Scandals erupted throughout Europe. The Elf Aquitaine affair spread from France to Germany when it was revealed President Mitterrand provided slush funds that were passed onto their allies at the Christian Democratic Union. The former German CDU Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, escaped prosecution in March 2001 although he accepted $1m in illegal political donations for the CDU when he was in office. Instead Kohl paid a fine of $142,000 admitting that he had broken the rules on the funding of political parties but rejected accusations that he accepted donations in return for political favors. For receiving dubious funds worth a total of DM12m the CDU was separately heavily fined some DM 18million. The scandal delivered a blow to Germany national self-image. No longer could it be seen as a country considered largely free of ingrained corruption.

In Britain, despite reforms during the mid 1990s, the Labor Government which came to power in 1997 has suffered repeated problems over political donations despite promises of transparency. As early as 1997 Labor faced allegations of sleaze after it was revealed that one major election donor had later managed to negotiate with the government an exception to a new law. Bernie Ecclestone, the millionaire head of Formula One Racing, had donated £1million to the party in the run up to the election. Then Ecclestone had also negotiated with the new government an exemption for Formula One Racing from the banning of tobacco advertising in sport. The Labor government argued that the two events were unrelated, though it subsequently returned the money. Labor continued to be dogged by allegations. The Hinduja Brothers, who run their international business mainly from London, have been accused of buying access to politicians with donations. The situation was exacerbated when members of the family were questioned by the Indian Police in connection with the Bofors guns for bribe

Parties seek more money from the taxpayer but there will always be tight constraints on this source of funding. The obvious source of big money is rich donors and corporations. But such donors are not usually motivated by generosity. They want to see a return. Political parties in a number of countries now accept large donations on the condition that the donor can be identified. Some have also banned donations from abroad. For officials who are tempted to evade rules on party funding the current punishments hardly act as disincentive. Yves Marie Doublet says, where there are controls on party finance the sanctions are usually toothless. In some countries punishments are as little as being banned from political office for two years.

In Dublin in March 2001 journalists watching from the street saw Liam Lawlor light a bonfire in his back garden to burn confidential financial documents. Mr Lawlor, a member of Ireland governing Fianna Fail party, had just spent a week in Mountjoy Prison for refusing to co-operate with the Flood Tribunal. The TD is alleged to be at the centre of a vast web of bribery and backhanders involving politicians, councilors, property developers, planners and accountants going back 20 years.

President Clinton pardon of sanction buster Marc Rich in the last moments of his administration also caused public and media outrage. Marc Rich wife Denise Rich had made large donations to Democratic Party funds and for the Clinton library project.

In the USA, concern has focused recently on campaign financing. “Effective political campaigns have always been fuelled by money as well as ideas. But in recent years, the cost of running for Congress and the Presidency has soared to record heights. For many candidates, raising money is no longer one important issues, it is the only issue,” says John S Weston, Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development Research and Policy committee, introducing a statement calling for radical reform of campaign finance laws in the US. In this policy statement, the Trustees of CED makes a strong case for sweeping reforms that will restore trust and balance to the campaign finance system, while protecting the first amendment rights of candidates and contributors.

In the US the average candidate for Congress spends $3.8m on their campaign while the average House of Representatives candidate spends $500,000. Personal wealth is becoming a key requirement for effective candidacy. Of particular concern were ‘soft money’ donations that are exempted from the Federal Laws on political donations yet are beneficial to candidates. In 1998 the US national party committees raised $201m, a record for a midterm election: The Republicans raised 112% more than in 1994 and the Democrats 89% more. The parties use this money for such activities as party building, candidate-specific issue ads, and voter registration and turnout drives. Much of this money was raised from contributions from individuals or organizations that could afford $100,000 or more.

There are continuing attempts to reform the US system. In March 2001 the Senate began a debate on overhaul of the nation campaign finance laws, with critics likening the current system to a ‘money laundering’ operation that exchanges cash for influence, while its defenders argued that the prescribed cure would violate free-speech rights and endanger political parties.

Two Senators have proposed a bill to reform the US laws on political donations. At the core of the McCain-Feingold bill is a ban on unlimited ‘soft money’ contributions to political parties from corporations, unions and wealthy individuals. These donations have run from $100,000 upwards and have often been associated with pressure on politicians for favors in return.

But it is not all bad news. “Scandinavian countries seem to be doing the best, judging by their relative lack of scandals. Strong party loyalty? Parties make the decision on candidates for office and provide funding for campaigns? Enables countries such as Sweden to publicly finance parties and steer clear of scandal. Abuses are also no – existent in part because Scandinavian countries start with a high level of consensus on propriety and a low tolerance for corruption. These values carry over into the campaign finance. Yet Scandinavia and Canada almost prove to be the exceptions.

The Hinduja affair in London has cost one Cabinet Minister, Peter Mandelson, his job and damaged the reputation of another Minister, Keith Vaz.

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The NAFTA started with President Ronald Reagan who made efforts for creating a united North American Market. Its basic aim is to promote economic growth by easy movement of goods and services between the three countries.

The history of Gaza strip is filled with bloodshed and violence. Hamas which is known as the Islamic Resistance Movement currently controls the strip. It won the elections in 2006 and formed the democratic government. After gaining power, they violently removed the Palestinian Authority’s security forces and civil servants from the Gaza Strip in 2007.

With the creation of NAFTA, the high tariffs for goods and services transported over the borders between the United States, Canada and Mexico were practically eliminated. This elimination also reduced the inflation which subsequently reduced the cost of imports. This also did not slow down the flow of goods and services between the three countries. Trade between the countries was encouraged and capital for foreign investors increased.

The continuous war in Gaza has destroyed its economy. Although the population was mostly Egyptian before the Israeli occupation of Gaza, many Palestinians were forced to flee Israeli occupied lands and settle in the Gaza Strip due to the fighting between Arabs and Jews.

The Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979 had settled the international border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. However the status of Gaza Strip and other relations between Israel and Palestinians were not dealt with in the treaty.

The US and Mexico have benefited from NAFTA in regarding agriculture. Because of this agreement, the U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have grown drastically.

A disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip was agreed by Israeli government in 2005. All Israeli settlements in Gaza and in the West Bank were dismantled finally ending its Israeli military rule.

Just like NAFTA made easy expansion of services removing the trade barriers between the member countries. The economic powers of the world also have to play their role in easing the economic sufferings of the oppressed living in poor conditions and shortage of basic necessities.

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2000 BCE Patriarchs and Matriarchs: settlement of the Land of Israel

1250 BCE Moses, desert wanderings; receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai; conquest of Land of Israel by Joshua; rule by Judges

1st TEMPLE PERIOD

1000 BCE Jerusalem becomes King David’s capital; Solomon builds First Temple; division of kingdom into Israel and Judah

586 BCE Destruction of First Temple; Babylonian Exile

2ND TEMPLE PERIOD

Return to Zion; Ezra and Nechemia; construction of Second Temple

332 BCE Jerusalem comes under Greek domination

166 BCE Maccabean Revolt; restoration of Jewish autonomy;
Hasmonean Empire

63 BCE Roman invasion of Israel [Kingdom of Herod; Hillel and Shammai leaders of rabbinic thought]

70 CE Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple

EXILE AND DIASPORA (Beginning of rabbinic period)

73 CE Destruction of Masada

132 CE Bar Kochba Revolt; compilation of Mishna by Rabbi Yehuda
Hanassi

324 CE Talmudic period; decline of Israel as Jewish center; rise of Jewish academies in Babylonia

638 CE Arab conquest of Jerusalem; construction of the Dome of the Rock and Al Aksa mosques; renewal of Jewish settling

1100 CE Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099); in France, Rashi writes commentary on the Bible; Ramban’s settlement marks return of Jews to Jerusalem and worship at the

Western Wall (1267)
1492 CE Jews expelled from Spain
1517 CE Ottoman Empire rules Jerusalem; Sephardic synagogues established; Shulchan Aruch published in Zfat
1789 CE Napoleon In Eretz Yisrael
1860 CE Yemin Moshe was founded as first settlement outside Old City walls
1880 CE Pogroms in Russia; Dreyfus trial; Theodore Herzl; First Aliyah; First Zionist Congress; Tel Aviv founded
1917 CE British Mandate in Palestine; Jewish population increases; rise of Arab nationalism
1938 CE Kristallnacht; British White paper restricts Jewish immigration to Palestine; beginning of Holocaust

MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL

1947 CE Partition Plan

1948 CE State of Israel proclaimed; War of Independence; beginning of waves of immigration from Europe, Yemen and Iraq

1967 CE Six Day War; reunification of Jerusalem

In the last 30 years, we have seen the Yom Kippur war and the War in Lebanon, peace agreements with Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians, terrorist attacks, the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. You will learn about these events on your trip. Which of these might appear on the timeline 500 years from now?

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Classmates Bill Hewlett, along with Dave Packard of Stanford University went ahead to find Hewlett Packard (HP) in the year 1939. The first product of the company, i.e. the audio oscillator, was manufactured in Palo Alto garage. It was one of the electronic instruments utilized by the sound engineers. Amongst the first customer of HP was ‘Walt Disney Studios’. They purchased 8 oscillators for developing and testing a new-fangled sound system to make the film ‘Fantasia’.

The Hewlett Packard or HP Company is, at present, the topmost Corporation with respect to the information technology (IT industry). HP is the organization known for revolutionizing printing industry. Moreover, it’s the pioneer in computer world. HP has, indeed, replaced Dell computers off late in the terms of computer shipments and sales.

HP Laptops

These days, HP is a common name as far as printers and the related technology are concerned. HP laptops as well as tablet PCs have been winning hearts of people in the last few years. In the year 2002, Compaq Inc. went on to merge with Hewlett Packard, thereby forming the single-biggest entity in the industry of computers. Through this acquisition, HP has surpassed Dell and IBM/Lenovo computers. After some difficulties following the merger and some marketing realignment and restructuration, HP has done a superb job in presenting attractive laptops and establishing their leadership in the marketplace.

Current Series

Today, HP has divided its home and small office laptop offering in four broad categories in order to reach their different targets. We are going to briefly summarize the specifics of each of these lines:

? Versatile performance. These are your standards laptops, the ones that you are most likely to find at most retailers. They are equipped with a 15.4″ screen, the hardrives vary in between 120 GB and 320 GB, RAM goes from 1GB to 4 GB. They come with the standard wifi and Bluetooth elements. They weight around 7 pounds. Their prices vary from $500 to $1,100. The laptops included in this line are the followings: HP Pavilion dv5z, HP Pavilion dv6700t and HP Pavilion dv5t.

? Mobility. The main difference comes from their dimension, screens drop to 12.1″ to 14.1″, the hardrives go from 120 GB to 320 GB, RAM goes from 1 GB to 4 GB. They come with the standard wifi and Bluetooth elements. They weight around 4.5 to 5.3 pounds. Their prices vary from $650 to $1,200. The laptops included in this line are the followings: HP Pavilion dv2700t, HP Pavilion tx2500z, HP Pavilion dv4z and HP Pavilion dv4t.

? Entertainment Powerhouse. We now enter the category of the desktop replacements; screens vary in between 17″ or 20.1″. hardrives go from 120 GB to 640 GB, RAM goes from 2 GB to 4 GB a choice of quality graphics card. They also come with the standard wifi and Bluetooth elements and more extensions than regular laptops. They weight around 4.6 to 15.3 pounds. Their prices vary from $800 to $1,900. The laptops included in this line are the followings: HP Pavilion dv7z, HP Pavilion dv9700t, HP Pavilion dv7t and HP Pavilion HDX Entertainment Notebook PC.

? Special Edition. In short, it’s all about the look! Think special edition, you don’t want a laptop that looks like everyone else, then these are for you. Inside, it’s more or less a mix of the versatile and mobility lines so that HP can tailor to both segments. Screens vary in between 14.1″ or 15.4″. hardrives go from 120 GB to 320 GB, RAM goes from 2 GB to 4 GB. They also come with the standard wifi and Bluetooth elements. They weight around 5.3 to 6.1 pounds. Their prices vary from $770 to $1,000. The laptops included in this line are the followings: HP Pavilion dv6700t, HP Pavilion dv2700t, HP Pavilion dv2800t

The above-mentioned HP laptops are available along with multiple customized features. HP laptops fall in the category of high-end models with the most recent features and configurations. There are various accessories provided for the business purposes. Every notebook comes with Business Edition of Windows Vista and the other business-related software pack.

HP has established itself as a solid brand; their success is due to their formidable sales machine on one hand but also due to the quality of their products. HP laptops always rank high in customer satisfaction and if you are in buying mode, Hp laptops have to be toward the top of your list.

To drive this justification home, I have hereunder reproduced his comment posted on an article written by me:

“I thought you had learnt your lesson but no, you refuse to change!

Let me ask you Eze chime or Ezechima that you called your progenitor where is his name from? Igbo opr Edo? Do Edo or Bini people answer Eze or Chima/ Chime?

And if he is a Bini prince who was his father? The least you guys know about him was that he used to work in the Kings palace and thus he was a prince…how contradictory. Bini/ERdo people are laughing at you guys from Onotsha(sic) and co that claim you are from an Edo prince…and yet you do not speak Edo or anything like it. At least the Itshekiri left Yorubaland and till today everybody could still see that they have something in common. But you, you lost all Edoidness and instead imbibed a 99.9% Igboness in culture and language and all. In’t it a bit surprising to you an acclaimed mr-know-it-all? Pathetic..someone left Isu Aniocha and Nri and crossed a river and suddenly he no longer belongs to his grandfather but to a mysterious and fictitious Edoid prince just because the great kingdom/empire of Benin’s reach covered for a few centuries his newfound homeland! PATHETIC INDEE!

You are a confused soul and I pity you! Ndoooooooooooooo!”

The simplest way to define history is to refer to it as “all the events that happened in the past: a turning point in human history” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Sixth Edition, 2000.) For the proper understanding of the objective of this article, it is just germane that we break down this definition into two different parts i.e. “all the events that happened in the past AND a turning point in human history. The same dictionary defines “event” as a thing that happens, something that is important. The understanding of this is that any thing that happens to a society which that very society considers important becomes part of the history of that society. Turning point may best refer to “the time when an important change takes place, usually with the result that a situation improves.”

Having understood History from a less academic perspective of a dictionary, I am hoping that Ozorka agrees with himself that it is events that make history irrespective of how anyone may regard the events. “No event no history” is a well known saying. In effect, I am getting Ozorka to drop his set of ideas twisted in a way that he does not see beyond what is visible, because he has only succeeded in grotesquely distorting the truth. Whenever Victor Ozorka grosses me out with this, and I get less comfortable with his comments which bear no fruits and offer nothing by way of information. When it is impossible to derive any understanding from a group of words, such words should take its place in the basket of oblivion.

As noted already, all that happened in the past becomes history, it is therefore historical that groups of people in 1951 decided to form what they hoped would benefit them immensely, rather than pursue succession from that polity. Ozorka should also understand that the year that these various groups decided to come together and form Anioma became a turning point which also is historical. This is the second meaning attributed here to history.

Not many people know that ANIOMA is merely an acronym derived from the four Local Governments that once existed. The then Aniocha Local Government contributed “A”, Ndokwa contributed “N”, Ika contributed “I” while Oshimili Local Government contributed “O.” The suffix “OMA” which to the people signifies “Good” or “Fertile” was added to arrive at ANIOMA.

