Opinions On Pleasing The King

Letters and Essays

By:- Basil Fletcher Kingston, Jamaica W.I.

Forward
The aim of this mini-publication of letters and commentaries, are aimed at facilitating those Black Jamaicans of Jewish ancestry, in their search for their identity and also to assist them in regaining those traditions and values which allowed their fathers not only to contribute to society in terms of labor, but most importantly to regain favor in the eyes of those who rule and govern our daily lives. The fact that individuals of both Jewish and Moorish traditions have lived for centuries in Jamaica in conditions of relative peace and freedom from discrimination in an environment in which they are a minority had and have encourage and accelerated the process of assimilation, a process which led to the lost of traditions and values, a process which resulted in individuals of Jewish and Moorish descent ending up in conflict with the law at times, a process which removed them from their traditional position of leadership in the society and a loss of favor in the sight of those who rule. These letters and commentaries have avoided dealing with those of Moorish descent, because the Islamic community in Jamaica is rapidly growing and thus at some point in time will be able to reach and address the needs of the Moorish community. Rather, these letters and commentaries are aimed at my own people, Black Jamaicans of Jewish descent, their needs have in the main ignored by the mainstream Jewish community which have practically forgotten about their existence, and have not found ways to reach them and address their needs for guidance at this time. It is hoped that this publication and other similar ones, will encourage the visible and recognized Jewish community to begin to find ways to connect with those Black Jamaicans of Jewish descent. For myself this is publication is a manifestation of a commitment not only to the Jewish people and their communities where ever they live, but most importantly to revive the culture and traditions of my fathers. That also means teaching them how to live. This publication is written by an individual who has no formal training and or formal exposure to Judaism and an individual who is learning as he goes along this road of life. As such, I recognize, that there are times when I will make errors, and I do hope 2

that I will receive correction from the leaders of the recognized and visible Jewish Community. Basil Fletcher

Our Attitude To The Usage of Time and The Quality Of Our Work

The relative peaceful life led by generations of Black Jamaican Jews in Jamaica and in the United States (particularly in the New York and New Jersey areas) has led many to forget the ways of their parents and grandparents and have adopted the attitude of the dominant population groups in which they have found themselves. Once upon a time, it would impossible to conceive of a Jamaican youth with even a trace of Jewish blood, sitting on corners, hanging out and wasting time. Sadly and perhaps one should say very sadly, today it is becoming nearly a norm, everybody wants to fit in, nobody wants to be different, nobody wants to be called a nerd. For these young men and women, I think that it is important to point out, that God, Himself in the very first Chapter of the very first Book of the Bible, starting with the very first verse established the Jewish attitude to time and work. In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, verses 1 to 31, one sees God starting out his interaction with this world with work. There was not a single day of the week except for the Seventh Day, for which God did not give Himself something positive to do. The idea of waking up and going through the day without having a goal to be accomplished, without having anything to do, is inconceivable from a Jewish standpoint, it is tantamount to living the life of a beast, a bird, a dog or some other type of animal. One also, notes that God at all times reviewed His work, examining to ensure that it was at the standard that He set for Himself, for example in verse 4 it states :- And God, saw the light, that it was good. What is clear here, is: - 1. God did not need the light for Himself, He was working without it and (2) for the purposes intended the light was good, it added in a positive way to that which He created before. If one should continue to verse 31, we once again see God stepping back and looking at 3

His work, examining if it had reached up to the standard that He had set for Himself, as the verse states:- And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold it was very good. It is important to realize here, that God was not satisfied with simply good, he continued until he achieved very good. There are too many Black Jamaican Jews, who are satisfied with their work regardless of how it is done, not having any pride or attaching any value to their work and the product of their efforts. We have security guards, who are satisfied with simply turning up at work and going through the routine, with getting their salary being the only objective on their mind. How many of them step back and ask themselves, if there is anything else which they could be doing and are not doing? How many step back and ask themselves what could they do with their own hands and with their own efforts, to make the working environment a better place to work? What can I do with my own hands and by own efforts to improve the clients experience at my place of work? Sadly, many of our teachers, nurses and other workers of Black Jamaican Jewish origin take this ungodly attitude to their work, to their working environment and towards others with whom they work. Here we must once again state, that while we know from reading that God was not alone during the creation of the world and making of man, He, God Himself showed by example what kind of attitude Jews, be they Black or White, should take towards their work. As if that was not enough for us, to learn from, we are given another example in Genesis, chapter 26, verses 12 to 33, of the attitude of Isaac and his household towards their work. Yes, the quality of their work and the Blessings of God, made them the envy of the Philistines, but did that deter them? Did their removal from place to place by the Philistines cause them to become demoralized and throw up their hands in the air? No! Where ever they went, they put their best into their work, and at the end of the day, the Philistines were forced to make peace with them. They could not depress them nor could they demoralize them for the simple reason that Isaac and his household had pride in their work- they value their time and their efforts. In Genesis, chapter 29, verses 19 to 28, we see where Jacob was tricked by his uncle Laban, who after seven years of hard work for the hands of Rachel got Leah instead. Jacob did not get mad and walk away and nor did he start a war with his 4

