December 27, 2004

'Judenrein' Comes to Israel

By Rachel Neuwirth
Two expressions from WWII are coming back to haunt the Jews of Israel. One expression is 'Judenrein' and the other is 'I was just following orders.' Some historical perspective is in order. The term 'Judenrein' was used by the Nazis to designate areas that had been 'cleansed' of Jews. First, Jews were rounded up and their property confiscated. Then the Jews were shipped off to concentration camps where, ultimately, millions of men, women and children were exterminated. On their map of Europe the Nazis would mark each region 'Judenrein' when all the Jews were gone. The aim was to make all of Europe, and eventually the whole earth, 'Judenrein.' The Nazis did not invent mass murder or ethnic cleansing of Jews. At the time of Mohammed, 1,400 years ago, the newly converted Muslims were already engaged in slaughtering, robbing and expelling the Jews of Mecca and Medina in the process of also making Arabia 'Judenrein.' Ethnic cleansing of Jews has a long history with the Spanish Inquisition...(Read Full Article)