If we were to talk about suffering,
probably not a single example would be more representative of this feeling than
the people of Israel. Throughout the course of history, no other population has
suffered and showed their survival skills more than the Jewish community.
According to the Exodus, second
book of the Bible, the people of Israel suffered as slaves in Egypt until Moses
freed them when, guided by God, spread nine plagues over all Egypt. Many long
years had to pass for the children of Israel to get to the land that God had
promised them. They crossed the dessert and fought for their land, Israel,
where they later built monuments to adore God and thank Him for having taken them to
their home.
David's star, a Jewish symbol |
The Jewish lived in Israel until the
Romans conquered the territory and built in it their pagan monuments with
statues of their Gods. Jewish do not believe in images, and they considered the
construction of the new monuments and statues an offense to their God. They
fought with the Romans, but the Roman army was much stronger, and they were
finally expelled from their own country. However, the bad times do not end here. During the Middle Ages, the Inquisition
condemned and killed many Jewish because Christianity considered them sinners
for having killed Jesus Christ. The only people that tolerated Jewish during
the Middle Ages were the Muslims, and many Jewish moved to the Al-Andalus, the
territories of the Iberian Peninsula that belonged to the Muslims. There, the
Torah and the culture were preserved, and the Jewish were safe.
Israel |
It is very well known that during World
War II, many Jewish were sent to concentration camps. Few survived. After the
end of the war, many efforts were done for the Jewish to come back to Israel.
Today, the Jewish live in their land, the land God promised would be theirs
some day.
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