uncle who demanded another seven years of labor from Jacob before he would give the hands of Rachel. No, Jacob had a clear objective in his mind and he was going to attain that objective, even if it took another seven years of his life. Today, we have among us, young and capable males who could become good doctors, good lawyers and good engineers, but hold the view that going to university to study to attain their dreams will take too much time; will take too much effort. They are prepared to be satisfied with Leah as the hands of Rachel will take too much out of them. How many of our parents refuse to insist that ours sons be not satisfied with the Leahs of their lives and convince them to do their degrees so that they can gain the hands of the Rachels of their lives? The fact that we have been allowed to live in relative peace has encouraged many of us to adopt the negative attitudes of those among whom we live and work. If Jacob had it difficult, Joseph had it far worse, as not only was he sold into slavery, but the quality of his work placed him in jail, it brought him to the attention of the wife of his master ( If Joseph was a sloppy person, doing bad work, the wife of his master would not have seen him or given him the time of day). Genesis, chapter 31 verse 6, in speaking about his master, it was stated :- And he left all that he had in the hands of Joseph and knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a good person, and well favored. Joseph did not allow the wickedness done to him by his brothers to pull him down; to kill him as a person- to destroy his self worth. Joseph lifted up himself, brushed off the dust and used the abilities given to him by God, the best he could. We note here that after being released from prison by the Pharaoh, Joseph rose to even greater heights, Pharaoh gave him charge over all Egypt, Pharaoh took off the ring of authority from his finger and placed it on the finger of Joseph. Both Jacob and Joseph could have found valid excuses for failing, both were dealt bad cards, yet they were not deterred, they did not enter the Garden of Excuses to pick the best excuses from the trees therein. No! Both played the cards given to them by life to the best they could, overcoming their disappointments and focusing on a better tomorrow. The Lois Farrakhans and the Nation of Islam, would want to find problems with Black Jamaican Jews and any Jews wearing the ring of Pharaoh and having charge over all Egypt, well let them have their problems, let them curse 5

the sight of Back Jamaican Jews sitting on both the right and left hand of Pharaoh, their presence at the table means that they have used their talents and skills in keeping with the example set by God, Himself, and in keeping with the examples set by the fathers of Israel, our fathers. Black Jamaican Jews, need to be clear in their minds, that the moment that they find favor in the sight of Lois Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, it then means that they are well out of their way and have become a part of the crowd. The moment our security guards find favor among the racists, the hooligans and rabble , at that moment we know that they are lost- praise be to the security guard who sits around the table with the manager of the company at which he or she works - it means that his or her work has found favor in the sight of Pharaoh, praise be the nurse, the teachers and other professionals of Black Jamaican Jewish origin, who sit at the right hand of those who employs them as the quality of their work placed them there. While it is not and cannot be the intention of Black Jamaican Jews to create enemies, the desire of not wanting enemies cannot come before the usage of their time and effort in a manner that is in keeping with the very example set by God himself. One should not try to please man and upset God. The quality of the work done by the children of Israel , their productive utilization of time and their attitude towards life and its difficulties have at all times in Jewish history made them the envy of many and valued by those who rule. As long as we hold true to our Jewish roots, these problems we will encounter, these enemies we will have. We are not here to please the world, we please the God who made us, the God who has carried us through thick and thin, the God who stood with us in good times and in bad times. The God of Israel, He even through our work we serve, not man. Basil Fletcher

Let Them Be Angry!

There are many, who would want the Black Jamaican Jew, to owing to their visible minority status, to cleave to that which is labeled the Black Community. While one 6

cannot deny that in countries such as the United Kingdom and in the United States, Black people regardless of their ethnicity, religion or nationality face various degrees of racial and at times religious discrimination. This reality does not however, means that one should seek to mix oil and water, the two does not go together, if by chance oil does combine with water, one is forced to ask if that which was thought to be oil is really oil and if that which was thought to be water is really water. The term Black Community is a banner of convenience which seeks to unite at times very incompatible, conflicting social and or ethnic groups on the basis of race or color to achieve political objectives and or rights. Where the Black Jamaican Jews differs from most other groups is the fact, that Black Jamaican Jews seek to champion the rights of all persons and groups, regardless of their racial, religious or national origin. Where the Black Community paints poverty Black and is unable to see that there are poor Whites, Chinese, Indians and people of other races, the Back Jamaican Jews in their defense and advocacy for the rights of the poor is not concerned only about Black poverty but poverty in all shapes and forms, poverty as it affects people of all races and religions. Where the Black Community is concerned about the quality and availability of educational opportunities for Black people, the Black Jamaican Jew, is concerned about the quality and availability of educational opportunities for all. There are those in the Black Community who would seek to hide Our Criminals and seek to provide excuses for the criminal behavior of Black Criminals, as far as the Black Jamaican Jews are concerned, criminals are criminals, and no one is above the law, be they Black or White, Jew or Gentile. Thus while sections of the Black Community intentionally or unintentionally seek to create an environment, within which Black Crime can occur, and seek to create no-go zones or areas for the police, the Black Jamaican Jew, stands firmly against crime, stands firmly on the side of law and order, and actively seek to prevent the emergence of criminal deviant behavior where they are. It is true, that the Black Jamaican Jews, will seek to take actions, steps or measures to resolve some form of criminal deviant behavior with their communities and within the members of these communities without seeking the intervention of the police, the objective is aimed at handling those matters which they are able to handle in such a way that brings justice on behalf of the victim, and deter repeat of petty crime by means of education and community sanction. Harden criminals and individuals who seek to violate the rights of the members of Black Jamaican Jews regardless of their origin is dealt with by the state. The boy who steals a sweet from the shop, is dealt with by the community. There is also a belief that crimes committed against Whites, and against their property, is justified on the basis of slavery. The Black Jamaican Jew, does not buy into that kind of garbage-crime against any individual, regardless of the race, religion, sexuality, gender or nationality of the person is a violation of the rights of the individual- the Jewish community is far too familiar with the violation of human 7

