Remembering U.S.

I have written several times about my ancestry on this blog. I am from eastern European and Jewish ancestry and a third generation American. From time to time (often in January) I look back into my ancestry to see if there are any new records or discoveries. The stories of my family are interesting as they capture the difficulty of immigration and assimilation into a new country. The United States is built on the strength and determination of immigrants.

Immigration Hall at Ellis Island in New York

I am amazed at how often people in our nation forget (or do not care) about the heritage of our nation. Foreigners face many problems including intense persecution and vetting. I have personally faced some of this and hear stories about discrimination from within my family. But my family was strong and we survived and have did well in a new land despite, or possibly because of the hardships. Because when you face difficulty it forces you to work harder in order to overcome.

Ellis Island in New York Harbor

The first immigrants to this nation faced many difficulties. These difficulties are recorded in history. The Pilgrims (of Thanksgiving fame) immigrated to a new land in order to escape systematic persecutions and imprisonments. Many of the first settlers in Virginia were tradesmen who sought to better themselves by finding either treasure or a new life. The colony of Georgia was founded by debtors who came to America for a fresh start. In all three cases most of the settlers died in the first two years. The persistence of those who died and those who lived have encouraged Americans for generations. These founders of our nation worked hard to established strong communities which survive even to this day.

My Grandfather saw these buildings in the lat 1890's

As I researched my family I visited the Tenement Museum in New York City. We learned how lower Manhattan was populated by waves of Italian, Irish, German, Jewish and Chinese immigrants. These families were poor. Some were persecuted. All of them were able to find a way to cross the ocean to America. And once in the United States they contributed to our greatness as a nation. These poor immigrants, many from non-Christian faiths became leaders in the real estate, food, energy, space, education and banking industries.

Solomon Tobachnikof and ship log. Also Yankel Levine

My grandparents came to the United States in this time period. Simon Tobachnikof sold clothing and later was involved in the real estate market (as was uncle Abe). Ben Finkelstein was worked in the garment industry. The Schulmans were leather workers and later owned restaurants in Cincinnati.
Many immigrants have come to escape hardship or to find a new life. Our President’s grandfather came from Germany in this time period. Ivanka Kushner’s in-laws were eastern European survivors of the concentration camps. The United States of that time welcomed refugees.

The New Testament teaches God is love - 1 John 4:8

Because of my connection with the past I have been given opportunity to connect with immigrants of the present. I have ministered to people from Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Colombia. Some of these people are legal, others illegal. All of these people contributed to our economy, many I knew worked in agricultural and construction. I have attempted to assist the illegal internationals in their effort to become legal, only to find the wall insurmountable for many who have helped the state of North Carolina prosper.

Many immigrants have lived in lower Manhattan

I have worked with Chinese and South Korean immigrants. I also know Palestinians who seek to live peaceful lives with all others in the United States. The struggles and dreams of many immigrants are similar to my grandparent’s struggles and dreams.

The Statue of Liberty welcomes immigrants to our shores

In time periods when our doors are open to immigration the United States flourishes. During times of isolation our economy suffers. Immigrants are the new customers who shop at our stores, join our workforce and purchase homes in our communities. They proudly desire to join our ranks through the immigration and naturalization process if we provide them opportunity through a well planned pathway. When we make the process difficult or impossible through poor planning, spontaneous decisions (or orders) the result is confusion, closed doors, distrust and illegalities. I pray for our government and a plan that will bring clarity rather than confusion. I look forward to a time when we will help persecuted peoples assimilate rather into our land with an absence of hate. From the very beginning every wave of immigrants has brought greatness. I look forward to the next wave which will make us great … again.

Israel Settlement Worries

“Winds in the east, there’s a mist coming in, like something is brewin’ and ’bout to begin,” a popular quote from the movie Mary Poppins, can be used to speak about potential changes and results which could occur this year within the boundaries of Israel and the West Bank. Long-standing policies which have been in place from the 1970s and before could be overturned and reversed. Will the results be good or disastrous? - That remains to be seen.

Many have asked me for my opinion on Israeli politics and United States policies concerning Israel because I was raised in a Jewish home. To be sure, there is a love for the land and the nation which goes back to the fact that I was inculturated with the pride bursting forth from my people during the early years of Israel’s new-found independence. I learned about the land in Temple, I planted trees every year, and I heard glowing testimonies from people who visited the new nation.

As an adult I have studied and taught stories from the Bible and researched the associated geography, history, and current events. In 2012, 2014, and 2016 I visited Israel.  My love for the land has grown.  And as my love and learning have grown, I have come to recognize that Israeli-Palestinian relations are intricate and complex. Too many people think solutions are easy, but history should teach us otherwise.

I have watched and prayed during many of the hardships Israel faced in its early years. There were wars in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. The nation has faced many other threats beyond the actual wars including shelling from the Golan Heights, Intifada, Palestinian uprisings, Lebanese and Syrian civil wars, and shellings from the Gaza Strip and from Iraq. The hostilities seem to be endless and continuing.

