I hesitate to post this because there are many opinions on the war in Gaza and Israel. I hestitate to post this because I have some level of fear of backlash. If I were in Israel, I would fear for my life to post something like this. However, I must speak out against what I consider to be a growing voice of anti-Semitism. I do not agree with everything that Israel does or has done, anymore than I agree with everything that the USA has done. But, let us remember that the hatred of Jews resulted in the murder of six million of them by hate filled Nazi's during WW2.
But this is not the only time that Jews have been persecuted. And this list is just hitting the high notes. There are many instances that I have left off of the list.
722 BC - Jews deported to Assyria
597 BC - Jews deported to Babylon
139 BC - 50 AD - several incidents of Jews being expusled from Rome and Egypt by the Romans.
70 AD - Jewish revolt against Rome is put down. Many Jews are dispersed or killed. Eventual name change of the region from the Roman Province of Judea to the Roman Province of Palestine.
Over the next 1,000 years, Jews were forced to leave by Visigoths, Byzantines and Crusaders.
1250 AD - Jews expulsed from areas of Spain
1276 AD - Jews expulsed from Bavaria.
13th - 14th Centuries, Jews are expulsed from various regions of France.
1290 AD - King Edward expels all Jews from England.
1360 AD - Jews expelled from Hungary.
1420 - Jews expelled from Austria.
1490's - Jews expelled from areas of Spain and Portugal.
1683 - Jews expelled from French Colonies.
1862 - Jews expelled from Kentucky and Mississippi by Ulysses S Grant.
I have to condense the list... it is too long to continue... but in the next 250 years, Jews are forced out of many places in Russia, the Ottoman Empire and many Arab states. And let us not forget the holocaust.
It is no wonder that they have a deep desire to protect their homeland.
And, Israel is their homeland. They are indigenous to the land. They have a right to defend their homeland. They are God's children, God's chosen nation. What other race has ever experienced the kind of hatred that they have and still survived for centuries?
I encourage everyone to consider the historical plight of Jews and to be a voice of support for Israel.
My opinion.