rights and its implications for its members, to support any type of crime against the individual. Then there are those who believe that the Black Jamaican Jews should look the other way when gang criminal activities occur, especially if the gang has Jamaican members or is Jamaican based. Gangs regardless of the ethnicity of their members are not known to respect the rights of the citizens who live in those areas in which they are active. Gang members are not known to be champions of human rights. The very existence of criminal gangs is a threat to all Jamaicans of Jewish origin, regardless of their race-hence it is the duty of Jamaicans of Jewish origin to work with the police to get rid of gangs and gang members from their communities, this in some cases may mean Jamaican putting Jamaicans in jail, No tears will be shed and there will be no sighs of regret, the security of the Black Jamaican Jew and the wider Jewish community stands above any such nationalistic sentiments. The clipping below is from a British news paper, the criminal featured, is seen as a member of the Black Community. Basil Fletcher

theafronews http://www.theafronews.eu/ Man guilty of raping a woman and a 14 year old girl Tuesday, 28 May 2013 09:15 Section: black community crime Share Colin Anthony Blake A man who raped two women, including one who was 14 years old at the time of the attack, has been found guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court. Colin Anthony Blake, 52, of Ascot Road, Watford was on 24th May 2013 found guilty of two counts of raping a woman, then aged 26, at an address in Woodford Green on 10th March 2012. 8

Blake was found guilty at an earlier trial of raping and sexually assaulting a 14-yearold girl at addresses in Hackney in September 2010. He will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 21st June. The court heard how Blake raped the two women, who were not known to each other, after gaining their confidence. In 2010, Blake was in a relationship with the mother of his 14-year-old victim. On 3rd September of that year, Blake called the girl and arranged to meet with her on the pretence of buying her new school uniform. Instead, Blake drove the girl to an address in Hackney before raping her and driving her back to a relative's address. He told the victim not to tell anyone about the incident. Later that same month, Blake was staying at the victim's address with her mother. During the night of 19th September, the victim awoke in her bed to find Blake in her room touching her. In March 2012 Blake had started relationship with a 26-year-old woman. On the night of 10th March, he called the woman and said he was going to take her for a night out. On arriving at the victim's address, Blake asked if he could come in while the victim got ready. Blake then began to demand sex, which the victim declined. However, Blake forced the victim into the bedroom before raping her twice during the course of the night. Blake was arrested and charged with the rape on 13th March 2012. He was subsequently charged with the rape and sexual assault of the 14-year-old girl on 9th August 2012. Detective Constable Dal Riyat from the Metropolitan Police Service's Sapphire Command, led the investigation. She said: "Colin Blake is a dangerous and predatory rapist who gained the confidence of his victims before attacking them. "He has shown no remorse for the pain and suffering he has inflicted on these 9

women. I hope the fact that he has been found guilty will go some way to gaining closure for his victims."

Old Dog Like Me!

Ellen; As a lecturer of economics at the University of Technology, Jamaica, I had a group of part-time students in a satellite programme based at the Portmore Community College. The stuents were in the main, young professionals in their late twenties to mid-forties. In the group, there was a young man, highly focused, task oriented type, a person on whom you could depend on to come to classes, complete his course work pieces and do well in his examinations. However, the women in the group had a pick on him; he had a problem with women and relationships. He was recently divorced and did not trust women one inch, not that he was anti-women, he was very anti-gay; his problem was that of a deficit of trust. On the other hand, there were women in the group who were victims of infidelity. Thus at about fifteen minutes before the end of our two hour sessions, somehow, some way, bantering would always stat about which gender is most prone to cheating, which gender was the most devious and cruel. I as the lecturer was always pulled in along with a young manager who worked with the National Commercial Bank, who insisted that no one with their sad tales is going to cause her to go home and question her husband; were always called on or to moderate. I always had the belief in the back of my mind, that the warring factions must have met in court and were dissatisfied either with their performances or with the rulings of the court and were in search of a retrial. I did not find out much about the views of the young bank manager apart from being unwilling to allow any woman with her stories to contaminate her views of her husband. At that time I was also suffering from a type of idealism which led me to believe that once a man dealt with a woman as an equal and respected partner in a relationship and did his best to make her feel comfortable, she would have no reasons to cheat on him. 10

Well nearing the final lecture, a quiet-Christian like young woman, who had not participated much if any at all in these debates, took me aside and said:-Sir! You have to be most careful- swear for no woman! In short I as the lecturer at the time, the person who was supposed to be educating the group, failed to realize that there were cultural and anthropological dimensions to infidelity. This inability or refusal by myself and the bank manager not only to accept that people are people and thus are far from being perfect, hence prone to errors, but also our inability or refusal to accept also that there is a cultural and historical dimension to infidelity with-in the Jamaican context and perhaps among African Americans, made us both, either unwilling and or unable to deal with real Jamaicans, Jews or Gentiles, in spousal type relationships. Equally so, that young get it done male professional and his female counterparts, having being exposed to real Jamaican relationships and having gained some understanding in the cultural history of the country have become unable or unwilling to try to find a way around the cultural-historical legacy of cheating. 2 Ellen, as a student in Prague, I had one summer, the opportunity to do summer work in London. A friend of mine, Lubos Novak and I stayed with a Jamaican family. The conduct of the woman, the Jamaican wife of my friend, left me totally embarrassed and ashamed. Here was a young man, who having returned to England, the land of his birth, haven gotten himself a good job and apartment- his first place of residence was at a Salvation Army Hostel for homeless persons, returned to Jamaica for his high school girl friend, who he married and carried with him to London, where they started a family. This young woman, wife and mother, refused to make any use of any of the educational opportunities-I myself with no money searched for places at which she could study, bought her books showing where different educational and or professional courses are offered, alas to no avail; refused to get a job even where she had the contacts to do so, but was content to claim unemployment benefits and to make her husbands life a living hell.