As I studied the journey of Joseph and Mary through Israel and the Palestinian territories by virtually traveling Israeli Highway 60, I listened to the voices of many people. One was a Palestinian reporter leading a donkey from Jenin to Bethlehem. He reported the trials of each border crossing. Second were the voices of Orthodox Jews and other Hebrew settlers in the occupied territory. I heard their voices of pride and commitment advocating their right to live on the land. I also heard the fear they feel by living within fenced compounds which can be attacked at any time. I read West Bank community blogs, Facebook groups, and municipal pages conveying the animosity they felt toward the perceived occupiers of their land. Proponents from each side are openly speaking their feelings toward each other and the outside intruders who are attempting to sway the politics of the region.

Peace and harmony will not come easily to Israel or the Palestinian territories.

And I keep getting asked, “Do you think” Obama, or Trump, or someone else “has the solution.” I do not think any of the “solutions” offered today by politicians will solve the problem. I think some forced solutions will make things worse.

In my studies I have read journals from pilgrims who traversed the “Promised Land” during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The hostilities which we see today were either nonexistent or minimal during these former times. I wish we could return to more peaceful times when a traveler could visit the land. But during my lifetime, I am sure that we will not.

Some of the problems are racial or cultural. Other problems are political, created when artificial lines have been drawn giving this group or that group primary rights over a region of the land. The problems are compounded when outsiders pit the people of the land against one another.

Can peace come to Israel? I believe it can. But it will not come quickly.

Peace between groups with differences comes through the passing of time, often many years, decades, or generations. It comes when opposing parties begin to talk, learn names, listen to and comprehend the other party's ideas, and when they begin to see the other side as actual people rather than faceless and nameless opponents. During the first stage of interaction, solutions are not put forth. The agenda is for opposing parties to begin talking and then to understand that they are talking to people who have families, desires, and emotions just like them.

We experimented with such a solution to similar problems within the United States during the Civil Rights era. Racial groups met and worked alongside members of another race. Their children went to school together, and in time they moved into communities together. Change did not come easily, but it did come. Today people of different races are friends with one another and care for each other.

The same model can be used in Israel. As Palestinians, Orthodox Jews, secular Jews, and other interested parties begin to communicate and know and respect one another, they can open the “can of worms” and talk about problems. They can take baby steps and then bigger steps until harmony appears between groups. Then they can teach others and repeat the process.

The process takes a generation or two, because animosity and hatred are not easily removed. Over time, however, people can be intentionally moved and acceptance of the other can come.

We must always be vigilant because peace is easily shaken. Animosities can surface whether it is the result of racial tensions in the United States or distrust overseas.

Life in a Twitter World

A New Year is rushing upon us. What will it bring? Sanity, civility, and satiety in our lives or confusion, conflict and scarcity?

Will the New Year rush upon us, or will we rush upon the year? Will we find time for things of meaning? In 2016 a few things stood out to me. There are fewer book stores and they do not stock as many books. People are reading less and surfing more. In the National Gingerbread Competition the homes were noticeably less detailed, which means people who normally spend time on their hobbies did not put as much into the thing they love.

We allow our minds to twitter between topics skimming the surface and digging deeply in nothing.  We flit from topic to topic, activity to activity and thing to thing. People act on flashes of fake news tweeting threats and ramifications. The tenor of our civilization today is to tweet out mean statements, anger, ultimatums and not niceness. Our twitting has produced an uptight and defensive society.

There are more twits in our society than ever. Stop! Think! What is a twit? Merriam-Webster says, “a silly annoying person : fool.” Urban Dictionary says, “The kind of person that makes a retarded chimp look smart.” The Free Dictionary says, “A foolishly annoying person. A reproach, gibe, or taunt. To taunt, ridicule, or tease, especially for embarrassing mistakes or faults.” Oxford Dictionaries say the word in 1930 described a talebearer.

 Some have chosen to counteract taunting tweets with Bible tweets. Here are the top Bible Tweets. Here are Twitter recommended Bible Tweets. And this site gives Chapterized Tweets, now available in paperback.

But is this what God wants? Beyond the tweet “With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth,” (Ps 119:13) an oft quoted passage goes on to say, “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” To meditate means: “think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence.” The Bible tells us to slow down.

The Bible tells us to take time to “delight” in God’s decrees (Psalm 119:16) and to “rejoice” in following the “statutes” contained in scripture “as one rejoices in great riches.” (Psalm 119:14) The Psalmist asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” The Bible says by taking time to memorize God’s word and by taking time to recount all the laws that God gives us.

The book of Psalms opens by saying, “Blessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.”

Will the New Year bring a rush for us or will it allow time to meditate on God’s law. Will this meditation bring tweets or the actions which bring real good to others? Let us make the most of the New Year and bring glory to the Great Name of God.