Anioma People though having related amongst themselves before the coming of the British shares so much in common socially, politically and economically. The ignorant fail to understand or at least factually recognize that these people have different histories of origin and ancestries, but share similar cultures, a role Benin Kingdom played in their dominance over these people. One needs to study series of wars these kingdoms heroically fought against the extensive and expansive Benin Empire in defense of themselves in other to fully understand how they were able to survive, and perhaps how they were reshaped by the aggressive powers of the Benin kingdom.

At some points of the history of these people, the reigning Oba of Benin determined and enthroned the Obi (Paramount rulers) of any one of these groups of people. Ibusa offers a perfect example of a town where Oba of Benin compensated a particular man with the Obi of the town, this Obi’s reign was scuttled because the wife of the Obi was seen as constantly interfering in the matters of the town and tried to impose her advice on the council in chiefs of the town.

While oral accounts some of today’s Anioma towns and communities trace their origins to Igboland of the present south-East, there are good number of other Anioma towns and communities with oral accounts also tracing their ancestral homes to Benin kingdom. Ozorka if he were to be a Historian should not have found this an outlandish idea, because wherever he assumes himself to hail from, there are oral traditions to support their origins. Today, the Igbo makes us believe that they are one of the lost tribes of Israel, a Yoruba mythology tells us that Ife is the centre of the world’s creation and cradle of civilization, Obatala descended from the Heavens with certain items and became instrumental to creation. Many more of what we refer to myths exists. The Holy Bible supports the divine creation of the world perfectly finished within six days.

The history of the Anioma people who trace their ancestry homes to the Igbo, their neighbors and Benin Empire is quite unlike many of the mythologies described above. Credit should be given to the people, whose oral traditions do not lay claims to far away countries or regions like Mecca, Egypt, Israel, and Sudan believed to be quintessence of civilizations, rather we have found our origins in nearby regions of Nigeria. This oral accounts posses the quality of verisimilitudes which should have been appreciated by Ozorka and his likes.

What Ozorka has ignorantly failed to understand is that the Anioma people cannot be told where they are coming from; neither will they be told where they are going. Nobody, not even Ozorka can tell us who we are. We know ourselves better than he does.

He asks if it is not surprising that Ezechima bears an Igbo name yet founded communities like Onitsha Mili (in present Anambra State,) Onicha-Olona, Onicha-Ugbo, Onicha-Ukwu, Issele-Uku, Issele-Mkpitime, Issele-Asagba. I think it should be drummed into his ears that the similarity in the names of Anioma communities distinctly brings to the fore same history of ancestry. We have not lost this in any way, Ezechime historically known and originally written as Prince Cheime was a prince from Benin Kingdom historically believed to be the progenitor of major communities of Anioma. He was said to have committed a certain offence against the Benin state which forced him on exile, but quite typical of other progenitors of his time certain other persons left with him, founding communities. Ozorka, if you are one of those genuinely interested in History, please readto the Igbo across the Niger.lier known of Ezecimamunities many of which has been mentioned here.sa because he was f

I assume this very surprising that Ozorka is unaware of the fact that a lot of the histories of Nigerian communities share similar accounts as responsible for the foundation of their communities. Does the origin of Ibusa not claim that a certain man named Umejei left Isu in Igboland to found the town, Ibusa because he was fleeing from persecution? Does an oral account not also claim that Odaigbo fled from Nri to found present day Ogwashi-Uku? Is Nnebisi the progenitor of Asaba not from Nteje as one fleeing from persecution? Ozorka would be pleased to hear these origins but not those of other parts of Anioma because he is views them as distanced from the Igbo where he wishfully expects them to migrate from.

Let the Ozorkas know that the progenitor of the vast communities was and still Prince cheime as originally known until owing to certain influences from their Igbo neighbours, the name some became distorted to Ezechime especially as he settled in Onitsha-Mili, his final destination, but some of those they left with him had founded certain communities many of which has been mentioned here. The change in the name of Prince Cheime (later known as Ezechime or Chima) owes a lot to Onitsha-Mili’s proximity to the Igbo across the Niger.

Page 5 of a document on an Intelligence Report of Talbot, a British traveler, explorer and administrator centered on Agbor Clan in Agbor District captures it thus as accounted  by Prince Adams Gbenoba in his article titled “Rejoinder: The Origins of Anioma People”:

“Of the two families that left Benin at this time (shortly after Nyendael’s visit in 1702), one settled at Agbor while the other went to Obior, another clan in the Agbor District”.

The said Intelligence Report…” went on as follows: “… of the same Obior family came also the ancestors of Onitsha-Mili 8the present Onitsha Waterside of today). It is a tradition of the Obior people and indeed of most of the clans between them and the Niger, and also of Onitsha itself, that their tribe was founded by Cheime, a refugee from Benin City…”

 Does Victor Ozorka want  us to believe that the Ika are too Igbo as part of Anioma, it is particularly painful to read from armchair scholars who sit at home and rewrite the history of ethnic groups simply because they wishfully want the history of these ethnic groups linked to theirs. No matter the smallness of a people in population or land mass, their histories are still retained, this refers tp the Agbor and Igbanke people of Ika.  

Igbo scholars who use the existence of smattering Igbo vocabularies such as Eze, Obi, Emeka, Orie/Okorie/Mgborie/Okafor to support their seeming argument that Ika are Igbo  easily forget that these are due to the educational, socio-economic, political and business interactions the Ika people have had with the Igbo of the west.

Ozorka loudly imagined that the  Ika people speak Igbo which he said was different from what was different from the example presented by the Itsekiri, what he failed to ask those who are conversant with typical Agbor vocabularies the meaning of and origin of their vocabularies quite certainly peculiar to Agor and Bini such as:

Okhue (parrot) Ughere (village hall), Ikhu/ijogbe (lineage) Ekete (stool) Oruese (thank you)

Agbor people also bear common personal names such as Agbonkpolor, Agbonifo, Aguevedo, Aigbedion, Edobor, Idemudia, Ikubor, Edeje, Igue, Iyare, Iroro, Izegbuwa, Iduwe, Iredia, Iyetor, Ogbeide, Ogiebor, Omoruyi, Uhure, Oyegwe, ugiagbe, Owabor, Uwagboi, Osaghede, Onainor, Omozi, Orumgbe, Omoregie, Okanigben, Okunbor, Omogiafor, Oganbor, Ogbwei, Odiase, Odion etc. Agbor people also celebrate Igue, ugbose, Osieze festivals etc.

By the way, I want to once again inquire from Ozorka why the Isoko and Urhobo have a single dialectical-language, yet we are told that these are two ethnic separate groups, while they are kits and kin; does this not pictorially evoke the similarities between the Anioma and Igbo of the South-East? The question on the use of Obi in Agbor is like asking how the Yoruba and Edo share the use of “Oba” as the title of a paramount ruler.

Is it not surprising to the ignorant Ozorka that history tells us that major countries inhabiting the Northern part of Africa such as Egypt, Libya, Morocco, etc are today Arabs because they were arabized? Would he not be surprised to hear that originally Iranians were never Arabs? Today, we know these countries by what they how they want to be known. It tells you that it is events that change the destinies of people, and may have occurred to the Anioma people, on that day they decided to come together and become known as Anioma.

The oral history of the Hausa gives us the understanding that there are 7 original Hausa sons who became the progenitor of 7 original states of Hausa, while there are another 7 bastard sons who went ahead to found another 7 Hausa states, today, would anyone rightly classify all of these said Hausa states as Hausa communities, Ozorka? Would say today that that all of these 14 communities are Hausa states simply because Hausa oral accounts claims it to be so? The answer to this question is no because many of these communities are not regarded as Hausa States, linguistics does not even support this. In essence, a mere oral account that a man journeyed out of a particular region many centuries ago alone cannot be adequately used to ascertain a tribe.  

That a man migrated from one part of community and settled in another community is not even a yardstick to determine the ethnicity of an entire people, it is only in Africa that trivial matters of histories are used because we live in the region where marginalization reigns supreme, and population figure are necessary to acquire so much allocation from the government. Majority of Americans began to migrate from English colonies as recorded by history, but today, the nation is not identified with any particular region as she has been able to distinctly carve out unique identity for herself, yet we continue to identify ourselves along the borderline of ancestral history of where our forefathers took off and ended.

To Africans, Obama may be of African descent but to the Americans, he is an American citizen and has won the presidency of the country which is impossible to actualize in any part of Africa. In Nigeria, an Igbo man has not emerged a an executive president of the country because it is not yet his turn. Is this not wonderful?

Victor Ozorka referred to a confused soul, the Anioma are definitely not confused, we know that when States are announced we shall definitely belong with majestically sit in our own Anioma State, with the capital at Asaba, and our problem of identity caused by our abandonment by the Igbo after the Civil War will be a thing of the past. More so, our youths are seriously working with the vast human materials we have in the region to pilot us into graceful identity, this is where Oganihu-Anioma, Onu-Anioma and Organization for the Advancement of Anioma Culture (OFAAC), Anioma Association USA Inc count. We can do it.   

Finally, I need to let our Igbo brothers and sisters know that we are not disinheriting them as the like of Ozorka usually suggest whenever surfing the internet to dig out articles relating to the Igbo. We just may agree to go with the Igbo, however this will only be possible if the Igbo regard us of their own, which fortunately they have started by electing one of us as the President-General of Ohaneze Ndiigbo but it should not stop here, they should as go as far as helping us to get a State of our own because such will be recognized as an Igbo state rather than proclaim less viable Orashi State, Adada State, Aba State “Enyimba State.”

We have suffered for the Igbo, we have stood by them for too long, in the time of need, fighting and shedding blood, and it is only natural and political that we are rewarded by them; otherwise the labour of our heroes past shall be in vain. Many of us now disappointed have hoped that our reward would have been support to acquire our own identity through the creation of our State, but this was not to be. And recently actions from Iwuanyanwu and Nzeribe from the panel set up to adopt a state for the Igbo people show that the Igbo are looking else where and we are not in their agenda. Ozorka, try and correct this impression rather than lay claims to us on the internet and politically too. The Igbo need us and we need them too.  

Ozorka rather than try to rewrite our history, learn from it. “Clearly all human cultures are similar in one way or the other. It depends on what you are looking for – similarities or dissimilarities” Prof Onwukwe Alaezi, 2000.

By Mamnoon Ahmad Khan

Introduction

I clearly remember that thirty years back I haven’t heard the word terrorism or terrorist. There was only one term in use which was Israel’s aggression on Arabs and Palestinians. But after the Russian (formerly USSR) invasion on Afghanistan, the scenario changed. Russian brutalities were not hidden from the world. They not only destroy this independent country but they destroy its future generations. On many villages after killing their inhabitants they crushed the whole village with bulldozers. Even they did not forgive innocent children. Russians threw toy bombs in towns and villages from helicopters and when a child found it and started to play with it blew up. As a result so many Afghan children died or became handicapped. 

Soviet Aggression in Soviet-Afghan War

Over 1 million Afghans were killed.15 million Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran, 1/3 of the prewar population of the country. Another 2 million Afghans were displaced within the country. In the 1980s, one out of two refugees in the world was an Afghan.2 Along with fatalities were 1.2 million Afghans disabled with the blessings of the Russian  landmines (mujahedeen, government soldiers and noncombatants) and 3 million maimed or wounded (primarily noncombatants).3

Irrigation systems, crucial to agriculture in Afghanistan’s arid climate were destroyed by aerial bombing and strafing by Soviet or government forces. In the worst year of the war, 1985, well over half of all the farmers who remained in Afghanistan had their fields bombed, and over one quarter had their irrigation systems destroyed and their livestock shot by Soviet or government troops, according to a survey conducted by Swedish relief experts 4

The population of Afghanistan’s second largest city, Kandahar, was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 inhabitants, following a months-long campaign of carpet bombing and bulldozing by the Soviets and Afghan communist soldiers in 1987.5Land mines had killed 25,000 Afghans during the war and another 10-15 million land mines, most planted by Soviet and government forces, were left scattered throughout the countryside to kill and maim.6 A great deal of damage was done to the civilian children population by land mines. A 2005 report estimated 3-4% of the Afghan population was disabled due to Soviet and government land mines. In the city of Quetta, a survey of refugee women and children taken shortly after the Soviet withdrawal found over 80% of the children refugees unregistered and child mortality at 31%. Of children who survived, 67% were severely malnourished, with malnutrition increasing with age.7

Critics of Soviet and Afghan government forces describe their effect on Afghan culture as working in three stages: first, the center of customary Afghan culture, Islam, was pushed aside; second, Soviet patterns of life, especially amongst the young, were imported; third, shared Afghan cultural characteristics were destroyed by the emphasis on so-called nationalities, with the outcome that the country was split into different ethnic groups, with no language, religion, or culture in common.8

The Geneva Accords of 1988, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of the Soviet forces in early 1989, left the Afghan government in ruins. The accords had failed to address adequately the issue of the post-occupation period and the future governance of Afghanistan. The assumption among most Western diplomats was that the Soviet-backed government in Kabul would soon collapse; however, this was not to happen for another three years. During this time the Interim Islamic Government of Afghanistan (IIGA) was established in exile. The exclusion of key groups such as refugees and Shias, combined with major disagreements between the different mujahedeen factions, meant that the IIGA never succeeded in acting as a functional government.9

Before the war, Afghanistan was already one of the world’s poorest nations. The prolonged conflict left Afghanistan ranked 170 out of 174 in the UNDP’s Human Development Index, making Afghanistan one of the least developed countries in the world.10

 Once the Soviets withdrew, US interest in Afghanistan ceased. The US decided not to help with reconstruction of the country and instead they handed over the interests of the country to US allies, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Pakistan quickly took advantage of this opportunity and forged relations with warlords and later theTaliban, to secure trade interests and routes. From wiping out the country’s trees through logging practices, which has destroyed all but 2% of forest cover country-wide, to substantial uprooting of wild pistachio trees for the exportation of their roots for therapeutic uses, to opium agriculture, the past ten years have caused much ecological and agrarian destruction.11

Captain Tarlan Eyvazov, a soldier in the Soviet forces during the war, stated that the Afghan children’s future is destined for war. Eyvazov said, “Children born in Afghanistan at the start of the war… have been brought up in war conditions, this is their way of life.” Eyvazov’s theory was later strengthened when the Taliban movement developed and formed from orphans or refugee children who were forced by the Soviets to flee their homes and relocate their lives in Pakistan. The swift rise to power, from the young Taliban in 1994, was the result of the disorder and civil war that had warlords running wild because of the complete breakdown of law and order in Afghanistan after the departure of the Soviets.12

Israeli  Brutalities since the Arab-Isreal War 1967

       According to eyewitness accounts by Israeli officers and journalists, the Israeli Army – the army that claims to hold itself to a higher moral standard than other armies – executed as many as 1,000 Arab prisoners during the 1967 war.

Historian Gabby Bron wrote in the Yediot Ahronot in Israel that he witnessed Israeli troops executing Egyptian prisoners on the morning of June 8, 1967, in the Sinai town of El Arish.

Bron reported that he saw about 150 Egyptian POWs being held at the El Arish airport where they were sitting on the ground, densely crowded together with their hands held on the back of their necks. Every few minutes, Bron writes, Israeli soldiers would escort an Egyptian POW from the group to a hearing conducted by two men in Israeli army uniforms. Then the man would be taken away, given a spade, and forced to dig his own grave.

I watched as (one) man dug a hole for about 15 minutes, Bron wrote. Afterwards, the (Israeli military) policeman told him to throw the shovel away, and then one of them leveled an Uzi at him and shot two short bursts, each of three or four bullets.

Bron says he witnessed about ten such executions, until the grave was filled. Then an Israeli Colonel threatened him with a revolver, forcing him to leave the area.

