Whoopi I forgive you!

By Sandra Yosepha Levin for Reaching out from Jerusalem

Photo: Israeli Kids Dancing at a Bar Mitzvah at the Entrance to the Western Wall, Jerusalem

One of the things I like about living in Israel is that I am never asked when filling out forms what race I am. My Israel ID says I am a Jew. I was never comfortable with such questions about race when I was living in the United States. Jews were a nation that were living in ancient Israel, were sent into exile by the Romans and have now returned to their land from the four corners of the world. Jews believed in one G-D who created the universe. In Israel the majority of Jews, even many of those who describe themselves as secular, nonetheless believe in G-D.

There is no Biblical Source for the Word Race

The Bible makes it very clear that when G-D created man in His image He called the man Adam. Adam comes from the Hebrew word adom which is for the color red. So red is the color for all men and women. Take a close look. Our blood is red and our flesh is red. We are all red even though we have various shades of brown, tan, beige and cream complexions and various eye and hair colors.

In fact, the LORD G-D said that life was in the blood. Red is therefore also the color of life.

Origin of the Word Race

According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica the word race, referring to humans, came into existence in late 16th century England.

As far as a Hebrew word for race the closest one is geza which really means a stem or a trunk of a tree, and is also the word for a pedigree or a person’s line of descent.

Out of Blind Hatred the Term Race came into Existence

However, out of blind hatred the term race came into existence. Hitler defined Jews as a sub-human race that needed to be exterminated. This was not based on the color of our eyes or the color of our complexions. It was pure hatred. It also had nothing to do with the Jewish religion because even Roman Catholic priests and nuns or Lutherans who had a Jewish ancestor had to be exterminated.

America is one of the most Race Conscious Countries in the World

America is, sadly, one of the most race conscious countries in the world. I would even go so far to say that America is obsessed with race, mainly focusing on black and white. Both of my parents were 100% Jewish and my DNA shows this. My late mother of blessed memory was very dark complexioned with flashing dark brown eyes – so much so that when we went somewhere with my very blond blue eyed father, hateful eyes would stare at us. I remember this, especially when we were eating in a restaurant and people literally turned around in their chairs to stare at us.

I can give you no better example of this obsession with race than to say that the only really black person I ever saw was someone who had been burnt to death and the only truly white person I ever saw was someone who had bled to death.

Of Color

One of the most ridiculous things trending in today’s America is to be “of color” whatever that means. The best example of this is the squad in the Democratic party. Originally, the squad was composed of four women of color. They were a Hispanic, a Somali American, an African American and a Palestinian American. Arabs and Jews share some common DNA since we were descended from a common ancestor Abraham/Ibrahim. However, in this case Palestinians are considered to be of color, while their Jewish cousins are considered to be part of the white establishment. This is even more ironic since most Palestinians will not marry people of African ancestry because they consider them to be descendants of slaves! On the other side of the spectrum, many members of the so-called white establishment consider Jews to be a sub-human race worthy of another Holocaust.

Jews are caught in the middle of this madness and frankly I would suggest that this is the time to pack up your bags and come home to Israel.

Israel is a Colorful Country

Among my neighbors in Jerusalem are Jews that came home to Israel from Ethiopia. They were descended 3000 years ago from a marriage between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. She bore him a son named Menelik. Today Israel has more than 150,000 residents of Ethiopian descent. Most of them were brought here in two waves: Operation Solomon and Operation Moses.

Speaking of Moses, his wife Tsipporah was the daughter of Jethro the priest of Midian. Moses met her at a well when he fled Egypt from the wrath of Pharoah. In another biblical passage she is described as a Cushite woman. Cush is the biblical name for the country of Ethiopia, although some believe that Yemen was also a part of Cush. It is not likely that Moses fled as far as Yemen and most likely these Midianites were living in Ethiopia.

We also have Jews from India who claim descent from the lost Jewish tribe of Menashe. One group of these Indian Jews called the Shinlung come from the Himalayan Mountains and resemble people from Tibet.

We also have Jews from China who look Chinese. I could go on and on.

Whoopi Goldberg Equated Jews as another White Group

Whoopi Goldberg, an African American actress, recently upset Jews all over the world when she described Jews and the Nazis as two groups of white people. She said that the Holocaust was not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man. While she back tracked and said she was sorry, nonetheless, she was fired from her job. This is wrong in my eyes. As an orthodox Jew I must forgive everyone who asks for my forgiveness, or else G-D will not forgive me for my sins.

So Whoopi I forgive you.