MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

MoveOn.org  KNOW YOUR HISTORY: Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.

Thanks to Abstrakt Goldsmith for this nugget of history that most of us never learned in school.

I love to learn the roots, the history, of how things were and came to be.  This year Memorial Day weekend coincided with the Jewish holiday Shavuot, the celebration of receiving the ten commandments and becoming the nation of Israel.  Before this event in history, the Jews were tribes, from the twelve sons of Jacob, who was honored with the name Israel, and we are all his descendants, his children, the Jewish people are one big family.

I was reading an article about a time in history, 1915, one hundred years ago, where fighting between Germans and Russians affected the Jews in Lithuania and Latvia.  They were thriving communities, that worked peacefully and proudly with the government, lies were told, they became the scapegoat, and had one day to evacuate their homes.  The beauty of this story is that the Jews in neighboring communities welcomed them with open arms, and this powerful message,

"We have faced other difficulties before.  Someday this too shall pass.  Now, let us say the Hallel prayers."

Here is the full article, http://issuu.com/jewishhomela/docs/la_jh_5-21-15/40?e=7985120/12975454.
Unfortunately these kind of instances are starting to happen again all over Europe, but Thank God Israel is the Jewish homeland,  is strong and can defend itself and its people who hail from all over the world and all walks of life.  Israel has support from all over the world, and all the Jewish families that live abroad that love, support and stand up for their homeland and the nation of Israel.

Even in America, on our college campuses today are scary examples of Anti-Semitisim, luckily this article shows that in California, Universities are taking a strong and legal stance,
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/05/21/uc-president-napolitano-supports-adopting-state-department-definition-of-antisemitism/ and http://honestreporting.com/why-is-the-bds-afraid-of-the-state-department/.

This video illustrates how many Israeli citizens today were forced out of Arab countries throughout the years, and make up a large percent of the population in Israel today.

10 Facts About the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Posted by I support the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria on Monday, May 25, 2015

I am grateful that my family was able to come to the United States of America, and all of the soldiers that have allowed it to be a safe haven for people coming from persecution of all types.

Thank You,
Coach Yulia