The reality is that Israel encouraged and then took advantage of that war for many political, economic, and territorial reasons. To grab these advantages, Israel attacked on Syria and captured the Golan in the last days of the war.

Sabra and Shatila Massacre Sep.16, 1982

Today, 27 years later, Israeli aggression against Palestinians continues.

The scars left by the Sabra and Shatila massacres are indescribable.
Photo courtesy: Piotr_360

On Sept. 16, 1982, members of the Lebanese Christian Phalange militia – with direct approval and support of then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon – entered Sabra and Shatila and initiated a 36-hour long assault, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of unarmed Palestinian and Lebanese civilians.

Journalist Robert Fisk, who was on the scene on September 19, 1982, reported seeing the “blackened bodies of babies tossed into rubbish heaps alongside discarded U.S. army ration tins, Israeli army equipment and empty bottles of whiskey.”

The infants had been shot in the head. Some had had their throats slit. Scores of men had been shot in the back of the head or mutilated by axes. Women had been raped. Pregnant women had fetuses torn from their bodies.

The United Nations, which issued a formal declaration of genocide in 1982, also calls the Sabra and Shatila massacre one of the most heinous events in the 20th century.

How many died is not known, but figures range from about 1,000 to at least 3,500, a number estimated by the late Israeli journalist Amnon Kapeliouk.

“The exact figure (of victims) can never be determined because, in addition to the approximately 1,000 people who were buried in communal graves by the International Committee of the Red Cross or in the cemeteries of Beirut by members of their families, a large number of corpses were buried beneath bulldozed buildings by the militia members themselves,” wrote Dr. Laurie King-Irani, an adjunct professor of anthropology at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. “Also, particularly on 17 and 18 September, hundreds of people were carried away alive in trucks towards unknown destinations, never to return.”

Dr. King-Irani also was the North American Coordinator of the International Campaign for Justice for the Victims of Sabra and Shatila, which hosted the Web site indictsharon.net.

Yet the perpetrators of the massacre were never brought to justice. An internal Israeli investigation called the Kahan Commission – which was political and not judicial – found Sharon to be indirectly but personally responsible. He resigned as defense minister but retained a government cabinet position. He served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006. A case that had been filed in November 2001 on behalf of some survivors against Sharon and others for committing war crimes under Belgium’s universal jurisdiction law was later rejected by a Belgian appeals court.

Sharon told the Israeli Knesset that the decision to send in the Phalangists had been made at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 15. The Israeli Command received the instructions that the “mopping up of the camps will be carried out by the Phalanges or the Lebanese army,” Dr. King-Irani writes, citing the Kahan Commission report, page 125.

Today, 27 years later, Israeli aggression against Palestinians continues. Operation Cast Lead in December and January killed more than 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 5,300. Israel’s continuing siege has squeezed the 1.5 million residents there into an inhumane and unthinkable crisis.

All the Muslims of the world should honor the victims and survivors of Sabra and Shatila by keeping their memories alive. Where their voices have been silenced, we must raise our voices loudly and clearly and call for an end to the brutal occupation of Palestine and for the right of refugees to return to their homeland.

The Jenin Massacre of April 2002

A monstrous war crime that Israel has tried to cover up for a fortnight has finally been exposed. Its troops have caused devastation in the centre of the Jenin refugee camp, reached yesterday by The Independent, where thousands of people are still living amid the ruins.

A residential area roughly 160,000 square yards about a third of a mile wide has been reduced to dust. Rubble has been shovelled by bulldozers into 30ft piles. The sweet and ghastly reek of rotting human bodies is everywhere, evidence that it is a human tomb. The people, who spent days hiding in basements crowded into single rooms as the rockets pounded in, say there are hundreds of corpses, entombed beneath the dust, under a field of debris, criss-crossed with tank and bulldozer treadmarks.

In one nearby half-wrecked building, gutted by fire, lies the fly-blown corpse of a man covered by a tartan rug. In another we found the remains of 23-year-old Ashraf Abu Hejar beneath the ruins of a fire-blackened room that collapsed on him after being hit by a rocket. His head is shrunken and blackened. In a third, five long-dead men lay under blankets.

A quiet. sad-looking young man called Kamal Anis led us across the wasteland, littered now with detritus of what were once households, foam rubber, torn clothes, shoes, tin cans, children’s toys. He suddenly stopped. This was a mass grave, he said, pointing.

We stared at a mound of debris. Here, he said, he saw the Israeli soldiers pile 30 bodies beneath a half-wrecked house. When the pile was complete, they bulldozed the building, bringing its ruins down on the corpses. Then they flattened the area with a tank. We could not see the bodies. But we could smell them.

A few days ago, we might not have believed Kamal Anis. But the descriptions given by the many other refugees who escaped from Jenin camp were understated, not, as many feared and Israel encouraged us to believe, exaggerations. Their stories had not prepared me for what I saw yesterday. I believe them now.

Until two weeks ago, there were several hundred tightly-packed homes in this neighbourhood called Hanat al-Hawashim. They no longer exist.

Around the central ruins, there are many hundreds of half-wrecked homes. Much of the camp — once home to 15,000 Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war — is falling down. Every wall is speckled and torn with bullet holes and shrapnel, testimony of the awesome, random firepower of Cobra and Apache helicopters that hovered over the camp.

Building after building has been torn apart, their contents of cheap fake furnishings, mattresses, white plastic chairs spewed out into the road. Every other building bears the giant, charred, impact mark of a helicopter missile. Last night there were still many families and weeping children still living amid the ruins, cut off from the humanitarian aid. Ominously, we found no wounded, although there was a report of a man being rescued from beneath ruins only an hour before we arrived.

Those who did not flee the camp, or not detained by the army, have spent the bombardment in basements, enduring day after day of terror. Some were forced into rooms by the soldiers, who smashed their way into houses through the walls. The UN says half of the camp’s 15,000 residents were under 18. As the evening hush fell over these killing fields, we could suddenly hear the children chattering. The mosques, once so noisy at prayer time, were silent.

Israel was still trying to conceal these scenes yesterday. It had refused entry to Red Cross ambulances for nearly a week, in violation of the Geneva Convention. Yesterday it continued to try to keep us out.

Jenin, in the northern end of the occupied West Bank, remained a closed military zone, was ringed Merkava tanks, army Jeep patrols, and armoured personnel carriers. Reporters caught trying to get in were escorted out. A day earlier the Israeli armed forces took in a few selected journalists to see sanitised parts of the camp. We simply walked across the fields, flitted through an olive orchard overlooked by two Israeli tanks, and into the camp itself.

We were led in by hands gesturing at windows. Hidden, whispering people directed us through narrow alleys they thought were clear. When there were soldiers about, a finger would rise in warning, or a hand waved us back. We were welcomed by people desperate to tell what had occurred. They spoke of executions, and bulldozers wrecking homes with people inside. This is mass murder committed by Ariel Sharon, Jamel Saleh, 43, said. We feel more hate for Israel now than ever. Look at this boy. He placed his hand on the tousled head of a little boy, Mohammed, the eight-year-old son of a friend. He saw all this evil. He will remember it all. So will everyone else who saw the horror of Jenin refugee camp. Palestinians who entered the camp yesterday were almost speechless.

Rajib Ahmed, from the Palestinian Energy Authority, came to try to repair the power lines. He was trembling with fury and shock. This is mass murder. I have come here to help by I have found nothing but devastation. Just look for yourself. All had the same message: tell the world.

Recent Israeli aggression in Gaza

Israel has perpetrated an unprecedented barbaric slaughter on defenseless civil Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel’s intent seems to have been not only the destruction of some locations in the Gaza Strip, but the annihilation of Gaza and the burial of its population under piles of rubbles and blood lakes.

The time chosen by Israel to launch its aggression mounts anxiety amongst Arabs.

Worldwide concerns about the deep financial crisis, the transitional period in the White House, and Hamas’s declaration of the end of its truce with Israel without any Palestinian or Arab support that may halt Israel’s hostile intentions, all trigger anxiety that Israel is preparing for the worst to terrorize the entire Arab region.

Israel launched its aggression on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008 on three stages:

Stage One: Air bombardment as of Dec. 27, 2008 to Jan. 2, 2009.
Stage Two: Ground attack as of Jan. 3 to 10, 2009.
Stage Three: Starting on Jan. 10 with advance inside large cities, occupying more  territories and setting a buffer zone along the borders of the Strip, which finally ended on Jan. 18.

Throughout the three stages, more than 1300 people have been killed and more than 5300 injured of which more than a half are women, children, and aged persons. 

Blame the Victim, Not the Aggressor

US Foreign Minister, Condoleeza Rice accused Hamas for the violence. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon could only express “deep alarm,” and where was Barack Obama? An AP photo showed him on vacation “working out” at the Semper Fit Center at the Marine Corp Base Hawaii in Kailua, Hawaii on Saturday, and CBS News reported that he’s “closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza, but there is one president at a time,” according to Brooke Anderson, his chief national security spokesperson.

In a July 2008 interview, The New York Times asked Obama if Israel should negotiate with Hamas in Gaza. He replied that “I don’t think any country would find it acceptable to have missiles raining down on the heads of their citizens….I expect Israelis to do (all they can to stop them)….In terms of negotiating with Hamas, it is very hard to negotiate with a group that is not representative of a nation state, does not recognize your right to exist, (and) has consistently used terror as a weapon. Hamas is a terrorist organization….it’s hard for Israel to negotiate with a country like that.”

Hamas was democratically elected. It’s the legitimate Palestinian government. It’s falsely called a terrorist organization, and it has every right to resist an illegal occupation under international law. It observed a unilateral ceasefire for months and extended peace overtures numerous times in the past. Israel spurned them by dividing Gaza and the West Bank, co-opting Mamoud Abbas, inciting Fatah against Hamas, isolating Gaza, and pursuing a policy of aggression, killings, targeted assassinations, mass incarcerations, and torture with full support from Washington, the West, and (from his comments above) the incoming Obama administration.

The UN Refugee Works Relief Agency’s (UNWRA) operations head for Palestinian refugees, John Ging, expressed outraged on what’s happening. Earlier he said: Gazans got nothing from the months of ceasefire. There was no “restoration of a dignified existence. We had our supplies restricted (during the period) to the point where we were left in a very vulnerable and precarious position” with very little food left until it ran out.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) campaigns for Palestinian justice in areas of civil, human and political rights according to international law. Along with the Palestine Return Centre (PRC), the Palestinian Forum of Britain (PFB), the British Muslim Initiative (BMI), Stop the War, Friends of al Aqsa, the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), and Respect, Islamic Human Rights Commission it organized emergency protests opposite Israel’s London Embassy on December 28 and 29 to demand an end of the Gaza siege and ongoing aggression. The urgency was highlighted by saying: Israel’s Cynicism (Is) Supported by the West’s Complicity” as it called for public solidarity to end it.

For her part, Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni ordered the Ministry to “take emergency measures (to) open an aggressive and diplomatic international public relations campaign,” according to Haaretz. In other words, Israel will spin its wanton aggression into justifiable self-defense and get dominant media help to sell it.

On December 27, The New York Times took the lead. It reported that “Israeli airstrikes hit Hamas security facilities in Gaza on Saturday in a crushing response to the group’s rocket fire….Israeli military officials (called the attack) an effort to force Hamas to end its rocket barrages into southern Israel. Thousands of Israelis hurried into bomb shelters amid the hail of rockets,” making it seem like Israel resembled London during the blitz when, in fact, Hamas attacks are mere pin pricks and only respond to first-strike Israeli attacks.

The Times and dominant media are silent on this. They continue spreading spurious lies about Hamas being “officially committed to Israel’s destruction, and when it won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 and then ‘forcibly’ took over Gaza in 2007, it said it would not recognize Israel, honor previous Palestinian Authority commitments to it, or end its violence against Israelis.”

All of the above is untrue. The Times continues to report falsely. Hamas wants peace, has repeatedly been conciliatory, and its founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said earlier that armed struggle would end “if the Zionists ended (their) occupation of Palestinian territories and stopped killing Palestinian women, children and innocent civilians.”

Israel rejects all overtures. More recently, Hamas offered peace and Israeli recognition in return for a Palestinian state inside pre-1967 borders – its Occupied Territories that it’s entitled to under international law.

As early as 1988, the PLO under Yasser Arafat accepted a two-state solution with Palestinians willing to settle for only 22% of their pre-1948 homeland – a generous offer that, if accepted, would have had two sovereign states living peacefully alongside each other as neighbors.

Israel rejects this out of hand. It chooses dominance over peace, violence over reconciliation, and imperial conquest above the rule of law. It’s colonizing the West Bank, ethnically cleansing the population, and continues to terrorize Gaza. “The newspaper of record” is selective about “fit news to print,” so uncomfortable truths are suppressed. It reported that one Israeli was killed Saturday and another four wounded, one seriously, but didn’t explain that previous rocket attacks caused no deaths or injuries.

After many months of siege compounded by ongoing attacks, Gaza is gravely affected, but so is the West Bank. Under the Fatah government, no rockets are launched, yet Israel maintains a violent occupation, continues to seize Palestinian land, expand its illegal settlements, and lets its residents terrorize Palestinians with impunity, even in cases of wanton killings and destruction of property.

 US administration supports Israeli aggression against Gaza

 On 31 December, Associated Press reported that the UN Security Council had held an emergency meeting on an Arab request for a legally binding and enforceable UN resolution that would condemn Israel and seek to force the Zionist state to stop its military attacks on Gaza.

The draft resolution also called for the immediate protection of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the opening of border crossings for humanitarian aid.

But the draft, which was presented by Libya on behalf of the 22-member Arab League, was immediately rejected by the United States as “unbalanced”. Despite this US veto, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, told Associated Press that Arab nations would be working “day and night” to get the UN Security Council’s approval for a binding resolution in the announced terms.

As with the 2006 war in Lebanon, the government of President George W. Bush has strongly supported the Israeli attack on Gaza. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe even called Hamas “nothing but thugs”. Moreover, the US administration has been working to block all diplomatic proposals for a cease-fire in order to give Israel the green light to increase its attacks on Gaza.

While Israeli fighters, warships and artillery continued to destroy civilian buildings, bridges and mosques, US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice did not hesitate to blame Hamas for the Israeli aggression and showed US backing for Israel’s rejection of cease-fire initiatives from the European Union and several Arab capitals.

Washington and Israel did not accept the victory of Hamas in the 2006 parliamentary election.

In June 2007, they promoted a coup d’état to bring down the national unity government that Fatah and Hamas had previously set up during their negotiations in Jeddah. The coup failed and from then on, the Bush administration backed the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip, which has often prevented 1.5 million Palestinians from receiving food, fuel, medicines and so forth.

The goal of this blockade is to make life for the people of Gaza so intolerable that the Hamas administration will fall.

The United States is not only protecting Israel in the diplomatic front but it has also given Israel some weapons that have been used on the Palestinians, including the GBU-39 missile — a new bunker-buster weapon.

Israel received 1,000 missiles of this type in early December in addition to the 3 billion dollars a year in US military aid, including F-16 fighters and Apache helicopters and the fuel and spare parts needed to keep them in operation.

Israeli attacks have killed hundreds of Palestinians (scores of them children), while the US Administration continues to insist that Hamas is “responsible” for the fighting.

US President Barack Obama’s Senior Adviser, David Axelrod repeated the same lies as President George W. Bush: that Hamas had been the first to break the ceasefire agreement. Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi agreed. She issued a statement concerning the Israeli aggression on Gaza in which she wrote, “When Israel is attacked, the US must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally.”

