tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post2898958715688744756..comments2024-03-14T02:22:26.957+00:00Comments on Point of No Return: Jewish Refugees from Arab and Muslim Countries: Mizrahim 'had it better' under Islam - GorenbergUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-47805238918465857092009-10-12T09:38:27.659+01:002009-10-12T09:38:27.659+01:00Interesting point, Michelle,. I would add that in ...Interesting point, Michelle,. I would add that in the US and Europe to a lesser extent, Jews enjoyed certain rights which Jews in totalitarian states do not - hence many Jews in Arab countires never even bothered to register their property losses because they were so sure that compensation was as likely as a snowstorm in summer.bataweenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15829104245735619972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-19844019799309370622009-10-12T03:22:06.122+01:002009-10-12T03:22:06.122+01:00If we look at Jews who have been compensated for t...If we look at Jews who have been compensated for their slave labor and stolen property, we find that Jews who suffered from the Nazi regime have a view of the world that includes the idea that material justice is attainable. <br /><br />Jews from the Gulag do not receive compensation.<br /><br />Jews who were forced to leave property behind elsewhere have not received compensation.<br /><br />Consider, too, General Order No. 11 (1862), an explusion order in the US for Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky, which was rescinded. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_(1862) <br />Jews in American had the confidence to gather support from Congress, the press, and the President.<br /><br />I would measure "having it better" as whether Jews feel enough a part of their country of residence to expect fair treatment.MK Grosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09746159810286953244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-9347714576995109772009-10-09T06:33:21.155+01:002009-10-09T06:33:21.155+01:00Excuse my French, but Gorenberg is nothing but a p...Excuse my French, but Gorenberg is nothing but a <i>putz</i>.Ashkenazi Mizrahinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-18457745934895425342009-10-06T21:51:40.252+01:002009-10-06T21:51:40.252+01:00Ah, but Gorenberg would propably say that the Musl...Ah, but Gorenberg would propably say that the Muslims Maimonides was talking about were not REAL Muslims, but the fanatical Almohades...bataweenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15829104245735619972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-31578172392012702722009-10-06T21:36:42.867+01:002009-10-06T21:36:42.867+01:00Gershom Gorenberg is a common 21st century phenome...Gershom Gorenberg is a common 21st century phenomenon. He wants to be both a fashionable journalist and a respected intellectual. I think that he succeeds more as a journalist. That is, he is utterly shallow and ignorant. It seems as if he is unaware of all the books and articles that don't present the Jewish experience under Islam, as well as the more general dhimmi experience, in rosy hues. <br /><br />He is aware of what he calls a "lachrymose" view of Jewish life in Muslim lands. But in his arrogance he decides that he doesn't have to accept it even in part. And his proof is the alleged evidence of the prayerbook. Apparently he never worshipped in the Sefardi synagogue in my neighborhood where the Simhat Torah songs include, if I recall rightly, יום שמחה לישראל יום אבל לישמעאל<br />That is, "A day of joy for Israel is a day of mourning for Ishmael." Why would they want to sing things like that?? They couldn't bear age-old resentment over Arab-Muslim oppression, could they? Of course, I mention these lyrics because they relate to Simhat Torah, coming up in a few days. <br /><br />So let's go to the philosopher Maimonides, who was born in Spain, so he's about as Sefardi as you can get. He wrote in his famous Letter [or Epistle] to Yemen [אגרת תימן ] that the Arabs/Muslims were the most oppressive to Israel, the Jews, of all enemies and oppressors. <br /><br />Curiously, Maimonides' remarks in this regard are found in an edition of his writings edited by David Hartman, who, like Gorenberg, considers himself to be "progreesive orthodox." Maybe Gorenberg could coordinate with Hartman. After all, Gorenberg's current informants and experts do not seem to be very knowledgeable.<br /><br />That Gorenberg makes sweeping statements based on ignorance is a sure sign of the middle-middle brow ignoramus. How nice that GG knows academics at the university who are hardly less ignorant than he is on this matter!!Eliyahu m'Tsiyonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07973268399414290195noreply@blogger.com