LAMENTATIONS 1:2

LAMENTATIONS 1:2

Jewish history has demonstrated time and time again just how drastically friends can indeed turn into enemies. Ever since the biblical account of Pharaoh inviting Yosef’s family down to Egypt, which eventually led to the bitter enslavement of the Israelites, we have seen one host country after another turn against her Jewish subjects. In the last century, for example, Jews were active contributors in all realms of European society: Politicians, academics, doctors, lawyers, artists, and more. It was thus all the more devastating when, in 1935, with Adolf Hitler’s power steadily growing, the Nuremberg Laws were passed. These laws called for clear genetic definitions regarding who is a Jew, and all those defined as Jews were denied the right to German citizenship, demonstrating how dramatically a friend can turn into an enemy! In contrast, Israel’s Law of Return was modified in 1970 to include anyone who would have been defined as a Jew under the Nuremberg Laws. According to the current law, anyone born a Jew, a child of a Jew or grandchild of a Jew, and their spouses, all have the right to attain citizenship in the State of Israel if they so desire.

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