On the night of November 4, the day of the US election, Israel fired missiles on Gaza. It then continued to bomb Gaza over the following six weeks killing dozens of Palestinians. “The escalation towards war could, and should, have been avoided. It was the State of Israel which broke the truce, in the tunnel raid … two months ago,” the Israeli peace group Gush Shalom wrote in a press release.

The army continued its calculated raids and killings. The truth is that the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza is a crime against humanity for which not only the Israeli government but also the American one bears full responsibility.

In fact, for the US to support and be an accomplice in Israeli war crimes is serving a far more strategic purpose. What it is actually doing is setting up a “new order” in the Middle East which will ensure continued US domination in the region and control over its oil resources.

Israel is but a small partner in this bloody effort. The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, threats against Iran and Syria and the Israeli war against Lebanon in 2006 are all part of this US application of the Israeli doctrine to dominate and divide the Arab and Muslim worlds.

In spite of all this military and diplomatic support, the officials of the US Administration fear a possible Israeli failure, similar to what happened in Lebanon in 2006 and have urged Israel to settle a timetable and exit strategy, foreign diplomats told the Los Angeles Times.

“US officials are concerned that the campaign could drag on without destroying Hamas, and might even bolster support for the militant group – just as the Israeli campaign in Lebanon strengthened Hezbollah. You are not hearing that same confidence you did in 2006 that the Israeli military can impose a new strategic reality,” said one Arab diplomat in Washington.

According to numerous observers, the war will weaken the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas and strengthen his Hamas rivals, even though Israel will continue its Gaza invasion.

The fighting has also ruined the already damaged reputation of the US-backed regimes of Egypt and Jordan, both of which have diplomatic relations with Israel and are regarded by the Arab people as corrupt and accomplices in the Israeli aggression. The stability of these regimes is seriously threatened.

Some observers believe that Israel wanted to create an international crisis at a time when Obama was on the verge of becoming the US President, in order to gauge the new Obama government’s sensibilities to the killing of Palestinians.

Israel wanted to determine Obama’s policies even before they are decided by his administration in order to make it complicit in its crimes against the Palestinians.

Obama’s submission to Israel has been put in doubt by the Israeli media. In March 2007 Obama told a small gathering of Democratic activists in Iowa: “Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.” The comment made headlines and earned him the outrage of pro-Israel groups.

As a candidate in the recent presidential election, Obama changed his tone and said that Israel had the “right” to full sovereignty over all of Al Quds (Jerusalem), a position that guarantees that there will not be a lasting peace in the region, as Arabs and Muslims will never renounce their legitimate rights to the city.

Obama’s right-hand man, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, is a rabid Zionist who worked for the Israeli army during the 1991 [Persian] Gulf War.

Now, these measures were seen as a means to avoid criticism by the influential pro-Israeli lobby in Washington, which has deeply infiltrated both the US Republican and the Democratic parties.

Obama’s initial reaction to the Gaza massacre was “no comment”. This has led many people to start wondering if his self-declared principles of safety and dignity are also going to be applied to the Palestinian people.

There is no doubt that the United States will pay a high price for its support of Israel’s state terrorism.

Many protesters from all over the world are burning US flags and showing their complete rejection of US policies that promote Zionist terror.

Although US mainstream media, which are under Zionist or corporate control, continue to falsify the reality regarding the extent of Israeli aggression and occupation, the internet and satellite channels of the Muslim world are offering professional coverage of the developments in Palestine.

Washington’s continued support for Israeli crimes will lead any initiative aimed at recovering its destroyed credibility in the Muslim and Arab worlds to failure.

How the CIA created Taliban and Osama bin Laden

 Is this a call to jihad (holy war) taken from one of Islamic fundamentalist Osama bin Laden’s notorious fatwas? Or perhaps a communique issued by the repressive Taliban regime in Kabul?

In fact, this glowing praise of the murderous exploits of today’s supporters of arch-terrorist bin Laden and his Taliban collaborators, and their holy war against the “evil empire”, was issued by US President Ronald Reagan on March 8, 1985. The “evil empire” was the Soviet Union, as well as Third World movements fighting US-backed colonialism, apartheid and dictatorship.

How things change. In the aftermath of a series of terrorist atrocities — the most despicable being the mass murder of more than 6000 working people in New York and Washington on September 11 — bin Laden the “freedom fighter” is now lambasted by US leaders and the Western mass media as a “terrorist mastermind” and an “evil-doer”.

Yet the US government refuses to admit its central role in creating the vicious movement that spawned bin Laden, the Taliban and Islamic fundamentalist terrorists that plague Algeria and Egypt — and perhaps the disaster that befell New York.

The mass media has also downplayed the origins of bin Laden and his toxic brand of Islamic fundamentalism.

Mujaheddeen

In April 1978, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in Afghanistan in reaction to a crackdown against the party by that country’s repressive government.

The PDPA was committed to a radical land reform that favoured the peasants, trade union rights, an expansion of education and social services, equality for women and the separation of church and state. The PDPA also supported strengthening Afghanistan’s relationship with the Soviet Union.

Such policies enraged the wealthy semi-feudal landlords, the Muslim religious establishment (many mullahs were also big landlords) and the tribal chiefs. They immediately began organising resistance to the government’s progressive policies, under the guise of defending Islam.

Washington, fearing the spread of Soviet influence (and worse the new government’s radical example) to its allies in Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf states, immediately offered support to the Afghan mujahedeen, as the “contra” force was known.

Following an internal PDPA power struggle in December 1979 which toppled Afghanistan’s leader, thousands of Soviet troops entered the country to prevent the new government’s fall. This only galvanised the disparate fundamentalist factions. Their reactionary jihad now gained legitimacy as a “national liberation” struggle in the eyes of many Afghans.

The Soviet Union was eventually to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989 and the mujahedeen captured the capital, Kabul, in 1992.

Between 1978 and 1992, the US government poured at least US$6 billion (some estimates range as high as $20 billion) worth of arms, training and funds to prop up the mujahedeen factions. Other Western governments, as well as oil-rich Saudi Arabia, kicked in as much again. Wealthy Arab fanatics, like Osama bin Laden, provided millions more.

Washington’s policy in Afghanistan was shaped by US President Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and was continued by his successors. His plan went far beyond simply forcing Soviet troops to withdraw; rather it aimed to foster an international movement to spread religious fanaticism into the Muslim Central Asian Soviet republics to destabilise the Soviet Union.

Brzezinski’s grand plan coincided with Pakistan military dictator General Zia ul-Haq’s own ambitions to dominate the region. US-run Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe beamed Islamic fundamentalist tirades across Central Asia (while paradoxically denouncing the “Islamic revolution” that toppled the pro-US Shah of Iran in 1979).

Washington’s favoured mujahedeen faction was one of the most extreme, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The West’s distaste for terrorism did not apply to this unsavoury “freedom fighter”. Hekmatyar was notorious in the 1970s for throwing acid in the faces of women who refused to wear the veil.

After the mujahedeen took Kabul in 1992, Hekmatyar’s forces rained US-supplied missiles and rockets on that city — killing at least 2000 civilians — until the new government agreed to give him the post of prime minister. Osama bin Laden was a close associate of Hekmatyar and his faction.

Hekmatyar was also infamous for his side trade in the cultivation and trafficking in opium. Backing of the mujahedeen from the CIA coincided with a boom in the drug business. Within two years, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was the world’s single largest source of heroin, supplying 60% of US drug users.

In 1995, the former director of the CIA’s operation in Afghanistan was unrepentant about the explosion in the flow of drugs: “Our main mission was to do as much damage as possible to the Soviets… There was a fall out in terms of drugs, yes. But the main objective was accomplished. The Soviets left Afghanistan.”

Made in the USA

According to Ahmed Rashid, a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, in 1986 CIA Chief William Casey committed CIA support to a long-standing ISI proposal to recruit from around the world to join the Afghan jihad. At least 100,000 Islamic militants flocked to Pakistan between 1982 and 1992 (some 60,000 attended fundamentalist schools in Pakistan without necessarily taking part in the fighting).

John Cooley, a former journalist with the US ABC television network and author of Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism, has revealed that Muslims recruited in the US for the mujahidin were sent to Camp Peary, the CIA’s spy training camp in Virginia, where young Afghans, Arabs from Egypt and Jordan, and even some African-American “black Muslims” were taught “sabotage skills”.

The November 1, 1998, British Independent reported that one of those charged with the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Ali Mohammed, had trained “bin Laden’s operatives” in 1989.

These “operatives” were recruited at the al Kifah Refugee Centre in Brooklyn, New York, given paramilitary training in the New York area and then sent to Afghanistan with US assistance to join Hekmatyar’s forces. Mohammed was a member of the US army’s elite Green Berets.

The program, reported the Independent, was part of a Washington-approved plan called “Operation Cyclone”.

In Pakistan, recruits, money and equipment were distributed to the mujahedeen factions by an organisation known as Maktab al Khidamar (Office of Services — MAK).

MAK was a front for Pakistan’s CIA, the Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate. The ISI was the first recipient of the vast bulk of CIA and Saudi Arabian covert assistance for the Afghan contras. Bin Laden was one of three people who ran MAK. In 1989, he took overall charge of MAK.

Among those trained by Mohammed were El Sayyid Nosair, who was jailed in 1995 for killing Israeli rightist Rabbi Meir Kahane and plotting with others to bomb New York landmarks, including the World Trade Center in 1993.

The Independent also suggested that Shiekh Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian religious leader also jailed for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, was also part of Operation Cyclone. He entered the US in 1990 with the CIA’s approval. A confidential CIA report concluded that the agency was “partly culpable” for the 1993 World Trade Center blast, the Independent reported.

Bin Laden

Osama bin Laden, one of 20 sons of a billionaire construction magnate, arrived in Afghanistan to join the jihad in 1980. An austere religious fanatic and business tycoon, bin Laden specialised in recruiting, financing and training the estimated 35,000 non-Afghan mercenaries who joined the mujahidin.

The bin Laden family is a prominent pillar of the Saudi Arabian ruling class, with close personal, financial and political ties to that country’s pro-US royal family.

Bin Laden senior was appointed Saudi Arabia’s minister of public works as a favour by King Faisal. The new minister awarded his own construction companies lucrative contracts to rebuild Islam’s holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina. In the process, the bin Laden family company in 1966 became the world’s largest private construction company.

Osama bin Laden’s father died in 1968. Until 1994, he had access to the dividends from this ill-gotten business empire.

(Bin Laden junior’s oft-quoted personal fortune of US$200-300 million has been arrived at by the US State Department by dividing today’s value of the bin Laden family net worth — estimated to be US$5 billion — by the number of bin Laden senior’s sons. A fact rarely mentioned is that in 1994 the bin Laden family disowned Osama and took control of his share.)

Osama’s military and business adventures in Afghanistan had the blessing of the bin Laden dynasty and the reactionary Saudi Arabian regime. His close working relationship with MAK also meant that the CIA was fully aware of his activities.

Milt Bearden, the CIA’s station chief in Pakistan from 1986 to 1989, admitted to the January 24, 2000, New Yorker that while he never personally met bin Laden, “Did I know that he was out there? Yes, I did … [Guys like] bin Laden were bringing $20-$25 million a month from other Saudis and Gulf Arabs to underwrite the war. And that is a lot of money. It’s an extra $200-$300 million a year. And this is what bin Laden did.”

In 1986, bin Laden brought heavy construction equipment from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan. Using his extensive knowledge of construction techniques (he has a degree in civil engineering), he built “training camps”, some dug deep into the sides of mountains, and built roads to reach them.

These camps, now dubbed “terrorist universities” by Washington, were built in collaboration with the ISI and the CIA. The Afghan contra fighters, including the tens of thousands of mercenaries recruited and paid for by bin Laden, were armed by the CIA. Pakistan, the US and Britain provided military trainers.

Tom Carew, a former British SAS soldier who secretly fought for the mujahedeen told the August 13, 2000, British Observer, “The Americans were keen to teach the Afghans the techniques of urban terrorism — car bombing and so on — so that they could strike at the Russians in major towns … Many of them are now using their knowledge and expertise to wage war on everything they hate.”

Al Qaeda (the Base), bin Laden’s organisation, was established in 1987-88 to run the camps and other business enterprises. It is a tightly-run capitalist holding company — albeit one that integrates the operations of a mercenary force and related logistical services with “legitimate” business operations.

Bin Laden has simply continued to do the job he was asked to do in Afghanistan during the 1980s — fund, feed and train mercenaries. All that has changed is his primary customer. Then it was the ISI and, behind the scenes, the CIA. Today, his services are utilised primarily by the reactionary Taliban regime.

Bin Laden only became a “terrorist” in US eyes when he fell out with the Saudi royal family over its decision to allow more than 540,000 US troops to be stationed on Saudi soil following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

When thousands of US troops remained in Saudi Arabia after the end of the Gulf War, bin Laden’s anger turned to outright opposition. He declared that Saudi Arabia and other regimes — such as Egypt — in the Middle East were puppets of the US, just as the PDPA government of Afghanistan had been a puppet of the Soviet Union.

He called for the overthrow of these client regimes and declared it the duty of all Muslims to drive the US out of the Gulf States. In 1994, he was stripped of his Saudi citizenship and forced to leave the country. His assets there were frozen.

After a period in Sudan, he returned to Afghanistan in May 1996. He refurbished the camps he had helped build during the Afghan war and offered the facilities and services — and thousands of his mercenaries — to the Taliban, which took power that September.

Today, bin Laden’s private army of non-Afghan religious fanatics is a key prop of the Taliban regime.

Prior to the devastating September 11 attack on the twin towers of World Trade Center, US ruling-class figures remained unrepentant about the consequences of their dirty deals with the likes of bin Laden, Hekmatyar and the Taliban. Since the awful attack, they have been downright hypocritical.

In an August 28, 1998, report posted on MSNBC, Michael Moran quotes Senator Orrin Hatch, who was a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee which approved US dealings with the mujahedeen, as saying he would make “the same call again”, even knowing what bin Laden would become.

“It was worth it. Those were very important, pivotal matters that played an important role in the downfall of the Soviet Union.”

Hatch today is one of the most gung-ho voices demanding military retaliation.

Another face that has appeared repeatedly on television screens since the attack has been Vincent Cannistrano, described as a former CIA chief of “counter-terrorism operations”.

Cannistrano is certainly an expert on terrorists like bin Laden, because he directed their “work”. He was in charge of the CIA-backed Nicaraguan contras during the early 1980s. In 1984, he became the supervisor of covert aid to the Afghan mujahedeen for the US National Security Council.

The last word goes to Zbigniew Brzezinski: “What was more important in the world view of history? The Taliban or the fall of the Soviet Empire? A few stirred up Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War?”

Conclusion

A moment’s thought would show that any invasion that replaced the Taliban with a western puppet in Kabul would merely restore the Taliban as champions of Afghan sovereignty. The Americans sponsored them to be just such a puppet in the 1980s, funding some 60,000 foreign mercenaries to join them against the Russians. Intervention reaps what it sows.

Americans don’t want to acknowledge their mistakes but this is realty that [currently] Americans have made Taliban look like illegitimate child.  It was the Pakistani ISI with the blessing of CIA, who brainwashed Taliban when they were small kids living in the Tents in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, next to Afghanistan. They taught them to hate Russians. They taught them to fight, and they didn’t teach them anything else. Then they were just children growing up in Pakistan. And they are the ones who made them very religious and they are the ones who made them terrorists. They are the ones to teach them kill people and they did not teach them anything else.

Now America is savagely killing her own made Taliban without any mercy as they are non living things. These killings comprised of Taliban and a large number of Pakistani and Afghani civilians.