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Her main concern in life was that of preventing any woman, Black, White, Indian, Pakistani or Chinese from getting anywhere near to her husband. On that battle she focused all her strength and efforts. As a social worker, her husband had to deal with both males and females and worked from an office which was staffed by women, in addition to the fact that his boss was a woman. Ellen, this Jamaican lioness launched frontal verbal attacks on all who wore skirts and panties, even where it caused her husband and father of her children problems and embarrassment at work and possibly even endangered his job. To make matters worse, her husband owned and operated a small sound system, which he played at parties, fetes and other such entertainment events, which brought him not only a little top up on his salary but also a lot more contact with women. The man had no peace and nowhere to turn, the fact that my friend and I , strangers, were staying with them made no difference. He could not turn to the Church; there are more females than males in the Church. I in my own life have had to deal with situations similar in essence but on a far simpler and a far less aggressive scale. The aspect to this type of situation which gives difficulty to understand is the role and attitude that society expects the male to take. In Jamaican society, there are no battered or abused husbands, such concepts are only used to describe situations affecting females not males. A battered or abused husband would possibly be laugh to death by people-such a person cannot walk Jamaican streets. Indeed one can escape by saying that a woman is wicked, but the idea being wicked apply in the main only to cheating women, but not to the woman who is not cheating, but rather gives the man hell day in and day out, morning and night, this woman is seen only as being miserable. If a woman, who is not cheating-tells lies in the morning, at the afternoon and at night-there does still not currently exist, within the Jamaican context, as socially and culturally acceptable term for describing this woman. Elle, given this particular concrete situation, as outlined above, would you as a mother of a son, want him to or welcome the idea of him seeking to marry a Jamaican woman of any given race or religion? Can you honestly say that within the Jewish community one does not also find similar if not identical situations, given the influx of Eastern European Jews and economic migrants from Israel? If yes, from a 12

womans perspective what approach should be taken to prevent or reduce these types of situations? Should divorce be seen as the solution to the problem, or do we admit that there is a cultural problem which demands the input of women in solving? Ellen, this is not a one sided question, I know a man who was going steady with a nurse. This man, a would be business man, wrote his girl friends name on a piece of parchment paper, which he then placed in and wore in his shoes. This is a man led by his beliefs who was doing his best to keep down a woman he claims to love. Firstly, this man, had and has played no part in helping the woman to reach where she was in life, given that fact, one would have thought that this woman in entering a relationship with him, must have seen some greater promise in him than he saw in himself, thus by trying to keep down this nurse, is he not also making a statement that he does not want to go any further with his own development? Secondly, based on the intent regardless of the outcome, would you not agree that an act of violence-an offensive act, was carried out against the woman? Is he not also saying to the woman, that she is better than he is and that he is trying to pull her down in order to keep her? Ellen, are there men similar to the one above in the Jewish community of New York? If they are there equally as they are here in Jamaica, is there not a basis for taking a cross-cultural approach to male education? Here I do recognize that we should also look at how we educate individuals, with disabilities and or disfigurement. There are many instances, in which individuals with disabilities doubt their self worth, doubt their ability to contribute and doubt the value of that which they bring to the table. For example, a woman who had lost an eye or a limb could feel that she is less beautiful and less deserving, equally as a man with a similar loss might question his manhood and his ability to contribute. The other side of the coin is also true, a person in a relationship with a disabled person, should not be made to feel that there is a need to self demote in order to make a partner feel good or secure in a relationship. If I should go out with a person with a disability or who has loss a member, I would think that I have a duty to find a way to help that person to become the best that she can become, to facilitate that person in going forward in life, none of which can be done by me going backward. 13

Here I am guided by the fact, that it was good and beauty that I saw in the individual which led me to seek to build a relationship with that person. I here recognize that there are those in society who are in search for a good name, for status, for sympathy in the community or for a position of permanent dominance and control, who will seek to establish relationships with the disabled. We need to respect the disabled persons right to make informed choices about their lives even while we continue to support them according to their needs and our abilities. 3 Ellen, the singer Dr. Beenie Man, sang asong with the words:--Old dog like me, mi have fi have de mina two and threes, everybody know dat mi wild aready---( An old dog such as I am, I have to have them in twos and threes, it is known that I cannot be satisfied); he was also the husband of Di Angel , a beautiful Jamaican browning (a woman of mixed races) who is also the mother of his child, Di Angel who is the singer of the song Dem a fight over mi pum. Dum.. pum (they are fighting over my vagina) is the former girl friend of Bounty Killa , another singer, with whom it is said that some sort or type of relationship is still ongoing. Dr. Beenie Mans marriage to Di Angel, while having the largest wedding Jamaica has ever seen did not endure for long and was both financially and emotionally costly to him. One cannot say if Dr. Beenie Mans marriage to the Di Angel was to show to Bounty Killa, that he was the bigger and the badder of the two or if Di Angel thought that he was the better of the two as far as career opportunity and fatherhood qualities are concerned, what however can be said, is that much more efforts seems be placed on career and personal marketing than was placed on the building of a stable relationship based on trust and mutual respect. At this moment the relationship between the Dr. Beenie Man and Di Angel is based upon a child for whom they share parental responsibly, and appear to be doing a relatively good job at it. The Dr. Beenie Man-Di Angel-Bounty Killa type of relationship is the only type of relationship which is available for many and which they have to make work for all involved. Even as we acknowledge that they are emotionally taxing to maintain we are forced deal with the fact that the cost of

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failure for those involved in this type of relationship can be very expensive to all involved and to the society as a whole. Ellen, without passing judgment, perhaps the question at this stage should be that of identifying what is required within the given cultural framework to create, more stable and lasting nuclear families, in which there is a father, mother and child or children. What is required to make the traditional nuclear type of family work for more Jamaicans of all religions and races? To what extent, the situations described above hold true for you there within the Jewish community, I do not know, however I do strongly suspect that the Dr. Beenie Man-Di Angel-Bounty Killa type of relationship is also raising a lot of questions and concerns within that community. Is there a way forward? With love Basil

