1/16/2017 0 Comments Blog #1Throughout my reading of the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Jewish Roots in Southern Soil, specifically during Chapter 1, I felt myself growing angrier and more offended the more I read.
I was raised with a very strong Jewish background and attended a Jewish day school from pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. At Rodeph Sholom, I learned how to read and write in Hebrew, Jewish Studies classes were integrated into the core curriculum and weekly Shabbat services were held on Friday mornings. I am no stranger to the struggle and strife of my people, yet reading about Dr. Nunes and the migration of Jews to Georgia really struck a chord for me. Time and time again, Jews have been forced out of their homes and left seeking entrance and acceptance elsewhere. But why? Even in a state created specifically for them, Jews still face discrimination and prosecution every day. The William and Sarah from England to Savannah was accepted on a technicality. There was no moral high ground taken, no encouragement from a tolerant mind. Instead the Jews were admitted begrudgingly, simply because they were not “papists.” As a Jew, I read this and felt a sense of loss and sadness. Even when Jews are accepted, it’s still with limitations more often than not. It’s a very different experience to read about the classical Jewish exile led by Moses, or even the Holocaust. While those histories are undoubtedly devastating, they have been so widely told and taught that to read an account that I haven’t been as extensively educated about left a new sense of rawness. This kind of history feels much more personal. My people were almost denied entry to a state that I've come to call home, both as a student and Jew, without any doubts or hesitation.
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