America has spread the circle of its drone attacks to Pakistan Administered Tribal Areas in the doubt of Taliban hideouts. Resulting a heavy loss of civilian lives consisting of innocent women and children while no or few Taliban causalities. The remaining members of these ill-fated families bearing fire of revenge in their hearts became suicide bombers. These suicide bobbers commonly known as terrorists, attack Pakistani forces and civilians causing heavy loss of life and property. Pakistan is paying an unbearable price for killing her own people (American made Taliban) in the so called War against Terror. America has injected terrorism in the form of Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan in an effort to defeat Russia. Now this jinni of Aladdin (Taliban) is out of the lamp while American and Pakistani forces are not capable enough to put this jinni back into the lamp. If military operations against Taliban succeeded in restoring law and order in the region it would not be durable. Dialogue and a policy of tolerance is the only way to win the hearts of these Pukhtoons, otherwise the history showed us that they are born fighters and no military might is capable to subdue them. In the light of all historical facts I come to this conclusion that Israel, Russia and America are equally responsible of recent wave of terrorism which has engulfed the major portion of Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan. If American policy makers don’t react on time then these acts of terrorism can happen any where around the globe!!

Notes

^ Death Tolls for the Major Wars …  Kaplan, Soldiers of God (2001) (p.11)  Hilali, A. (2005). US-Pakistan relationship: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co. (p.198)  Kaplan, Soldiers of God (2001) p.188  ”MINES PUT AFGHANS IN PERIL ON RETURN,” By ROBERT PEAR, New York Times, Aug 14, 1988. p. 9 (1 page)  Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta, H. (2002). Children of War: The Real Causalities of Afghan conflict. Ferozesons, Lahore, December 11, 2007,(p.89)  Hauner, M. (1989). Afghanistan and the Soviet Union: Collision and transformation. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. (p.40)  Barakat, S. (2004). Reconstructing war-torn societies: Afghanistan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (p.5)  Barakat, S. (2004). Reconstructing war-torn societies: Afghanistan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (p.7)

10.   Panetta L. (2002) Collateral Damage and the uncertainty of Afghanistan. Daily Dawn Karachi August 17, 2002.

11.   Kirby, A. (2003). War ‘has ruined Afghan environment.’  National Journal of Environment, Fall 2007edition,(p.75)

12.  Hauner, M. (1989). Afghanistan and the Soviet Union: Collision and transformation. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. (p.51)

The history of the Jews is quite long and its origin is gotten from Abraham and the Hebrews. Some of the practices that are carried out by the Jews today came as a result of the covenants that god made with people like Abraham and Moses. The history entails the covenant between Abraham and god, the covenant between god and Moses in Mount Sinai, conquest of the Canaan and the judges, etc. The prophet Samuel and the kings Saul, David, and Solomon also form the history of the Jewish religion. In the history of the Jewish religion are the destruction of the temple and the fall of Rome. The sufferings that the Jews endured in the early Middle Ages form the greatest contributions to the history of the Jewish religion. The harsh times in Europe and Germany that led to the immigration of the Jews especially to the United States led to the high population of the Jews in the United States. The crusades led to the loss of lives by the Jews in large masses and all the mistreatments that the Jews endured were blamed on the Jews themselves. The festivals and the practices that the Jews in the early days practiced form the practices that the Jews practice up to date.

Introduction

The history of the Jews religion entails the faith of the Jews and their culture.  Judaism is basically the beliefs and practices that the Jews practice. It is one of the oldest religions that remain and are still being practiced up to date. Judaism mainly explains the relationship that existed between God and the children of Israel. A Jewish is any individual whose mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. in that line were of the religion of the Jewish. Also if an individual was converted to Judaism in a way that is accepted by the Israeli authorities, he or she and all his or her children qualify to be Jewish. The Jews religion has its roots back from the covenant between god and Abraham. The Jews believe in the existence of one God who provides for and maintains the Jews. The Jewish religion is also regarded as a waiting religion as its followers still wait for the coming of the messiah to liberate the world. The Jewish religion faced many resistances from the Christianity as it was being developed and very many Jews lost their lives in the process. The harsh conditions and severity that the Jews were exposed to in Europe led to the immigration of these Jews to many other parts of the world especially in the Europe in search of refuge. This paper will seek to explain the historical and religious context of Judaism and the biblical Jewish history up to today.

Historical and Religious Context

The history of the Jewish religion has its way back from the creation of mankind. Abraham and the Hebrews make the greatest contributions to the origin of the Jewish religion. Abraham used to live in north Mesopotamia but one time God commanded him to leave his homeland for Canaan a foreign land. The obedience of Abraham to his God is seen here when he leaves his own land for a place that he doesn’t know. The Hebrews also spent some time in Egypt where they were mistreated and served as slaves to the Egyptians under the reign of Pharaoh before returning to Canaan. Most of the Hebrew people were farmers and seminomadic herdsmen who were organized in small tribes. In their culture, there existed messengers, the literature of the Egyptian hymns and wisdom, the literature of the Canaanite language and methodology, Mesopotamian primitive history, etc. All the cultures of the Jews believed in the existence of a God who was the creator and the preserver. There also existed religious rituals and ethics that the Jews practiced with seasons.

Abraham and the Patriarchs

The bible begins with the book of genesis and this book recognizes the existence of an all-powerful God who creates the world in six days and rests the seventh day. The human being by the name Adam is the only creature created the sixth day and is created in the God’s own image and likeness. From the book of genesis to the book of chronicle, human beings sin against god several times until a time comes when god decides to punish the human kind using a flood. The only person who survived the flood was Noah and his family. After the blood, god made a covenant with Noah that he will never again destroy the world with water (John, 1).Abraham is believed to be the founder of the Jewish community. He didn’t discover god but he was called by the same God and a covenant between god and Abraham is made where Abraham is promised many descendants. Scholars have recently identified some differences between Abraham’s and the patriarchs’ religion and Moses’ religion. Abraham is seen to refer to god in generic terms other than in specific terms and the issue of idolatry in the religion of Moses is completely absent in the religion of Abraham. In the Abraham and the patriarchs’ religion, there was the belief that sacrifices and prayer was very essentials for the enhancement of the relationship between god and the people (Charles, & Jeremiah, 236). The prayers were offered in specific places such as a stone pillar, sacred tree, or a sacred alter. When Abraham made a covenant with God, there was a mark of circumcision which the community adopted and all male children in the community were to undergo it. Up to the present day, all male children undergo circumcision on the eighth day in the synagogues.

The Journey from Egypt to Sinai and the Covenant to Moses

The Hebrew tribes served as slaves in Egypt where they moved when a famine struck their region in Canaan. They cried to God to deliver them from the oppression that was being carried out on them. God called Moses and gave him the assignment to deliver his people from the land of oppression to the Promised Land. When Moses reached Egypt, the then king refused to release the Israelites but God had heard the cries and prayers of his people and infected the Egyptians with plagues which gave the king no options other than releasing the Israelites. When the Israelites left Egypt, the king ordered his army to follow them and when reached the red sea, God drowned all the army so that the Hebrews could escape (Stephen, 236).It took the Israelites a journey of about forty years to get to the Promised Land. The Jews at one blamed Moses of taking them to the wilderness so that they could die of hunger but along the journey, god provided the Hebrews with free food and water. When they reached Mount Sinai, Moses left them at the foot of the mountain and climbed the mountain to receive the commandments. Here, God the terms of the covenant between God and the Israelites was established and the Israel was established as God’s own nation. Through the forty years journey, God remained loyal tom the Israelites even when they turned to worship idols and blamed Moses for the hunger that they experienced. Moses emerged as a conqueror though he had refused the call when he was first told of his mission by God. He emerged as a great leader in religious matters, political issues, legislative issues, and military issues. In Mount Sinai, god gave Moses the Ten Commandments that were supposed to guide the Israelites in their day to day lives (Louis, 346). When Moses came back from the mountain, he found the Israelites worshipping idols and as a result of the anger that struck him, he dropped the commandments and they broke into pieces. The contents of the covenant included the loyalty that the Israelites needed to observe on god who saved them from bondage in Egypt, the prohibition of the worship of idols, and it also contained festivals and rituals that the Israelites needed to observe as a celebration of God’s provision to them (John, 1).

Conquest of Canaan and the Judges

When the Israelites reached their promised land, some leaders were appointed for them and these leaders were known as judges. Unfortunately, this period was dominated by the worship of idols and apostasy which the covenant between god and the Israelites was totally against. However, many alters were constructed for the God of Israel where the Israelites were supposed to make sacrifices and worship this God. Many priests were also appointed especially from the society of Levites and these Levites conducted sacrifices at the temples that were constructed for the God of Israel (John, 1).A house was also constructed for the Ark of the Covenant where this Ark of the Covenant was given maximum protection. Priest from the family of Eli acted as the staff members of this house that was constructed at the Shiloh Sanctuary.

Saul, David, and Solomon

Even after reaching the Promised Land, the Israelites still had enemies and thus a way of defending their community against these enemies was necessary. The solution turned out to be an authority that was centralized and an army that was organized so that they could give the right approach to dealing with external enemies. The Israelites had an option of taking God’s given way to protect the Israelites and another option of rejecting God’s kingship. Prophet Samuel appointed the first king of Israel. When Saul defeated the Ammonites, he was appointed the first king and he ruled the community of the Israelites from a small town called Gibeah which was to the north of Jerusalem. During the reign of Saul, many conflicts arose between him and the then prophet Prophet Samuel who had many powers over the kingship. Saul was succeeded by King David whose reign helped solve the differences that existed between Saul and the prophet Samuel. David combined both the political and religious authority to his house and the descendants and all other kings were to rule from Jerusalem (John, 1).Solomon the son of David succeeded his father at a very early age. David selected Solomon regardless of having other elder sons who had expected to succeed him. Solomon acted as king of Israel for about forty years and during this period, the monarchy of the Hebrews got the highest appraisal. Solomon’s kingship was very prosperous especially during the first half of his reign. Solomon was the person who was to build a temple for the God of the Israelites. In the second half of his leadership, idolatries dominated which resulted from his intermarriages. The bible says that Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh form Egypt leading to a relation between the Israelites and their enemies-the Egyptians.

Divided Monarchy and the Exile

When Solomon’s role came to an end, the nation split into the northern kingdom known as Israel and the southern kingdom known as Judah. The northern kingdom was under the rule of the Assyrian ruler Shalmaneser while the southern region was under the rule of the Babylonian army. The Israelites split into smaller political-religious groups among them the Pharisees and the Sadducees (John, 1).

Destruction of the Temple

A number of reasons led to the development of the kingdom the Seleucid. Among them was the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great, the death of Alexander that Great, and the division of the empire of Alexander by the generals that he left. The relationship between the religious Jews and the Hellenized Jews kept on deteriorating and this led to the then king of Seleucid banning some Jewish religious traditions and rites. As a result of the bans, the orthodox Jews protested under the leadership of the Maccabees. The result of the revolution was the formation of the Hasmonaean Dynasty which was an independent Jewish religion (John, 1).A civil war led to the disintegration of the Hasmonaean Dynasty. Some people didn’t want to be led by the kings but by some theocratic clergy and these people sent their requests to the roman authorities. Judea was established as an independent roman kingdom at first but it later turned to be a brutal kingdom and really mistreated the Judean subjects. Many Judeans came out in lime light revolting against the leadership of the roman rulers of Judea. The roman emperors defeated the Judeans and much of the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and most of the artifacts that were preserved in the temple including the menorah were also stolen. After the defeat, the members of the Judean community continued to live in their former land and were also allowed to practice some of their religious rites and practices. For a long period of time the Jews were not allowed to enter to the town of Jerusalem. However, during the seventh century when the Persians were reconstructing the destroyed city, many Jews were living in the same town regardless of the ban (John, 1).The roman rule was changed to integrate other issues such as preserving tradition in a better situation, combining with the Greek society and thought, etc. People from different regions could now live peacefully with each other regardless of their tribal groups.

The fall of Rome

A number of laws were passed by the eastern Roman Empire that took away all civil rights of any individuals who were unbelievers. The existence of such unbelievers was also complicated by the passed laws and most the unbelievers had no other options than running away to rescue their lives. When they were denied their civil rights, meant that most of their freedoms were curtailed and they lived like prisoners. The Jews really suffered in the hands of the iconoclastic emperors who were believed to be heretic with some Jews tendencies. In a bid to try and fight for their lives, the Jews found themselves in some very remote states which were being established such as the Slavs and the Tatars. Here, they found protection and refuge and they could now live their lives though in some foreign land. The East-Roman Empire grew stronger and stronger and the relationship between them and their neighbors continued to enhance (John, 1).Contrary, the Western Roman Empire grew weaker and weaker and the always feel victims of the barbarians. The Jews continued to peacefully practice their faith and they didn’t have any trouble in their lives.

The Early middle Ages

During the early days, the church laws didn’t recognize the non-believers as humans and their humanity was regarded with much discrimination. In the beginning of the ninth century, the church came up with some laws that clearly addressed the issue of the believers and their treatment to the non-believers. Earlier, the believers and the Jews could not interact in any way and this helped create a gap between the two religions that proved very hard to bridge. The hard time that the church experienced in conducting its financial operations led to the integration of the Jews in their believers circle. The church could only get some money through borrowed loan that was to be returned with some interest and this loan could only be found from people of different faiths. These experiences of the church led to the rapid acquirement of influence by the Jews. Any pleasures by the Jews were to be from their homes or in their own circles. Also, the only way they could acquire some knowledge was through their own compositions and their literature. However, the Jews made all the necessary sacrifices and were completely devoted with all their nature and strength to the success of their literature (John, 1).The Jews from the western region really experienced hard conditions which depended on the ever changing political conditions. Those Jews who were in Italy during the war wagged by Rugii experienced many dark days. Here, they experienced the hard time since the roman emperors laws were greatly observed and administered. The laws of the emperors could not tolerate the practices of the Jews unlike the catholic faith where the Jews made some influences. In some places like the Pyrenean peninsula, the Jews had lived peacefully in large numbers and for many years. The Jews also enjoyed the peace when the same land was occupied by the Alani, Suevi, Visigoths, and the Vandals. However, the peace condition came to an abrupt end when the kings of Visigothic picked on Catholicism and wanted to convert all their citizens to one faith. The Jews first persevered and accepted the faith hoping that the severe conditions were to remain for a short moment. Some of them were baptized by force so that they could be allowed to remain in the region. Later, the Visigothic insisted that even those who were baptized by force had no option than to remain true to the Christian faith.

Later, the Jews conquered peninsula and they welcomed the Arabs to the land. For the Jews who had been completely converted and they wished to keep the faith of the Christian religion, the church offered maximum protection to them and protected them from compulsory conversion. The pope once wanted to protect his kingdom and the temporal power and he called for the support of the Carolingians but there was no change in the policy of conversion. Charlemagne used the church in bringing together the elements of his kingdom that had fallen apart and he also used the church in transforming the Old Roman Empire into a Christian empire (John, 1).He also united all the German races that were there during his reign and helped them to settle. When he died, most of the restrictions in the church were not observed and the non-believers were greatly mistreated.

The Crusades

The Jews endured many trials and hard times while in different kingdoms which practiced Christianity and these were just some indications of the hard times that befell them during the time of the crusades. During the crusades, the peaceful Jews experienced real torture in the hands of those who claimed to be believers. The believers had no room for anyone who was not a member of their religion. The rights to worship didn’t exist by then and this led to the great suffering by the Jews. The first crusade of 1096 resulted to the destruction of all the Jewish communities that flourished in Rhine and Danube (John, 1).The second crusade took place in 1147 where Philip Augustus treated the Jews in France with extra severity. The third crusade of 1188 greatly affected the English Jews. Many trials took place in England and the end result was a ban for any Jew to be seen in England. After about three hundred and sixty five years the Jews were allowed to settle in the British Isles. The Jews also experienced other attacks and were greatly oppressed by the shepherd’s crusades of 1251 and 1320.