Kellner Versus Baruch Lebovits-A Test Of Jewish Law

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14. And he said. Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. 15. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. Exodus, Chapter 2 Ellen; The case of the Hasidic Jew, Mr. Kellner whose sixteen years old son was sexually abused by the prominent cantor Baruch Lebovits a few years ago raises some very important questions from a perspective of Jewish Law. The action and actions taken by the state against Mr. Baruch Lebovits is not a case which raises any legal questions, not only were his actions from a strict religious perspective strictly forbidden, not only did he as an individual breached the confidence the community placed in him, but as demonstrated in the cases of both Aaron and Moses, while members of the community differ in responsibilities and contribution, they all are equal under Law, both Aaron and Moses were killed before the Hebrews entered the Promised Land. The questions of Law, has to do with the actions taken by Mr. Kellner and if these actions placed Mr. Kellner outside the community. Here it is important to point out that if it had come to the attention of the Rabbi and other leaders of the community that the cantor Mr. Baruch Lebovits was abusing minors and or was involved in homosexual relations and they took no actions against Lebovits, then they too would be guilty of the same crimes as was committed by Mr. Baruch Lebovits, equally so would be any adult member of Mr. Lebovits household who sought to cover for him. Here for guidance reference is made to Exodus , Chapter 18, versus 19 to 27, Exodus, Chapter 33, versus 1 to 28. Ellen, I will now proceed without bothering you with further quotations. The first question in my mind is:- If Mr. Kellner had reported the matter of the violation oof his son to the leadership of the community and no satisfactory action 16

was taken, did he have a right to turn to Pharaoh for justice? In my view, one has to question of the standing of the Hasidic community in its relationship with the state. Is the Hasidic community an ally of the state? If it is, not only does it has the right to be governed by its own laws, to raise its own taxes, to take care of those members who are not able to take care of themselves, but also an obligation to provide men and resources to defend the state against any and all of its enemies, against even Israel itself, if there were ever to be a state of conflict between the United States and Israel. On the other hand the Hasidic community could see itself as an extension of Israel or as an ally of Israel in the United States. This position is very problematic, because in the event of a conflict, the community could be seen and treated as an internal enemy; here one notes, that the Children of Israel even in slavery in Egypt and in Babylon avoided taking any position which would make them an internal enemy (Exodus , Chapter 5, versus 1 to 21, the Book of Ester), such a status would endanger the entire community. If the Hasidic community saw itself as an ally of the state, in any possible arrangement, then the action of the Mr. Kellner in seeking to bring the cantor Baruch Lebovits to justice by means of the state, would put him outside the community and possibly even a traitor if the state is seen or regarded as an enemy. It also means that the leadership of the community has a duty to tell and to explain to all, the duties and obligations the community has towards the state. One notes here, that this is only feasible and practical when both parties, i.e. the Hasidic community and the state has what to put on the table, if not one is dealing with promises and pledges. It is here, that one would seek to avoid using the terms traitor to describe Mr. Kellner, for the simple reason that a traitor works for the enemy. Is the state an enemy? Was the Rabbi saying that the Hasidic community was at war or in a state of hostilities with Pharaoh? The forbidding of trade and conversation with Mr. Kellner would have been enough, the rules of conduct are known to all. The states action against Mr. Kellner, in no way strengthens the hand or the position of the Rabbi, rather the community has become even more indebted, to Pharaoh and his agents. In terms of electing state officials, the ability of the community to shop around for the best available candidate is greatly reduced, someone could 17

accidentally loose a sheet of paper with a list of names-of course accidentally and accidents do happen from time to time. Had the community stuck to the principles of equality under the Law, openness and accountability within the synagogue there would be no list of names-neither Aaron or Moses were killed at night, or under a cellar or somewhere in the bushes-the Law was exercised in a public way with all Israel standing as witnesses. One might also want to examine the issue from the perspective of Moses versus Pharaoh. In this formulation, what is important is the answer to the question:- Who is the Law? The answer is simple and straight forward, as long as Moses was in Egypt, even with the recognition of Hebrew customs and tribal laws, the words of Pharaoh were the Law and Moses respected those Laws, at no time did he instituted a strike action and called on the Hebrews not to work, not to build blocks, in fact the departure of the Hebrew people from the land of Egypt started with Pharaohs permission. Here we further notes, that when Moses was still a Prince of Egypt and killed an Egyptian who had whipped an Hebrew , he received protection neither from Hebrew or Egyptian Laws, he had to flee. Once outside of Egypt, Egyptian Laws were discarded and The Commandments came into force. The above discourse is important, if not for the simple reason, that in spite of the Inquisition and the Holocaust and centuries of oppression and discrimination, if the Rabbi of the Hasidic community cannot prove that he and is community are outside of the borders of the United States, outside of Egyptian territorial space, where the laws of Pharaoh and his constitution rules supreme above all other laws, then the actions taken by the Rabbi against Mr. Kellner and his sons were illegal both under Jewish Law and the laws of the United States. The Rabbi with his own actions surrendered his community to an agent of Pharaoh. The community here, the Hasidic community is a subject of the state and is obliged to respect the laws of the state as long as they are not in conflict with any of the Ten Commandments. The Laws of Moses required that Mr. Kellner raise the issue of the sexual abuse of his son by the cantor in a public manner with the leadership of the community and not in secret. The Law further requires that the matter be investigated in a manner which is transparent and accountable to the entire community, and public actions be taken based on the investigation. If these steps were not taken, repeat, if these 18

