Who is Judah P. Benjamin?

I once wrote a response on Smooth Stone to a European's anti-Israel rant and typed "Don't you ever forget that we were writing the books that shaped your nation while your ancestors were still smearing themselves with feces and running naked after game in the wilds." It was a great comeback that I had heard from someone whom I admired many years ago and I never forgot it. When I wrote it here on Smooth Stone, I offended one Brit who was a regular Smooth Stone reader and she never returned here, seeking solace licking her wounds elsewhere, and some others attacked me for being anti-European, like there was something wrong with disliking Europeans who still yearn to see Jews ghettoed and locked up in cattle cars.

It is with great pride and giddiness that I restore my response to its original wording, this time with proper attribution to the original author, American-Jewish statesman, Judah P. Benjamin.

May 6th marks the death of Judah P. Benjamin. He was born in 1811 and died in 1884. Benjamin was the second Jew to serve in the U.S. Senate (after David Levy Yulee of Florida), representing Louisiana.

Two U.S. presidents (Franklin Pierce and Millard Fillmore) offered to nominate Benjamin as the first Jew to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Benjamin declined. During the Civil War, Benjamin served in the cabinet of the Confederacy -- variously as Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. Remarkably, he was the only Confederate cabinet member who did not own slaves. In the immediate aftermath of the war, there surfaced an unfounded rumor, tinged with anti-Semitism, that Benjamin had masterminded the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Fearing that he could never receive a fair trial, he burnt his personal papers and fled to England under a false name. Benjamin was buried in Paris.

When another senator accused Benjamin of being an "Israelite in Egyptian clothing," he replied:

"It is true that I am a Jew, and when my ancestors were receiving their Ten Commandments from the immediate Deity, amidst the thundering and lightnings of Mount Sinai, the ancestors of my opponent were herding swine in the forests of Great Britain."

So I tip my hat to my kinsman, Judah P. Benjamin, for his verve, his brilliance, for his service to my country, and for being a role model to future generations of American Jews.

Muslims Attack Jew in NYC

Too bad the Muslim puke only broke his leg. Via INN:

Oriah Ohana, a 25-year-old Israeli rabbi from Kfar Chabad, was attacked by a group of Arab men in Brooklyn, New York City, Tuesday evening.

An 18-year-old Arab man grabbed the yarmulka off Rabbi Ohana’s head at the 4th Avenue and 9th Street train station in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, while his friends kicked and punched the victim and screamed "Allahu Akbar" [Arabic: Allah is Great].

Rabbi Ohana chased the man who grabbed the yarmulka. The Muslim attacker ran out of the subway station and was hit by a passing car.

The attacker’s friends then beat the rabbi, claiming he was the cause of their friend’s misfortune. They escaped before police arrived – abandoning their friend, whose broken legs precluded his escape.

Shots Fired Into Frum Girls School In Williamsburg, Brooklyn

The NYPD is on the scene at 563 Flushing Avenue - the location of the Be'er Miriam School for girls - with confirmed gun-shots fired into the school. Williamsburg Shomrim are canvassing the area along with NYPD looking for three male-blacks who fled the scene. NYPD ESU has been requested and is responding.

Vandals damage Jewish cemetery in Chicago

Via Arcamax:

Police say vandals caused at least $100,000 in damage when they defaced an estimated 57 gravestones in a Jewish cemetery in the Chicago area. Swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs were spray painted on tombstones inthe western section of the 72-acre Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Ill., where about 46,000 people in all are buried, the Chicago Tribune reported. One headstone inscribed with the words "Beloved husband & father" had a white swastika painted on it.

Today in Jewish History - Tevet 26

Sponsored by Aish.com:

In 1826, Maryland adopted a law which allowed Jews to hold public office, on condition that they accept the concept of reward and punishment in the afterlife. Maryland was founded as an asylum for Catholics in 1634, and in the early days the denial of Christianity was a capital crime in Maryland. Anyone speaking negatively about Mary or the Apostles was subject to a fine or public whipping. The practice of Judaism was finally legalized in Maryland in 1776, but other restrictions remained in place. It was not until 50 years later that Jews became qualified for public office.

TV: Jewish Americans, new series, PBS-TV

350 years ago, 23 Jewish exiles landed in America, alone and unwanted. For generations, Jews struggled to hold on to their heritage and be recognized as Americans. Across three centuries, Jews went from being outsiders into the mainstream of American life.

Today, there are six million Jewish Americans. But even now the old challenge remains, to be both Jewish and to be American.

Premiering on PBS in January 2008, Jewish Americans.

A three part series airing 9 - 11 pm January 9, 16th and 23rd.

The Jewish Americans, a series by David Grubin.

Today in Jewish History - Kislev 26

Sponsored by Aish.com:

In 1763, the Touro Synagogue was dedicated in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the oldest existing synagogue in the United States, founded by Spanish Portuguese families who came from Curacao, in the West Indies. The magnificent synagogue is built of brick imported from England, and stands at an acute angle to the street -- so that the Holy Ark faces toward Jerusalem. The synagogue is named after Abraham Touro, who left money in his will for the ongoing care of the synagogue. George Washington had issued a famous letter to the congregation promising religious freedom, and in 1982 the United States Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Touro Synagogue, to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Washington's birth.

Today in Jewish History - Cheshvan 13

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In 1938, Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers narrowly missed breaking Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record of 61 home runs. Greenberg hit his 58th homer with two weeks remaining in the season, but several pitchers then intentionally walked him rather than give a Jewish man a chance to break Babe Ruth's record. (He led the league that year with 119 walks.) Though Greenberg disputes this motive, he did acknowledge being subject to the most vicious ethnic taunting seen in the sport prior to the arrival of Jackie Robinson in 1947. Greenberg testified: "During my first year in the big leagues, the remarks from the stands and the opposing bench about my Jewish faith made life for me a living hell." Greenberg grew up in an observant Jewish household, and did not play on Yom Kippur. In 1954, he became the first Jewish player to be elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Today in Jewish History - Sivan 24

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In 1977, a neo-Nazi group planned to march in Skokie, Illinois, in a largely Jewish neighborhood that was home to many Holocaust survivors. It was believed that the march would be disruptive, and the city refused to allow it. The American Civil Liberties Union came to the Nazis' support, and in 1978 a high court upheld the Nazis' right to march, on the grounds that the public display of the Nazi flag is a constitutionally protected free expression. After winning the court battle, the Nazis decided to march in Chicago's Marquette Park instead. In 1987, a Holocaust Monument and Museum was opened in Skokie. On the night of its dedication, the monument was desecrated with swastikas.