Persecution and Blood Libel

All the deeds that were conducted on the Jews were justified in the crimes laid against them. The Jewish were seen as being responsible for all the crime that was imputed to them all the years that they underwent the mistreatment. The Jews were also falsely accused of dishonoring the host which the believers believed to be representing the body of Christ. All the calamities that took place in this period were attached to the Jews and it was believed that were it not for them, there could have been great peace among the religions. The plundering raids of the Mongols were also laid on them. The Jews were also accused of poisoning the wells when the Black Death killed so many individuals in Europe. This was an invention meant to show how the Jewish were miserable. There existed only one court that claimed to be a protector to the Jewish and this was the Roman emperor of the German nation (John, 1).The emperor claimed that the Jews had the right to posses property and to be protected by the laws like any other individuals. The emperor could now present the Jews and all their property to cities or to princes. The court could now fight for the rights of the Jews and the greed, distrust, and envy that existed between communities could now be reduced. Also the undeserved suffering that the Jews went through could now be addressed and the innocent Jews could now escape prosecution. The court proceedings if well carried out could lead to the participation of different members of the community in communal work, help people leave like members of one family, and help reducing the harsh conditions that the Jewish were going through in the hands of the believers.

Expulsions

In all the countries in the western where Christianity was practiced, a gloomy of the Jews was portrayed and the Jews were viewed as the source of all evil. Many Jews were sent out of different places at different times. In 1290, almost all the Jews who resided in England were sent away, others were sent out of France in 1394. Also between 1350 and 1450, many Jews were sent out of large districts in Italy and Germany. These Jews who were driven out of the different places fled in different directions in search of peace and refuge (John, 1). They were looking for places where they could be tolerated and their faith could be respected. Most of them preferred the newly formed Slavic kingdoms. In the new Slavic kingdoms, their practices could be tolerated and many confessions were still tolerated. The rulers in these kingdoms made it possible for the Jews to enjoy true refuge and for a long time the Jews experienced great prosperity. The study of Talmud was very vigorous here and the Jews could now practice their faith without fear. The Jews learnt the language of the Germans and many of their customs and practices. However, they didn’t abolish their religion but continued to practice their faith. Up to date, the Jews practice the German customs that they learnt in the Slavic environment and they speak the German language whole heartedly. Also under Muslim rule especially in Pyrenean peninsula, the Jews received some good treatment where they were allowed to practice their faith with the required freedom

The efforts of the Jews to resist Christianity were faced with difficulties and although they made some advances, they couldn’t offer the real resistance to Christianity. The force of Christianity had advanced so much that the Jews efforts couldn’t have made great impact. The Arabic culture had greatly declined especially following the fall of the political power and the transformation of the Jews to the western cultures (John, 1).Most of the Jews who lived in the southern part o France and those who lived in the northern parts of Spain had accepted the western culture and this really weakened the Arabic culture. The Jews from Spain studied secular sciences with great vigor and eagerness to learn them just as they did with the bible and Talmud.

As the Jews continued to practice their faith, the church grew rapidly and with vigor to an extent that the Jews could no longer practice their faith with the full freedom. The church leaders were determined to transform all these Jews to the Christianity faith and they did all that they could to win them. The first step by the church to win these people was by offering religious writings to them and by religious disruptions on them. The attempt by the church to use writings and religious disruptions to weaken the Jewish faith did not prove very successful and due to the determination that the church had in weakening them, another option had to be adapted. This time round, the church made it really hard for the Jews to practice their civil rights. Many restrictions were made to the extent that the Jews were now completely separated from the Christians and they were to live in different parts in the cities (John, 1).Again, the Jews were required to wear some very embarrassing badges on their clothing. This led to great mistreatment of the Jews by their fellow citizens.

The Jews also became victims of hatred and scorn by their fellow citizens. Life for the Jews became harder and harder and in 1391, thirty thousands Jews were killed in Seville by a mob by the name the fanatical mob. In a bid to try and run for their lives, many Jews had no options other than to run for refuge in baptism. The Jews who were baptized however continued to practice their father’s faiths in secret. A severe interrogation was conducted where the rights and privacy of these Jews were greatly violated. This led to the discovery that some of the Jews who had been baptized still continued to practice their faith and were thus pretenders and not true Christians. Severe punishments were conducted on those who were discovered as being pretenders were taken to prison, tortured by the prison staff, and burnt to death (John, 1).This project continued for many years and was aimed at ensuring that there were no more unbelievers in Spain. In 1492, hundreds of thousands of the Jews were forced to leave Spain where they had spent their lives for over one thousand and five hundred years. After their departure from Spain, most of these Jews fled to Balkan Peninsula for refuge and here they enjoyed some peace. They also got an opportunity to practice the faith of their fathers without restrictions. Up to date, these exiles that were forced out of Spain still preserve the language that they learnt in Spain and surprisingly, these Jews in this land speak the Spanish language as their mother tongue.

The Enlightenment and Haskalah
During the revival period, a lot of learning and negotiations took place. Significant changes were especially found within the Jewish community. The enlightment was paralleled by the Haskalah movement where the Jews actively participated in seeing to it that the restrictive laws that were applied on then were abolished. These laws gave the Christian authorities total control over the Jews and this denied the Jews most of their civil rights. The movement also demanded that the Jews be integrated in the wider European community. The Jews students who attended classes got a chance to receive scientific and secular education in addition to the traditional religious education. Many Jews also got the opportunity to identify themselves with the Jewish religion as a result of the revival that took place in the study of the Jewish history (John, 1).Conservative movements and reform movements were born through the Haskalah and they all fought together in reviving the Jewish religion.  These movements also pushed for the assimilation of the Jewish culture in all the countries that the Jews lived. The process of reviving the Jewish religion wasn’t very smooth especially when some other movements started sprouting that preached completely the opposite of the Haskalah movement. The resistance amongst these movements led to the present divisions in the Jewish observance.
As numerous changes took place within the Jewish community, the outside world also experience equally important changes. The prosecution of the Jews had not been completely wiped in some European countries and in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, several hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed. The napoleon law by napoleon offered the Jewish refuge in regard to equality. Those Jews who used to live the Jewish ghettos in Europe were invited by napoleon to leave these ghettos for the newly created political regimes that were more tolerant to the Jewish religion (John, 1).Many Jews migrated to the United States form Europe due to the existence of economic and social opportunities in the United States. Here they formed a large community that was free from the restrictions that the Jews used to experience in Europe.
The Jews in the United States
The existence of the Jews in the United States dates back to the seventeenth century. However, the number of Jews in the United States by the seventeenth century was very small. The first Jews to settle in the United States were shepherds from Spain and Portugal. In the nineteenth century, many Jews arrived in the United States from Germany and here, the Jews became merchants and shop owners. Most of the Jews that migrated to the United States did it due to the discrimination and prosecution that took place in countries such as Germany, Europe, etc. (John, 1).The severity of the mistreatment of many Jews in the United States in regard to their religion was less and thus most of them opted to run to the United States for refuge. In the early twentieth century, many Muslims arrived in the New York City and built several synagogues. The holocaust in Europe led to immigration of the Jews to the United States in large numbers such that the United States became the largest home of the Jews (Israel, 40).
Napoleon and the Jews
Napoleon made great contributions to the liberation of the Jews of the Western Europe (John, 1). The civil code helped the Jews against discrimination from other communities and the severity that was put on them as a result of their religion. Napoleon decided to offer to the Jews, freemasons, and Protestants liberty, fraternity, and equality (Joseph, 52). Some churches that had been closed for years were also opened during his regime. The code was supposed to offer the freedom of worship to all regardless of ones cultural and ethnic background. Napoleon also said that the state was to pay the salaries of the priests to these communities. His mission to liberate the Jews began when he was in Ancona and some people passed around him wearing some yellow bonnets and arm bands. Napoleon was amazed and immediately asked his officers why these people wore the bonnets and the arm bands. The officers told him that these people were Jews and the bonnets and the arm bands were used to identify them so that in the evening, they could return to the ghettos. Napoleon ordered that the Jews remove the yellow bonnets and arm bands with immediate effect. Napoleon also ordered the closing of the ghetto and he said that the Jews should be allowed to live wherever they wanted to live and should also practice their religion with full freedom. Napoleon made rules that addressed the way that the businesses and credit by the Jews were to be conducted. Earlier, the Christians were not allowed by the laws to practice usury. In effect, an assembly of Jewish notables was appointed that was to represent the Jews community in the process of bringing the Jews over to his policies. All the debts that were owed to the Jews were annulled.
The Holocaust
The prejudice against the Jews due their ethnic and cultural background continued in Europe even in the 1920s and the 1930s. Adolf Hitler was one of the anti-fanatics who could not change their mind regarding the treatment given to the Jews. In Germany, the case was even harder. Back in 1933 the then Nazis organized a boycott that was to protest against all the businesses owned by the Jews in Germany (Max & Gustav, 23).This was a one day boycott aimed at eliminating all Jews from active businesses. This mission was accomplished in 1939 when all the remaining small enterprises in Germany were closed in Germany. In almost all the cities where the Jews resided, they were concentrated in a very small region and were separated from the rest of the members of the cities.
During the First World War, the Nazis in Germany formalized all the borders and restricted the movement of the Jews within the different areas. Also, some ghettos were created for the Jews and the Jews were required to be confined within these ghettos and could not live in other regions within the city. These ghettos were even worse than prisons because after a short period of time, the Jews who resided in these ghettos died of hunger and disease. Executions continued where the Nazis and their collaborators executed these Jews. Concentration camps were identified in Germany itself where many Jews lost their lives and others experienced the worst conditions that the human rights cannot tolerate today (George, 2009).
Mass killings of the Jews that lived in the soviet territory took place during the invasion of the Soviet Union. All the communities that lived in the region were thrown out of the region, robbed off all their property, and shot at the edge of the ditches. In the year 1941, Hitler made a decision to kill in mass all the Jews that existed in Europe and completely eliminate their existence. In 1942 however, several Nazis met to discuss the issue of the Jews and come with a final solution of the Jewish question. The general government came up with a plan to deport all the Jews that occupied the ghettos and the territories that were greatly concentrated. The Jews were to be taken to the extermination camps also known as the Vernichtungslager. These seven extermination camps included: Belzec, Auschwitz, Chelmno, Maly, Majdanek, Sobibor, Trostenets, and TreblinkaII (George, 2009).
Holocaust Aftermath and the State of Israel
Jews were killed in large numbers during the German Nazis regime between 1941 and 1945. Millions of refugees were left homeless by the holocaust and its aftermath. Most the refugees that were left homeless were the Jews amongst who had lost almost all if not all of their family members and possessions (John, 1).These Jews also faced persistent rejection in their home countries due to their ethnic and cultural background. The Jews were still interested in finding a place where they could live freely without discrimination and restrictions. In their efforts, most of them found themselves joining the Zionist movement. The Zionists argued that the Jews refugees who lived in Germany and the Nazi had been abandoned by other countries and this led to the mass killing that took place on those Jews that resided here. In fact, they argued that if there was a Jews state during this period, the extent of the holocaust couldn’t have been as severe as it was. Zionism grew rapidly and a post-holocaust displacement strategy was adapted that led to the immigration of many Jews to the land that is currently known as the state of Israel.

Judaism today

Geography

The Jews today are spread all over the world. However most of the Jews communities are today found in the USA with an approximate population of about 5.7 million people. Most of them came to the United States from Spain where they were being killed for the culture. Also anti-Semitism and the prosecution of the Jews in Europe contributed to the immigration to the United States (John, 1).Most of the Jews came to the United States in the nineteenth century and they built synagogues for their God. Many Jews are also found in Western Europe and the Western Europe. The African continent hosts between two hundred thousands and three thousands Jews. The Jews exist in many communities but most of the Jews belong to the communities of the Israel and Palestine. Many Jews live in states where there are different other communities except Israel which is a Jewish state (Mary, 47). Most parts of North Africa and the Middle East were previously homes of the Jews but when Israel was established, many of the Jews immigrated to this state. However, some countries like Iran, morocco, and turkey also have some notable number of Jews. When king Shalmaneser deported some Jews to Kurdistan, some new traditions were developed by the Jews and the residents converted many Kurds to Judaism. Here, the equality of all people was observed and women now enjoyed much freedom. In fact, it is in this very land that the first female leader emerged.

The Goal of the Jewish Religion, Practices and Beliefs

The Jews still believe that the promised messiah hasn’t been sent. It is therefore a religion of waiting where they are waiting for the messiah who will come on earth to liberate them and also bring security and justice to the world (John, 1). Several changes have occurred in regard to the issue of the messiah and some Jews have accepted the messiah as a symbol and not somebody that will practically be sent to liberate them. However, a group of the Jews still believe that god will send them the messiah and they are still waiting for his coming. The Jews use the torah as their sacred and this greatly corresponds to the Christian’s Old Testament. The Talmud which was completed in the fifth century contains the oral law and the interpretations of the law.

The Jews celebrate many festivals and among them is the weekly Sabbath that is celebrated from the afternoon of Friday to Saturday afternoon (Raymond, 25). The different Muslim communities celebrate the Sabbath in the same way but strictness differs where some communities allow for secular activities to take place while others don’t. Many other festivals are celebrated once a year. Some of them include: Yom Kippur which is the Day of Atonement, Chanukah which corresponds to the Christian’s Christmas. Other festivals designate the time when the Jews were allowed to leave Egypt and their exodus. Others are celebrated once in a lifetime such as the circumcision of the boy child when it is eight days old. This acts as a remembrance of the covenant that god made to Abraham. Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah marks a time when the boys enter adulthood at the age of thirteen and the girls at the age of twelve respectively. The burial of a dead Jew takes place with immediate effect from hi death and the family starts Shiva which is a seven day mourning period.

The Jews religion has some regulations and prohibitions that mainly cover on food (John, 1). These rules are seen by other communities as being complex. For example, the Jews are not allowed to eat pork and shellfish which all other communities do. Eating these diets is a sin according to the Jews laws and it is prohibited. Concerning the slaughtering of animals, any animal should be killed by a Shehitah where the accepted method is cutting the throat of the animal and leaving the conscious animal to bleed to death. Some types of food such as milk and meat shouldn’t be kept together.

Since time immemorial, the Jews are supposed to pray at least three times every day which are performed in remembrance of the times that sacrifices were made in the temple in Jerusalem (John, 1). Shaharith is the name given to the Morning Prayer, Minhah designates the afternoon prayer, while Maarib is the evening prayer. The Jews up to date believe that everything in the world has its origin with God. The Jews are therefore required to recite some benedictions before they take on any events. The torah is divided into sections such that within a year, it is possible for the individuals to have gone through the torah. The rabbi leads the congregation in reading each section of the torah everyday and after the reading, a prayer session follows from the prayer book.

Organization

The congregation of the Jews is led by a rabbi who closely relates to the priest in Christianity. This leader in elected by the congregation and except in orthodox where a woman cannot assume the position of a rabbi, the rabbi can be either a man or a woman. Prayers are led by a trained individual by the name cantor during the services. Many activities take place in the synagogue which is a holy place for the Jews. Religious activities, religious services, and community activities take place in the synagogue (John, 1). The orthodox is very strict on the way that activities in the synagogue are conducted and even in the synagogues, women are not supposed to sit on the same side with men. The Jewish religion allows its members to perform some rituals in their homes as well. Some yearly festivals, Sabbath rituals, and the daily prayers can be performed at home.