actions were not taken once the issue became known to the Rabbi, then the Rabbi and the leadership of the community betrayed Mr. Kellner, his family and the trust invested by all in it, and the Rabbi and the leadership of the community should publicly apologize to Mr. Kellner, restore his position and business in the community. However, were these actions taken, and suitable sanctions fitting the crime taken against the cantor Baruch Lebovits and Mr. Kellner went to the state with his complaints, then he betrayed the community and should be expelled. The above is important for the Jewish community, in order to ensure that the rights of the individual are respected even within Jewish religious communities from the abuse of the strong and the well placed, to ensure that these communities do not become the breeding place of social disabilities and criminality, as were common in the ghettoes of the Russian and Prussian Page and its other abused are not introduced into the United States through the back door. Of equal importance, is that the lessons are learnt by those segments of the Rastafarian community which are structured in a similar manner to that of the Hasidic community and follow also the Laws of Moses. The punishing of Mr. Kellner sons for the crimes of their father runs counter to everything in Judaism and was not expounded on for the simple reason that it is clear as day. One has to seriously wonder, how familiar is the Rabbi with the Laws of Moses ,which he is suppose to keep and teach. Ellen, I do find it very hard not to be boring. It is a natural part of me. With love, Basil

19

The Torah

20

On The Question of Abortion

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after

many to wrest judgment: (Exodus, Chapter 23)

Dear Ellen; The issue of abortion is a very complex one, even under Jewish Laws, I in writing this letter, make no claim as have resolved the issue, but rather it is my intention to facilitate the coming to a common understanding on this issue. Before going any further, I would like to point out, that it is my view, that Jewish laws are burdens, chains of a sort, and therefore not intended for none Jews; as it is pointed out in Exodus 22 verse 21 and Exodus 23 verse 9, Jews are not to vex strangers nor to oppress them. To try to convince or to for strangers, here I would prefer to use the word Gentiles, to accept Jewish Laws would be both a cause for vexation and is indeed a form of oppression. Secondly, this letter does not apply to those Jews, who while being Jewish by blood have decided to live outside the Law. Modern society does give the individual the right to accept the Jewish Faith or to ignore it, and as such an individual cannot be forced to accept the Jewish Faith or the Laws as are given in the Torah. Having said the above, I would like to get into the meat of the matter. 21

There are those who believe that a woman who is raped has the right to carry out an abortion if she so desires; from the letters which addressed the issue of the disabled and the disfigured, we have a clear understanding that abortion owing to possible disabilities which an unborn child might have or might inherit or develop later in life are not grounds under Jewish Laws for the carrying out of abortions. Rape however, is very different, even as it is with incest.

I would like to start by pointing out that Moses was born out of wedlock, it is written:1

And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. ,2 And the

woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. (Exodus , Chapter 2)
There is no reference made of the father of Moses, nor is there any indication, that he played any role in his life. Equally, we do not know if the mother of Moses, gave in willing to that man from the house of Levi. The idea of children being born out of wedlock, is further recognized by the following:16

And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to

be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
It is possible to argue that under the Ten Commandments, the parent or parents, have committed a serious sin:-

You shall not commit adultery.

22

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
Jewish Laws however, do not permit or allow for a child to bear the sins of his parents, nor to be punished for those sins. It could be therefore be argued, that the act of abortion, is in fact the punishing (putting to death) of an unborn child for the sins of his parent or parents. The following clearly forbids any such action:-

22

If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no

mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23

1 0

And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

While aborting is not a result of men striving, it is a deliberate act to kill an unborn child, to remove the fruit from the body of the mother causing death. The penalty for such an act is clearly given. It is further amplified in the following:22

Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be

23

24

widows, and your children fatherless. Thus, even where the father refuses to own the pregnancy, that unborn child should not come to harm. It should be noted, that, a woman, who takes it upon herself, under Jewish Laws, to commit an abortion has given unto her husband, through the community, the right to kill her. Why should an healthy woman with an healthy pregnancy want to commit an abortion? Here it is not a question of rights, but rather which god, is the woman serving? In
23

short, not only has she killed a child, albeit unborn, but also she is guilty of serving a foreign god, be it career, a house, marriage or whatever it is, she has placed a foreign god in front of the Most High God of Israel. The very same rule applies if both the father and the mother should have agreed to carry out the abortion, under the Laws of Moses, both could be put to death, they have sacrificed the child to a foreign god. In addition, where the woman has been raped, the abortion of the child is not only a sacrifice to an unknown god, it is the occult, the attempt to create a Jesus child, which should bear the sins of both mother and father.
21

And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou

profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. (Leviticus, Chapter 18)
The question which one might ask here is whether God meant fire in a literal or in a figurative sense. In my view, it is both, it is nearly impossible to prove that an unborn child does not suffer before death as a result of an abortion, be in the form of pain or as a result of being removed from its source of life and nourishment. If one should examine the structure of the way the Laws are presented one would have noticed that the Law given above came after a series of prohibitions as shown below:1

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the

doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.
4

Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD

your God.
5

Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in

24

them: I am the LORD.

6

None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I

am the LORD.
7

The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is

thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

8

The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether

she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10

The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness

thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.

11

The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou

shalt not uncover her nakedness.

12

Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near

kinswoman.
13

Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near

kinswoman.
14

Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his

wife: she is thine aunt.

15

Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou

shalt not uncover her nakedness.

16

Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou

17

25

take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
18

Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside

the other in her life time.

19

Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put

apart for her uncleanness.

