A Brief History
On August 24, 1349, 6,000 Jews were massacred in Mainz, Germany by being burned alive. Blamed for so many ills, this time they were held responsible for spreading the bubonic plague.
Digging Deeper
On this same date in 1391, at least 300 Jews were murdered in Palma on the Balearic island of Majorca (Mallorca). All across Spain Jews were being massacred, and their only hope for survival would be to readily agree to being baptized in the Christian faith and to convert to Christianity. Previously, Crusaders had traveled through Spain on their way to the Holy Land and had terrorized, robbed and murdered Spanish Jews and had pillaged their communities on their journey. Later, Spain became the epicenter for the Inquisition, often referred to as “The Spanish Inquisition,” a Catholic program ordered by Rome to identify and burn heretics. Spanish Jews fled to Muslim-controlled cities and countries in order to escape persecution during the Inquisition!
On August 23-24, 1929, enraged over reports which later proved false that Jews were taking over Muslim holy places, Arabs rioted and murdered 23 Jewish college students and 44 other Jews in Hebron, Palestine. Of the 435 surviving Jews, many owed their lives to Muslim families who had protected them. Meanwhile, other riots which cost the lives of 133 Jews and 110 Arabs were also taking place in Palestine. The Hebron riots resulted in Jews totally abandoning the city after having lived there for hundreds of years.
Today, some find it fashionable to downplay or even deny the extent of the World War II Holocaust in which 6 million Jews are claimed to have been murdered; however, the countless verifiable massacres of Jews and plunderings of their communities in dozens of countries throughout history justify the Jewish desire to have a country of their own for their own protection. This need is further confirmed by the actions of ISIS (Sunni Muslim fundamentalists), as they marched across Iraq, massacring any Iraqi Jews they find along the way (as well as Christians or anyone who disagrees with them).
Whether you agree with Jewish nationalists or not, the evidence that they present in support of their own country Israel’s right to exist is certainly substantial. Question for students (and subscribers): Could Jews live forever safely in countries like the U.S. or Canada? It might seem so, but history shows that sooner or later every place that Jews have lived becomes dangerous for them. What do you think? Do Jews in today’s world need a homeland? If so, where should it be? If not, why not? Feel free to join in on the discussion in the comments section below this article.
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For another interesting event that happened on August 24, please see the History and Headlines article: “10 Ways People Died in the Middle Ages.”
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Dershowitz, Alan. The Case for Israel. Wiley, 2003.
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="4159 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=4159">21 Comments
It’s amazing how it seems there is always a group of people reaching out to those in need. Although nearly every country so far has turned on the Jews, I think that modern day USA and Canada will forever stay safe, perhaps safer than a lone country due to its size and diversity.
-FG
It would be nice for them to have their own place but the problem is obviously where.
It is appalling that people treat other people in such horrific ways. I definitely think that a homeland should at least be discussed. — DAVID WARDLE
Canada (and the UK, both countries I have lived in for many years) is probably safer because we have stricter rights in terms of what constitutes hate speech. In the US, even neo-Nazis are granted rights above and beyond what any decent society ought to allow.
The fact that at anytime in history one human being treated another human being in ways such as described above is awful and sad to think about. Modernized European countries and North America seem to be the safest place for these people to live normal lives without physical hate from other people.
It’s a wonder to think of the thought process that had to have been done in order to justify treating such a large group of people so poorly over the ages.
It is horrible to see how poorly treated Jews have been treated over the past a hundred years! The best thing we can do is look at history as a lesson learned so we do not repeat it!
Jewish people have endured so much hardship and misery. They certainly need some place where they can live without the fear of persecution.
It is incredibly heartbreaking how much the people of the Jewish faith have been persecuted and scapegoated throughout history.
I really do feel that the Jews need a home land especially going through all of this.
Currently one of our best allies, and bastion of sanity in such a crazy region.
I feel like this is something has happened for a long time and will continue to happen throughout history. There will always be those few people or even one person that feels the need to push out hate towards another group of people or single person. It is sad that the world is like this, but it has been for many years and will continue to be that way, I just do not see it changing anytime soon.
Unfortunately, there will always be people in this world who will persecute groups of people. This is extremely disconcerting, but unfortunately it is the world we live in. I do not see this changing anytime soon.
It makes me feel sad knowing what the Jews go through
As I have said before, it amazes me that Jewish people are brave enough to hold to their religion and beliefs despite the endless persecution they have faced through the years. Unfortunately, people will always look for a scapegoat for their problems, and for some reason, it has been easy to blame the Jews.
Jewish people are some of the strongest group of individuals ever. They have been hated and tormented throughout time and they never catch a break, yet they stay strong and continue to live how they choose.
No group of people should ever be targeted like this.
I think jews will always be fine In the United States, they run our country.
I agree with Tevin, No group should be targeted like this. Honestly so sad.
my favorite lesson on th jews is the holocaust it so sad but its very interesting to learn about. It is y far my favorite topic in all of history
the jews have suffered a lot! they need their own country away from everyone else!