Holy Places

There were some discontinuations in Judaism especially during the Diaspora which led to little development of some holy places by the Jews. Even up to today, the Jewish who live in the European countries still feel in exile. They have a mentality of migration and they still migrate to the places where the Jews exist in large numbers. The dominating holy place for the Jews is Jerusalem and this is mainly formed by the temple that was destroyed (John, 1). The western wall that remained after the destruction is referred to as the most holy place in the world (Helen, 240). Another significant holy place for the Jews is Hebron in Palestine where the remains of Abraham were buried. The place in Mount Sinai where the Jews and God made a covenant is also important to their faith. The oldest synagogue is found in Tunisia in Africa and is regarded as a holy place.

Conclusion

The history of the Jewish religion dates its way back to the time of Abraham. Abraham is regarded as the fore father of the Jewish religion and although he did not discover God himself, he was called by this very God and sent to a foreign land which he didn’t know. God made a covenant with Abraham and promised him many descendants. The mark of the covenant was circumcision which the Jewish religion practices up to date

When the Hebrews cried to God to liberate them from slavery in Egypt, God heard their cry and sent Moses to guide them to the Promised Land. A long journey that took them forty years was successful though there were complications on diseases and hunger. In Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with Moses whose contents included the loyalty that the Israelites needed to observe on god who saved them from bondage in Egypt, the prohibition of the worship of idols, and it also contained festivals and rituals that the Israelites needed to observe as a celebration of God’s provision to them. In Canaan, the Israelites were led by judges though the region was at the moment dominated by the worship of idols. The congregation made many alters which were regarded as the holy places for God where the Israelites could make sacrifices and worship this God who liberated them from slavery. The tribe of the Levites produced many kings and a house was built for the maintenance of the Ark of the Covenant.

When they reached the Promised Land, the Israelites requested for a king to help them conquer their enemies. Prophet Samuel appointed Saul as the first king of Israel. Saul was succeeded by King David whose reign helped solve the differences that existed between Saul and the prophet Samuel. . David combined both the political and religious authority to his house and the descendants and all other kings were to rule from Jerusalem. Solomon who was a young son of David succeeded his father at the age of eighteen. Solomon acted as king of Israel for about forty years and during this period, the monarchy of the Hebrews got the highest appraisal. During the half of his leadership, Solomon made great achievements but in the second half, dominated which resulted from his intermarriages. The worst happened when he married the daughter of the Egyptian king Pharaoh.

When Solomon’s role came to an end, the nation split into the northern kingdom known as Israel and the southern kingdom known as Judah. The leadership of the roman rulers of Judea led to the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem by the Romans when they defeated the Judeans. Most of the artifacts that were preserved in the temple including the menorah were also stolen. A number of laws were passed by the eastern Roman Empire that took away all civil rights of any individuals who were unbelievers. The existence of such unbelievers was also complicated by the passed laws and most the unbelievers had no other options than running away to rescue their lives.

The Jews experienced the harshest conditions in the early middle ages. This was as a result of the church laws that didn’t recognize the non-believers as humans and regarded their humanity with much discrimination. In Europe and Germany, many Jews lost their lives and those who remained had to immigrate to different regions where they could be rescued. During the time of the crusades the Jews were tortured and falsely accused and blamed for the sufferings that they endured. Today, the Jews are spread different parts of the world but the largest population is found in the United States. Most of the festivals that that were practiced by the Jews in the early days are still practiced today. A few holy places for the Jews also exist.

references

John, G. (2009), 1. History of Judaism-Religion facts. Retrieved from http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/history.htm on 07-August-2009.

Israel, S. (2000). Jewish History Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years. Pluto: Pluto press, 12-89.

Louis, J. (1995). The Jewish Religion: A Companion. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishers, 341-356.

Raymond, P. S. (2000). A Short History of the Jewish People. India: Karen. A Publishers, 23-26.

Stephen, C. R. (1993). A Jews Archive from Old Cairo. Israel:  Jewish Publication Societies, 231-245.

Max, N & Gustav, G. (1996). Zionism and Anti-Semitism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 23-34.

Mary, A. (1912). The Promised Land. Israel: National Yuddish Book Centre, 45-48.

Charles, F. K & Jeremiah, W. J. (1002). The Beginning of Israel History. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 231-237.

Helen, C. N. (2004). Israel: A Country Study. Washington: Federal Research Division. 238-243.

Joseph, S. L. (1996). Napoleon and His Rule. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 45-67.

The history of Judaism is inseparable from the history of Jews themselves. The early part of the story is told in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).

It describes how God chose the Jews to be an example to the world, and how God and his chosen people worked out their relationship.

It was a stormy relationship much of the time, and one of the fascinating things about Jewish history is to watch God changing and developing alongside his people.

The Bronze Age

Jewish history begins during the Bronze age in the Middle East.

The birth of the Jewish people and the start of Judaism is told in the first 5 books of the Bible.

God chose Abraham to be the father of a people who would be special to God, and who would be an example of good behaviour and holiness to the rest of the world.

God guided the Jewish people through many troubles, and at the time of Moses he gave them a set of rules by which they should live, including the Ten Commandments.

The birth of Judaism

This was the beginning of Judaism as a structured religion The Jews, under God’s guidance became a powerful people with kings such as Saul, David, and Solomon, who built the first great temple.

From then on Jewish worship was focussed on the Temple, as it contained the Ark of the Covenant, and was the only place where certain rites could be carried out.

The kingdom declines

Around 920 BCE, the kingdom fell apart, and the Jewish people split into groups.

This was the time of the prophets.

Around 600 BCE the temple was destroyed, and the Jewish leadership was killed.

Many Jews were sent into exile in Babylon. Although the Jews were soon allowed to return home, many stayed in exile, beginning the Jewish tradition of the Diaspora – living away from Israel.

Rebuilding a Jewish kingdom

The Jews grew in strength throughout the next 300 years BCE, despite their lands being ruled by foreign powers. At the same time they became more able to practice their faith freely, led by scribes and teachers who explained and interpreted the Bible.

In 175 BCE the King of Syria desecrated the temple and implemented a series of laws aiming to wipe out Judaism in favour of Zeus worship. There was a revolt (164 BCE) and the temple was restored.

The revolt is celebrated in the Jewish festival of Hannukah.

History of Judaism 63BCE-1086CE Roman Times

For a period the Jewish people governed themselves again and were at peace with the Roman Empire. But internal divisions weakened the Jewish kingdom and allowed the Romans to establish control in 63 BCE.

In the years that followed, the Jewish people were taxed and oppressed by a series of “puppet” rulers who neglected the practice of Judaism.

The priests or Sadducees were allied to the rulers and lost favour with the people, who turned increasingly to the Pharisees or Scribes. These were also known as Rabbis, meaning teachers.

Year 1: CE

What is nowadays called the ‘Current Era’ traditionally begins with the birth of a Jewish teacher called Jesus. His followers came to believe he was the promised Messiah and later split away from Judaism to found Christianity, a faith whose roots are firmly in Judaism.

1 CE – 70 CE: Rabbinic Judaism

The Rabbis encouraged the Jewish people to observe ethical laws in all aspects of life, and observe a cycle of prayer and festivals in the home and at synagogues.

This involved a major rethink of Jewish life. Although the Temple still stood, its unique place as the focus of Jewish prayer and practice was diminished. Many synagogues had been founded in Palestine and right around the Jewish Diaspora.

Great teaching academies were founded in the first century BCE with scholars discussing and debating God’s laws. The most well known of the early teachers were Hillel, and his contemporary Shammai.

70 – 200 CE: The destruction of the Temple

This was a period of great change – political, religious, cultural and social turmoil abounded in Palestine. The Jewish academies flourished but many Jews could not bear being ruled over by the Romans.

During the first 150 years CE the Jews twice rebelled against their Roman leaders, both rebellions were brutally put down, and were followed by stern restrictions on Jewish freedom.

The first revolt, in 70 CE, led to the destruction of the Temple. This brought to an end the temple worship and is still perceived by traditional Jews as the biggest trauma in Jewish history. It is marked by the fast day of Tisha B’av (meaning the ninth day of the month of Av).

A second revolt, in 132 CE, resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews, the enslaving of thousands of others, and the banning of Jews from Jerusalem

200 – 700 CE: The Mishna and Talmud

Between 200 and 700 CE Judaism developed rapidly.

Following the twin religious and political traumas, the academies moved to new centres both in Palestine and in the Diaspora. A sense of urgency had taken hold and it was considered vital to write down the teachings of the Rabbis so that Judaism could continue.

Around 200 CE, scholars compiled the Mishna, the collection of teachings, sayings and interpretations of the early Rabbis.

The academies continued their work and several generations of Rabbis followed. Their teachings were compiled in the Talmud which expands on the interpretations of the Mishna and established an all-encompassing guide to life.

The Talmud exists in two forms. The first was finalised around the 3rd century CE in Palestine, and the second and superior version was completed during the 5th century CE in Babylon.

During this period Jews were allowed to become Roman citizens, but later were forbidden to own Christian slaves or to marry Christians.

In 439 CE the Romans banned synagogue building, and barred Jews from official jobs.

The Golden Age — The Jews in Spain

The years either side of 1000 CE were the golden age of the Jews in Spain.

Co-existing happily with the country’s Islamic rulers the Jews developed a flourishing study of Science, Hebrew literature and the Talmud.

Despite an attempt to forcibly convert all Jews to Islam in 1086 CE, this golden age continued.

At around this time the first Jews are recorded in Britain.

History From 1090 to 1600 The Crusades

The next Millennium began with the Crusades, military operations by Christian countries to capture the Holy Land.

The armies of the first Crusade attacked Jewish communities on their way to Palestine, especially in Germany.

When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem they slaughtered and enslaved thousands of Jews as well as Muslims.

Following the example of the Romans earlier, they banned Jews from the city.

In Britain, the Jewish population increased, benefiting from the protection of Henry I.

The bad times return

The 1100s were a seriously bad period. Jews were driven from southern Spain by a Berber invasion. Serious anti-Jewish incidents began to occur in Europe:

in France Jews were accused of ritually murdering a child in England Jews were murdered while trying to give gifts to the King at Richard I’s coronation 150 Jews were massacred in York in 1215 the Catholic Church ordered Jews to live in segregated areas (ghettos) and to wear distinctive clothes. Expulsions

In England the Jews faced increasing restrictions during the Thirteenth Century, and in 1290 they were all expelled from England.

Shortly afterwards the Jews were expelled from France.

In 1478 the Jews in Spain suffered under the Spanish Inquisition, and in 1492 Jews were expelled from Spain altogether. The same thing happened in Portugal in 1497.

50 years later in Germany, Martin Luther (founder of Protestant Christianity) preached viciously against the Jews.

Scholarship, literature, and mysticism

But it wasn’t an entirely bad period for Judaism. Scholarship and literature flourished, with figures like Rambam, Luria, Levi ben Gershom, and Eleazar ben Judah.

The Jewish form of mysticism, known as Kabbalah reached new heights with the publication in Spain of the Book of Splendour, which influenced Jewish Spirituality for centuries.

History from 1650 to 1860s Jews return to Britain

This was a period of Jewish expansion.

Jews were allowed to return to England and their rights of citizenship steadily increased.

In 1760 the main representative organisation for British Jewry, The Board of Deputies of British Jews, was founded.

Jews were first recorded in America in 1648.

Hassidism

Poland and Central Europe saw the creation of a new Jewish movement of immense importance – Hassidism.

It followed the example of the Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760) who said that you didn’t have to be an ascetic to be holy; indeed he thought that the appropriate mood for worship was one of joy.

The movement included large amounts of Kabbalic mysticism as well, and the way it made holiness in every day life both intelligible and enjoyable, helped it achieve great popularity among ordinary Jews.

However it also led to divisions within Judaism, as many in the religious establishment were strongly against it.

In Lithuania in 1772 Hassidism was excommunicated, and Hassidic Jews were banned from marrying or doing business with other Jews.

Persecution in Central Europe

Towards the end of the 1700s Jews began to suffer persecution in central Europe, and in Russia they began to be restricted to living in a particular area of the country, called The Pale.

The birth of Reform Judaism

In the 19th Century another new movement appeared in Judaism.

This was Reform Judaism, which began in Germany and held that Jewish law and ritual should move with the times, and not be fixed.

It introduced many changes to worship, and customs, and grew rapidly into a strong movement. It continues to flourish in Europe and the USA.

Good news and bad news

As the 19th century continued many countries gradually withdrew restrictions on Jews—the UK allowed its Jewish citizens the same rights as others by 1860s.

But at the same time Jews came under increasing pressure in central Europe and Russia. There were brutal pogroms against Jews in which they were ejected from their homes and villages, and cruelly treated. Some of this persecution is told in the musical show Fiddler on the Roof.

In Israel, Jewish culture was having a significant rebirth as the Hebrew language was recreated from a language of history and religion into a language of everyday life.

The twentieth century UK and USA

In Britain and America this was the century of Jewish immigration, with great numbers of Jewish people arriving to escape the pogroms in Poland and Russia.

The Jewish population of Britain increased by 250,000 in 30 years. It was at this time that the East End of London became a centre of Jewish life in Britain. However in 1905 the UK passed a law that slowed immigration to a mere trickle.

The birth of Zionism

The Zionist movement, whose aim was to create a Jewish state, was rooted in centuries of Jewish prayer and yearning to return to the land of Israel.

Political Zionism began in the mid-19th Century and towards the end of the century it gained strength as many Jews began to feel that the only way they could live in safety would be to have a country of their own.

In 1917, in the Balfour Declaration, the UK agreed that a Jewish state should be established in Israel and, following the First World War, the British governed the region in preparation for a permanent political arrangement.

Over the next few years Jewish immigration increased and important institutions were founded such as the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, and the Hebrew University.

The Holocaust

Jewish history of the 1930s and 1940s is dominated by the Holocaust, the implementation on an industrial scale of a plan to wipe the whole Jewish people from the face of Europe.

The plan was carried out by the Nazi government of Germany and their allies.

During the Holocaust 6 million Jewish people were murdered, 1 million of them children.

The events of the Holocaust have shaped Jewish thinking, and the thinking of other people about Jewish issues ever since. War crimes trials of those involved in the Holocaust continue to this day.

The tragedy affected much of the religious thinking of Jews, as they try to make sense of a God who could allow such a thing to happen to his chosen people.

The State of Israel

The second defining Jewish event of the century was the achievement of the Zionist movement in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

There had been strong and paramilitary opposition to British colonial rule for many years, and in 1947 the United Nations agreed a plan to partition the land between Jews and Arabs. In May 1948 the British Government withdrew their forces.

Immediately, the surrounding Arab States invaded and the new Jewish State was forced to fight the first of several major wars. Notable among these were the 6-day war in 1967 and the Yom Kippur war in 1973.

The first steps towards a permanent peace came when Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, and with Jordan in 1994.

For most of its history Israel has had an uneasy relationship with the Arab states that surround it, and has been greatly sustained by the help and support of the USA, where the Jewish community is large and influential.

The 21st century began with great political uncertainty over Israel and its relationship with the Palestinian people, and this continues.

 AUTHOR

SESAN SAMUEL OYEDEPO

The largest media corporation in the world, Sony Corporation is one of the leading producers of video gaming consoles, video communication, information technology and electronics. Sony Corporation is even the parent company and the main electronic business division of Sony Group. This division was engaged in manufacturing five major operating segments which includes entertainment (music and motion pictures), games, financial services and electronics. In the year 1945, just after the Second World War, Masaru Ibuka, founded a company and started a repair shop for repairing radios. Along with his friend Akio Morita, Ibuka founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K. K. Company.