20

Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou

21

profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

In short, it is saying, that even if the above prohibitions are breach, are ignored, none of Thy seed should pass through the fire to Molech. The following is a penalty which could occur, when a community, when the Jewish people , think that they are big enough, powerful enough and wise enough, to ignore the Laws of The Most High God of Israel:26

Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these

abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
27

(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and

the land is defiled;)

28

That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were

before you.
29

For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them

shall be cut off from among their people.

30

Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable

26

customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus, Chapter 18)
One could for whatever reason, believe that the power of the King, makes him immune from penalty, that because he sits on high, he is free to act as he so desires. This is not so, there was hardly any King more powerful than was David, in the history of Israel, yet he was severely punished for taking onto himself the wife of one of his subjects. The following is worth reading:-

2 Samuel 12
1

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There

were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2

The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and

nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4

And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of

his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the

LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6

And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no

pity.
7

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I

anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
27

And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee

the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou

hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised

me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
11

Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and

I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12

For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto

13

David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14

Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD

to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
15

And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife

bare unto David, and it was very sick.

Here David thought to himself that he was powerful and big enough to break the Laws and get away with it. It was not to be. One also sees in Genesis 12, verses 11 to 20, where Pharaoh, thought that he was big enough to take on to himself any woman to bed, he too was punished:-

28

11

And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his

wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12

Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This

is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13

Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul

shall live because of thee.

14

And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the

woman that she was very fair.

15

The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman

was taken into Pharaoh's house.

16

And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and

menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

17

And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai

Abram's wife.
18

And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst

thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

19

Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore

behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20

And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife,

and all that he had.

The issue however, is not about the punishment of the great, the mighty for breaching the Laws or for abusing power, but rather about abortion. Below, we 29

see where, Tamar, David daughter, after being raped by her brother Amnon, points out to him that it made no sense in putting her away, not only was the act of rape already committed, but one could reason that, if she got pregnant, the pregnancy could not be hidden nor destroyed. In short Amnon was called upon to stand up and take responsibility for his actions.

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name

was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.

2

And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and

Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.

3

But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother:

and Jonadab was a very subtil man.

4

And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? wilt thou

not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
5

And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when

thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.
6

So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him,

Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.
7

Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress

him meat.
8

So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took flour,

and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.
30

And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon

said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him.
10

And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine

hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
11

And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her,

Come lie with me, my sister.

12

And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be

done in Israel: do not thou this folly.

13

And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the

fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.
14

Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her,

and lay with her.

15

Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater

than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.
16

And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the

other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.
17

Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out

from me, and bolt the door after her.

18

And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king's

daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.

31

19

And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her,

and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.

20

And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold

now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
21

But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.

The text below about Lot, shows us what is expected in the case of incestuous relationships which bears fruit:30

And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him;

for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31

And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the

earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

32

Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve

seed of our father.

33

And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with

her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay

yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35

And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with

him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36

Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the

37

32

Moabites unto this day.

38

And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father

of the children of Ammon unto this day.

One notes however, that, the Case of David and Bath-sheba, presents a type of abortion carried out by God in a public manner, it therefore raises the question of conditional and or approved abortion. This argument could be countered by Gods action against Pharaoh. Below we can see where Pharaoh took it on himself to call for the death of all Hebrew males coming into the world:5

And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was

Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

16

And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them

upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17

But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but

saved the men children alive.

18

And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done

this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

19

And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian

women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20

Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very

mighty.
21

And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

33

22

And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the

river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Here Pharaoh took unto himself the power of God. One noticed however, that God did strike a mighty punishment on Pharaohs house and on Egypt during the Passover:-

27

That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses

of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28

And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and

Aaron, so did they.

29

And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of

Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30

And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there

was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31

And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from

among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.
32

Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

(Exodus 12) The challenge one faces here, is twofold, one can say that God challenged Pharaohs right to decide who lived and who died even as we acknowledge, that 34

the slaying of the first born of Egypt was aimed at forcing Pharaoh to release the Hebrew people from captivity. It is my view however, that while the punishment of Pharaoh does in fact resembles what would occur to a people where they fail to abide by the prohibitions as set out by him, especially where the sacrificing of children is concerned, the state , Pharaoh, does have the right in consultation with his people, the Egyptians to determine who lives and who died, if the lives of those who he intend to take were his citizens and it was based upon some real urgent need, e.g. a threat to public health, the growth of the population beyond the capacity of the country and the crown to sustain, in the event of hostile military actions by a minority; however where a people was held prisoners against their will and where there is a real existing option to release those people in keeping with their desire; then Pharaoh would have given up that right to take life. Why is this important? It is important, because the Jewish people, live in communities and in states. If a couple based on their physical, mental or economic conditions are unable to take care of a child coming into the world, it is the duty of the community to provide the support and assistance needed to maintain that child. If the community is unable to provide for that expected child, then the parents have the right to seek the approval of the community through the relevant agencies to terminate the pregnancy. Should the community so agree with both parents, then one could say, that God has spoken and no sin is committed by the termination of the pregnancy. In short, for an abortion to be legitimate, the parents must have no other option in terms of taking care of the child and the community itself would have to be without any options of taking care of the child, where the Jewish community is unable to take care of the child but the state, Pharaoh, has presented acceptable options , then an abortion is not legal and a crime against God, it would have occurred equally so if another community of people for example Roman Catholics are able to provide real acceptable options of taking care of the child, then it would be a crime against God to carry out the abortion. A child belongs not only to the parents, but also to the community and to the state. If one is an alien in a 35

foreign country, the parents and the community to which one belongs, take such a decision, for example if a Jamaican couple of Jewish descent are working in Japan, and the wife got pregnant, then the decision to abort should be made by the couple and members of the Jamaican Jewish community resident there at the time, if there is no Jamaican community, then the community in which the couple finds themselves comes to that decision, under no conditions, the parents alone. For those Jamaican Black Jews, be they in Jamaica, New Jersey or New York, and indeed Jews of other races, who would want to believe that it is ok to have children which they cannot take care of in a time, when there are so many methods available to prevent unwanted and or dangerous pregnancies, the clipping below should be most instructive. It was never intended, that , our children who are created in the image and likeness of God, should be given around or treated like dogs. Basil

