Poland is more antisemitic than, say, France or Ireland. Frankly the whole question of whether Poles today like or hate Jews is as important to me as whether Koreans like Italians. Any Jew in Poland who feels uncomfortable is welcome to move to my neighborhood. (And I'm sure Bieganski would agree with that).

And by the way, selling "Jewish" souvenirs indicates nothing but a desire to make some money from Jewish tourists. I find the little wooden Jew dolls creepy.

Why do people believe it is important to be pro-semitic

I couldn't care less if you like the semites, the hittites or the midianites. Just stop setting up straw arguments and fake quotes so that you can knock them down, as if you're fearlessly debunking a myth. For example...

"But we are Zionists and the Jews are "the Chosen ones!" you cry.

No, we don't cry that. When the hell do we ever go telling people that we're chosen? And what does Zionism have to do with "Chosenness". Zionism was a political and cultural movement to promote the idea of Jews returning to their homeland to be independent, reviving the Hebrew language and settling the land. Nothing to do with any sense of superiority.

"Never forget the Holocaust!"

You got that right. We won't. And we'll draw our own conclusions about that.

"Jews are always singled out for verbal and physical abuse!"

Who are you quoting here? We don't say that Jews are the only victims of hate in the world. In fact it wasn't a Jew who started this thread. It was a Pole who wanted to provoke answers like yours.

You're just an obnoxious overly-defensive person who has a problem with Jews. That's your problem, not mine.
yehudi   
6 Aug 2013
History / If Poles were antisemitic, would they ...? [240]

still ,saying "anti-semitic " to people who hate jews isn't accurate ,also ,the hatred isn't towards the "jewish race" but to judaism as a religion .

The term is not accurate. I agree. I think it should just be called Anti-Jewish hatred.
I disagree with you about the hatred being just about the religion. The Nazis even took Jews who converted to Christianity and gassed them too. In Poland, Jewish communists were hated just as much as religious Jews, possibly more, even though they renounced their religion. When Wagner criticized the "Jewish influence" in music, he was talking about westernized assimilated Jews in Germany, not religious Jews.
yehudi   
6 Aug 2013
History / If Poles were antisemitic, would they ...? [240]

another thing, semitic people are an ethnicity ,judaism is a religion

Jews are also an ethnicity, and a religion.
"Semitic" is actually a linguistic category. People only started using it to refer to Jews in the 19th century in Germany. The term was invented to make "Jew-hatred" sound more scientific. It went along with pseudo-scientific theories about the inferiority of the "Jewish race". So in that sense you're not Semitic. But in the linguistic sense you are. Welcome.

,i'm semitic (aramean) but i'm not a jew .

I'm also part Aramean, since Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob, were Aramean. On the night of Passover we recite a text that says "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt..."
yehudi   
13 Jun 2013
News / Palikot - too liberal/modern for Poland? [197]

Exodus 30:11-16:
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Point of information: The half-shekel donation was not a tax. Half a shekel was a tiny amount that anyone, rich or poor, was able to pay, and it signified the participation of every soul in the building of the tabernacle. If you want to take an example of taxation from the Bible, it would have to be the tithe. That was a flat 10% rate on all income. Income in ancient society was basically agricultural produce. So you would have to take 10% of the grain, fruits, olive oil and wine that you produced and give it as a tax.

This was not a fairy tale, but a legal system.
yehudi   
28 Apr 2013
History / How I blew a 6 figure grant for my charity because of my appreciation of Polish history... [77]

That's not a bad word (or sentence)? Perhaps I am misunderstanding you?

I guess you are misunderstanding me.
It is a bad word (or sentence) to say that someone is a hater. I am commenting that the only bad thing I ever heard any Jew say about Poles is just that – that they hate us. I've never heard any Israeli say anything against Polish customs, habits, culture, appearance, language, music or people. They just have that impression, which most Poles say is false, that they don't like Jews. So again I'm saying that instead of answering that charge with nasty reactions, Poles should interact with Jews and show that they don't hate us. Jews should do the same toward Poles. I guarantee that once Jews (especially Israelis) meet some friendly Poles who show no antagonism to their bring Jewish, they will be great friends of Poland.
yehudi   
22 Apr 2013
History / How I blew a 6 figure grant for my charity because of my appreciation of Polish history... [77]

when a dead murderer dies the same or worse horrific death as the victim, then it can be called even.

Not in my book.

Never mind who was running the Soviet empire.

Italics! Hint. Hint. And who would that be?

First of all this thread is about a Jewish xenophobe, not uncommon case unfortunately.

So what is there to say about that? Instead of complaining about the so called xenophobia of Jews, why don't you work to correct the impression Jews have that Poles hate them. I can tell you that I never heard a Jew say any bad word about Poles except for that one thing - that they hate us. So if it's not true (and I don't think it is) then do something about it. Tell Jews - on the internet or in person - that the only thing you don't like about them is that they call you an antisemite and you're not.
yehudi   
22 Apr 2013
History / How I blew a 6 figure grant for my charity because of my appreciation of Polish history... [77]

And the term Holocaust was in fact first used in newspapers to describe the mass murder of Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Christians in Turkey from 1891-1920.