It was in 1955 when this company released its first commercial product TR-55 (transistor radio). After that it went on to release many such products and slowly the company changed from its original name and so in January 1958, the company’s name was changed to Sony. Since then, it has been noted for manufacturing some of the best in-house standards for new storage and recording technologies as a substitute of adopting those products manufactured by other companies. At, present Sony is recognized as one of the leaders in electronics manufacturing products from videocassettes to video players, DVD’s to Televisions and from Music Systems to Laptops.

Sony Laptops

Sony Laptops are truly a pleasure to have when you require computing powers however do not need to be loaded with cumbersome and heavy equipment. Sony Laptops such as the Vaio Notebooks which are a great amalgamation of performance, entertainment and style. The flexibility and multi-tasking to unite with other people makes these laptops exceptional and different from other brands. The Vaio is light laptop which is very easy to carry and comes with one of the best durability and connectivity. With this laptop you can surf the net, listen to music, play various games and even watch videos by using some of the powerful graphics of the Vaio. This series of Sony Laptops are a beautiful combination of style, entertainment and power.

Sony Laptops are actually the favorite among all the fans and music lovers. The Vaio are great in design and are very famous among the students and even home users as they have many unique features as per the users choice. There are several variations of Sony Vaio which include VGN-CR, VGN-NR, VGN-TZ, VGN-AR, VGN-UX, VGN-FW, VGN-FZ, VGN-BX etc. Sony Laptops have very much benefited from the successful electronic industry as Sony ventured into the portable computer industry to attract their existing fans around the world. The knowledge of electronics and digital music has given Sony Corporation additional edge over their competitors.

Specifications

Some of the bestselling models of Sony Laptops include TP2, AR60, CR30, FZ30 and CR30. Besides these, there are many other higher versions of Sony Laptops. Some of the specifications of these Sony Laptop models are:

? The CR and NR series are mid low range series with basic features and style.
? SZ, FZ and AR series are the mid range series with latest features and flexibility.
? The UX and TZ series is the high end series meant for business purposes and heavy works.

The series are categorized as follow:

? AR Series – Desktop Replacement. 17″ display, 8.3 lbs. $1,530
? NR Series – Entry Level.15.4″ display, 6.3 lbs. $750.
? CR Series – Mid level, choice of nine colors.14.1″ display, 5.49 lbs. $870.
? FW Series -16.4″ widescreen display, great for movies, 6.7 lbs. $900
? SR Serires – Mobile available in three colors.13.3″ LED backlit display, 4.14 lbs. $1,200
? TZ Series -Ultra-mobile and powerful. 11.1″ LED backlit display, 2.7 lbs. $1,900
? Z Series – High End and light. 13.1″ LED backlit display, 3.42 lbs. $1,800

In conclusion

Sony laptops are at the innovation edge of the laptop industry and especially advanced when it comes to sound and picture quality. They are not the cheapest on the marketplace and don’t intend to be so. Buying is a Sony laptop is a bit statement of a status statement but the fact is that these laptops deliver the goods not just the look. If you see yourself at ahead of the trend or simply want to buy a Top Quality laptop, Sony laptops have to be on top of your to buy list.

Pros:
? Most up to date technology used
? Superb picture quality
? Amazing sound
? Nice look / design
? Brand status

Cons:
? As to be expected for such quality laptops, price is high

Manfred von Richthofen (Sang legendaris Red Baron

Peristiwa inilah yang memacu Richthofen untuk belajar sebagai pilot yang akhirnya berhasil didapatkannya Maret 1916. Mimpinya adalah sebagai pemburu yang menembak jatuh lawan baru kesampaian saat diajak ace top dan guru strategi tempur udara Lt. Oswald Boelcke yang mengajak bergabung dalam skuadron tempur. Ia meraih kemenangan pertama tanggal 17 September 1916 atas pesawat pengintai FE 2b RAF(AU Inggris). Kemenangan demi kemenangan diperoleh sehingga ia menjadi ace top dan pahlawan nasional Jerman, apalagi setelah sang guru Oswald Boelcke tewas akibat kecelakan terbang. Pada saat itulah, seluruh pesawat tempur skuadron Jerman dicat warna-warni menyolok bak pemain sirkus yang bertujuan menciutkan nyali penerbang sekutu. Termasuk Richthofen yang memakai warna merah terang, terinspirasi dari warna seragam kaveleri Uhlan yang mengibarkan nama legendaris Red Baron dan Flying Circus.

Fokker Dr (Dreidekker) I, Sang Legendaris Red Baron

Meskipun beberapa kali nyaris tertembak dan tewas dalam pertempuran udara, tidak pelak lagi kehadiran dan kemampuannya memimpin berhasil membuat takut dan kekalahan yang besar bagi armada udara sekutu April 1917 yang terkenal sebagai Bloody April. Tidak seperti pilot sekutu yang mengandalkan kemampuan individu, Richthofen unggul karena mengutamakan aksi tim / skuadron dan taktik hebat yang dikembangkan mendiang Boelcke yang sering disebut Boelcke Dicta.
Memang tidak ada yang abadi, Richthofen hanya manusia biasa yang dapat mati dan melakukan kesalahan. Ia terbang sendirian, terlalu jauh dan terlalu lama di wilayah musuh pada hari naas itu. Walaupun masih kontroversial apakan benar Roy Brown yang menembak jatuh atau akibat tembakan artileri tapi yang jelas merupakan pukulan berat bagi AU Kekaisaran Jerman. Walau dianggap musuh toh ia mendapat penghormatan militer layaknya seorang pahlawan.

German First World War air ace Manfred von Richthofen (1882 – 1918) known as the Red Baron, leader of the 11th Chasing Squadron, with a comrade in front of his famous red tri-plane.

Tanggal 19 November 1925, jenazah Richthofen dibawa kembali ke tanah air dan dimakamkan dengan pengiring Presiden Jerman sendiri yaitu von Hidenburg, sang ibu, dan adik Bolke Richthofen. The Red Baron dikubur tepat disamping sang ayah dan adik kedua, Lothar yang meninggal dunia akibat kecelakaan terbang tahun 1922.
Bagi seluruh penerbang tempur dunia tahu kebesaran nama Richthofen dan jumlah kemenangannya yang merupakan ace top saat Perang Dunia I. Meskipun pada Perang Dunia II banyak pilot tempur yang meraih angka kemenangan jauh melebihi prestasinya tapi situasi jelas jauh berbeda pada saat itu dimana keterampilan terbang, tempur, dan insting lebih dominan dibanding keunggulan teknologi. Oleh karena itu tak pelak lagi Red Baron adalah “ACE TERBESAR SEPANJANG SEJARAH.”

THE RED BARON
Pagi hari yang berkabut tanggal 21 April 1918, Richthofen melangkah menuju hangar pesawat di Chappy. Sejak bergabung di AU Jerman ia sudah menunjukan keterampilannya sebagai pilot jagoan dan menjadi algojo udara bagi musuh-musuhnya penerbang Inggris, Perancis, Belgia, dan Kanada. Di zaman itu pertempuran udara tidak seperti saat sekarang yang berlangsung cepat dan terkadang kedua pesawat yang terlibat bahkan belum saling melihat lawannya. Pertempuran udara era Perang Dunia I tak ubahnya sebuah perkelahian buas, perjuangan hidup mati di angkasa. Masa hidup seorang penerbang rata-rata paling lama hanya 3 minggu sebelum akhirnya tewas ditembak jatuh lawannya.
Richthofen pun tahu itu tapi tampaknya musuhnya-lah yang harus gentar. Sebab bila Red Baron mengangkasa pasti ada beberapa pesawat lawan yang ditembak jatuh olehnya. Maka pagi itu seperti penerbangan sebelumnya.pria berumur 26 tahun itu kelihatan santai dan tenang. Rutin. Tak terlihat raut muka tegang seperti prajurit yang akan maju ke medan tempur.

Manfred von Richthofen bersama anjingnya

Melangkah pelan sambil merapatkan jaket kulit penerbangnya dan di depan pintu hangar, seekor anak anjing lucu menarik perhatiannya. Ia berjongkok dan bermain-main dengan anak anjing itu. Seorang juru foto melihat kejadian unik itu berlari mendekat. “Tuan Richthofen,” katanya. Richthofen menoleh sambil tersenyum didepan lensa kamera. Ya, ia memang pahlawan besar dan selalu diincar wartawan. Prestasi luar biasa dengan menembak jatuh 80 pesawat musuh selalu menjadi pembicaraan hangat dan diberitakan lewat surat kabar ke seluruh dunia. Bahkan setahun yang lalu pada bulan yang sama, Manfred von Richthofen pernah menembak jatuh sebanyak 5 pesawat musuh hanya dalam satu hari saja !
Ada tahkyul yang beredar luas dikalangan penerbang bahwa pantang bagi pilot difoto sebelum berhasil melaksanakan tugas. Richthofen tak percaya tahkyul. Jika pantangan itu dilanggar niscaya nasib sial akan selalu membayangi. Namun dengan kebesaran nama Red Baron tak sebersit sedikitpun tentang kepercayaan itu.

Hari terakhir Red Baron
Pukul 10.15 pagi, Fokker berwarna merah menyala itu meluncur ke angkasa bersama dua lusin pesawat tempur lainnya. Tujuannya Sailly-le-Sec, lembah Somme, Perancis dalam misi offensive patrol. Red Baron memimpin rombongan pesawat itu yang juga sering disebut sebagai “Richthofen’s Flying Circus ” atau “Sirkus Terbang Richthofen” dan gemuruh mesinnya meraung dan mengusik ketenangan pedesaan Jerman.
Di pihak lain pada waktu yang hampir bersamaan, Kapten Roy Brown, pilot kebangsaan Kanada berusia 24 tahun juga meluncur ke angkasa dari aerodrome Bertangles, Perancis. Dibanding Red Baron, bagai bumi dengan langit, Brown masih belum apa-apa karena baru berhasil menjatuhkan 12 pesawat Jerman. Bahkan di skuadronnya sekalipun yaitu skuadron 209 RAF (AU Inggris), Brown tidak jauh berbeda dengan puluhan pilot lain dan tidak pernah dielu-elukan sebagai pahlawan. Roy Brown seperti penerbang Sekutu lainnya sudah sering mendengar cerita tentang Red Baron dengan Fokker merahnya dan ia menaruh kagum terhadap musuhnya itu. Sebaliknya Manfred von Richthofen sama sekali tak pernah mendengar nama Roy Brown, pilot Kanada yang pada pukul 11.00 sedang melakukan patroli rutin di ketinggian 10.000 kaki bersama dengan 15 pesawat tempur buatan Inggris Sopwith Camel ke wilayah Sailly-le-Sec.
Dua pesawat pengintai jenis RE8 sedang terbang rendah di wilayah itu. Malang bagi mereka rombongan “Sirkus Terbang” melihatnya. Maka dimulailah pembantaian udara tak mengenal kasihan. lebih dari 20 pesawat tempur Jerman siap mengeroyok dua pesawat pengintai yang lamban dan tak berdaya !

(dari kiri) Hauptmann / Kapten Manfred von Richthofen, Kapten Roy Brown, dan Letnan Wilfred May

Di ketinggian Roy Brown melihat pembantaian yang terjadi di bawah. Ia dan teman-temannya segera membantu seraya menukik tajam ke ketinggian 3,000 kaki dimana pesawat-pesawat Jerman itu berada. Mereka tahu bahwa mereka kalah jumlah dan kualitas. Jerman dengan 25 pesawat dengan penerbang sangat terlatih melawan 15 pesawat Inggris, 8 diantaranya pun merupakan pilot-pilot Australia yang masih “hijau” dan baru saja tiba di Perancis. Kedelapan pilot itu dilarang bertempur sampai cukup pengalaman berduel di udara. Salah satu pilot Australia itu adalah Letnan Wilfred May. Sempat ragu melihat keperkasaan Fokker-Fokker Jerman tapi segera dibuang pikirannya jauh-jauh. Keselamatan dua pengintai itu jauh lebih penting pikirnya. May nekat membawa pesawatnya masuk ke kancah pertempuran dimana seharusnya ia menghindar ke tempat yang aman. Munculnya rombongan Sopwith Camel secara mendadak mengejutkan pilot-pilot Jerman. Beberapa detik kemudian empat Fokker ditembak jatuh dengan sebuah diantaranya milik May.
Namun May tak dapat merayakan keberhasilan first kill-nya ini. Sang Red Baron melihat pesawatnya dan segera menjadikannya calon korban ke-81. Dalam beberapa kali tembakan beruntun dari sepasang senapan mesin Spandau-nya, pesawat May tercabik-cabik. Harapan satu-satunya kabur dengan terbang rendah menginggalkan pertempuran sambil berlindung dibalik tembakan artileri udara Sekutu. Sayang Red Baron terus memburunya laksana elang memburu mangsa, sepertinya dalam hitungan detik sudah jelas siapa pemenangnya. Roy Brown melihat kejadian itu dan segera meninggalkan arena pertempuran untuk membantu May. Letnan May masih berusaha menghindar tapi takkan bisa menandingi kehebatan Red Baron. Dengan satu rentetan tembakan Red Baron pasti akan memenangkan duel udara melawan May.
Namun tepat diatasnya Sopwith Camel milik Roy Brown melayang mendekati ekor Fokker milik Red Baron. Nyaris tak ada gerakan mengelak dari Red Baron karena terlalu sibuk mengikuti pesawat May dan memilih saat yang tepat untuk menghabisinya. Bahkan pilot sekaliber Red Baron-pun bisa lupa akan aturan utama bagi setiap pilot pemburu yaitu always check your six ! Benarlah, begitu ekor Fokker muncul dihadapan Brown tanpa membuang waktu lagi ia menekan tombol sepasang senapan mesin Vickers yang terpasang dihidung pesawatnya. Ratusan peluru menghambur dengan cepat seraya merobek warna merah menyala kulit pesawat Red Baron yang selama ini menjadi momok penerbang Sekutu. Detik itu juga Red Baron baru sadar, berusaha mengelak tapi terlambat. Hantaman peluru menerjang kabin pilot dan mesin pesawatnya. Seketika itu Fokker milik Red Baron terbakar dan melayang makin rendah dan menghujam ladang gandum di wilayah Sailly-le-Sec. Saat itu Roy Brown dan Wilfred May tidak menyadari bahwa mereka baru saja berduel sekaligus menembak jatuh jagoan udara dan pahlawan nasional Jerman yang terkenal ke seluruh penjuru dunia.

Sisa-sisa Fokker Red Baron (kiri). Dengan upacara kemiliteran (kanan), Red Baron disemayamkan di sebuah pemakaman kecil Bertangles sore hari tanggal 22 April 1918 dengan melibatkan 12 orang berpangkat Kapten dari Skuadron 3 RAF (Australia) menembakan salvo ke udara sebagai tanda penghormatan terakhir.

Manfred von Richthofen ditemukan tewas dalam pesawatnya oleh infanteri Inggris dengan sebuah peluru menembus jantungnya. Sementara itu di Chappy, puluhan wartawan dan pemain musik sibuk bersiap-siap menyambut Red Baron pulang dengan membawa kemenangan udara. Tak terkecuali si juru foto yang memotret di depan hangar pesawatnya tadi. Ia berharap sang Red Baron akan kembali dengan gagah sehingga ia berkesempatan mengabadikan gambarnya yang legendaris itu sekali lagi….

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