So I guess we're making too big a deal over what happened to the Jews.

It also depends on what exactly makes something more horrific. Is there a worse type of dead body?

Yes. A dead victim is more horrific than a dead murderer.

Soldiers in war are often mutilated, dismembered, captured and tortured, burned alive, shredded by bullets, etc etc. By these technicalities, as just one example, someone who was a veteran of the Vietnam War could claim to have survived a holocaust of their own.

I see. So I guess shipping civilians from all over Europe to Poland and then gassing them by the millions is not real any different than soldiers dying in battle. And if the victims are the same in your eyes, then I guess the perpetrators are the same. So there's no difference between a Polish soldier defending his country against the Germans and a German soldier machine-gunning women and children into an open pit.

Thanks for opening my eyes.
yehudi   
18 Apr 2013
History / How I blew a 6 figure grant for my charity because of my appreciation of Polish history... [77]

and then the whole world in general act like the holocaust was only about the jews which is ridiculous.

I think that WWII for Poland and Poles is much more than Jews.

Let's get this straight:
WWII was NOT about Jews, and millions from many nations were killed.
The "Holocaust" WAS about Jews, and was NOT about WWII. It started from 1933 in German then Austria and then, enabled by the war, in the rest of Europe.

"Holocaust" is a term that was coined to refer to what happened to the Jews. I know that millions of Poles, Russians and Germans were killed during the war. There is a name for that and it's "World War II". What the Nazis did to the Jews was not done in the course of fighting the war, it was done in occupied areas after the front moved on. Plenty of local non-Jews participated in it willingly. But I'll be the first to say that if we're pointing fingers it should be at Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Romanians, Hungarians, French, Dutch and others before talking about Poles. The Poles didn't perpetrate the holocaust. We know that. But when defending Poland, it doesn't have to be done by insulting Jews. That only reinforces the impression that your trying to change.
yehudi   
12 Apr 2013
Love / My Polish wife's family hate me. Maybe it is because I'm black. Advice needed. [87]

Ashkenazim have particularly resented Blacks for a long time.

Nonsense.

We even have a pretty-nasty word for Blacks in Yiddish.

If you mean "Schvartzer", that is just "Black" in Yiddish and German. It's only nasty if it's said in a nasty context.

In fact, Numbers 12 lists the first Jewish animosity towards Blacks--that's how far back Jews have bafflingly resented Blacks.

You're making this up. I just read the chapter you referred to. All it says is that Miriam and Aharon spoke about the Ethiopian woman that Moses married. But it doesn't even say what they said about her. Then it says that she criticized Moses saying that he wasn't the only one that G-d spoke to. How you can conclude from this unclear event that Jews has always been against blacks is beyond my understanding. And apparently you think that Moses and his family were Ashkenazim? That's a bit of an anachronism since the Ashkenazi community didn't start to form till the middle ages, about 2500 years later. Do you suppose Moses spoke Yiddish too?

Nicki, you have a lot to learn about Judaism and Jews. Learning a few phrases in Hebrew doesn't give you real knowledge of what being Jewish is about. My advice is to learn before you speak.
yehudi   
18 Mar 2013
History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

("stupid peasants talked into by the Catholic clergy" etc.).

No one said "stupid peasants" but you. In my opinion, people were manipulated, whether they were peasants or business owners in towns. And they were manipulated by other Poles. This is not to say that they didn't have grievances, but that the grievances were exploited by the ruling classes to deflect criticism from them and focus it on the Jews.

Peasants were manipulated all over Europe in one way or another for centuries. That's why they were peasants. I'm not saying "Poles are stupid" like you think I am. I am saying that peasants, who were kept uneducated and uninformed were easy to manipulate by people in power. The manipulators were no less Polish than the peasants. This is true for Russia and Ukraine too. You're right that the Polish examples I gave were not about the peasants. I said from the beginning that my "analysis" wasn't specifically about Poland, and applied more to Ukraine. There I think it was more peasant anger that was deflected toward the Jews, but not only.

The point of my comments were not to make fun of Polish peasants at all, but to say that Yerrik's statements (that Jews were given extra privileges over Poles) was anachronistic and malicious.
yehudi   
15 Mar 2013
History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

Can you provide some exact cases of such events ? I've read about it many times but only in general, without any examples.

I wasn't talking about Poland only - most pogroms were in other parts of the Russian empire, especially Ukraine. So my examples are not just in Poland. Here are some:

Kalisz 1542, 1557
Warsaw, May 1790
Odessa 1821
Warsaw, Christmas 1881
Kiev and 64 other towns in Russia 1881
Kishinev, Easter 1903
Bialystok 1906
You can google them to find out more details about these and other pogroms.
There were pogroms after WWI too, but that gets into the whole issue of nationalism after the breakup of the Russian Empire, so thats for a different discussion.

I also left out the cossack uprisings in 1648 against the Polish landowners, which killed thousands of Jews, because that was part of a wider conflict.