Abusive Nuns In The USA And Worldwide

Clearly the Vatican does not wish to believe modern nuns can be abusive. Indeed it was this thought that prompted New England RC psychology graduate, Ashley Hill, to set about the difficult task of collecting evidence which she has now published in her Habits of Sin An Expose of Nuns Who Sexually Abuse Children and Each Other. The research was prompted by her own childhood experiences. She began by placing advertisements in the papers for victims to come forward, and then set up an abuse by nuns network, which concentrated on sexual abuse but also frequently revealed physical abuse. This topic had never been scientifically investigated before. Ashley Hill said that during her research she heard from people claiming to be victims of sexually abusive nuns in 24 states, as well as in Ireland, Canada and Australia. She has
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corresponded with more than 40 victims who said nuns sexually abused them. Six of those cases involved male victims. She prints verbatim some of the many harrowing letters she received from former Convent school children. Sometimes the abuse would be by proxy, the nuns facilitating the lewd activities of visiting priests by failing to intervene. Worse still, some nuns actively co operated with paedophile priests. Sometimes nuns would combine sexual, physical, and emotional abuse in one unspeakable act by telling the little girl how wicked she was to have engaged in such indecent behaviour, berating her with terrible guilt inducing biblical quotations, and culminating in physical punishment. Horrific letters Most of these children, now in adulthood, were in dire psychological states due to past memories and through trying to rationalise their continuance in the Roman Catholic Church. Ruined marriages, careers and businesses, and years spent in getting counselling and psychotherapy, were the norm. Surely only the True Gospel can bring effectual healing of the memories. One would advise readers against reading these horrific letters for themselves, and even Ashley Hill in the end had to quit her Abuse Network. As a by product of this research, she discovered the ubiquitous lesbianism cynically conducted amongst many nuns, who, far from sacrificing their lives for the cause of Christ and the Church, had set out deliberately to find an all female environment. Turning plight into cash Mother Teresa was not the first abusive nun to turn her victims plight into cash. During the 16 year premiership of Quebec of ardent Romanist Maurice Duplessis, which ended in 1959, the Roman Catholic Church was outrageously favoured. The Grey Nuns were amongst the recipients. On 10th February 2000 the Los Angeles Times carried an expose of their activities under the headline Duplessis Orphans. According to the article, Herve Bertrand remembers the day when his life at a Quebec
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orphanage turned inside out. On March 18, 1954, the nuns came in and said, From today, you are all crazy. Everyone started to cry, even the nuns. Then everything changed: our lessons stopped, and work they called it therapy began. I saw the bars go on the windows, the fences go up around the compound. I saw the buses pull up full of psychiatric patients, our new room mates. It was like a prison. And thats where I spent a quarter of my life Re classified as mental Duplessis had allowed the Grey Nuns more than three times the daily allowance for a mentally retarded child that they received for a normal one. The hard headed nuns saw their chance and simply recategorised on paper thousands of normal orphans to claim the enhanced capitation. The article states that in order that the children would qualify, their medical records were altered to declare them mentally unstable or retarded. Alice Quinton, aged 62 in 2000, described her dark memory of cells, tranquillisers and straitjackets. She says she was punished for asking questions, for wetting her bed; for not doing her work fast enough. She asked, Why am I here? No one ever had an answer. I thought to myself: Am I going crazy? Am I going to grow up to be like these mental patients? And what was Alices mental illness? She had been born of an incestuous relationship and had been committed as a Cause of Scandal. A trickle becomes a torrent Today, the article runs, Quinton carries a binder of grievances, a catalogue of injustice. She opens it to show an architectural diagram ... of her ward and the location of the bed where she says she was strapped in a straitjacket on the cold metal springs for three weeks. She presents childlike drawings of the humiliation chair, depicting a girl in a straitjacket strapped onto a potty chair, with a gag in her mouth and tears springing from her eyes in dotted lines. The detail is precise, down to the number of fasteners on the straitjacket. As clear, in Quintons mind, is the memory of a nuns knee in her back, lacing her into the jacket as if into an old corset. None of it made sense, she says, her eyes brimming. But I never thought I was insane. I never believed I was retarded. Such is power of Rome that when, in 1999, Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard apologised for his
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predecessors mistakes, Bouchard merely offered nominal compensation to those like Herve and Alice, and he still insisted on lauding the great deal of devotion that the nuns had shown. An internet search has revealed that, just as the trickle of reports of paedophile priests in the 1990s became a torrent, so the same is now happening for nuns, and more financial settlements are likely. Source:-

European Institute of Protestant Studies

(The EIPS is not responsible for the content of external sites)

Holiness Without Occupation

Genesis Chapter 47, verse 3:- And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

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Proverbs Chapter 22, verse 29:- Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. Dear Ellen; In this letter, I would like to address the issue of the importance of occupational skills and a healthy attitude, towards ones work. This letter is of particular importance to our communities, for the simple reason, that there are some of us, who hold the view that respect and obedience to the Laws is enough to please God and to please the king. One possible from the outset could point out that God himself worked, from the beginning of the Bible to the end of Bible one sees God at work in various forms and in various ways. Yet in spite of that, there are many, who believe that their abilities to quote the Holy Scriptures, to remember word for words of the prophets and the great sages is enough for them to find favor in the sight of God and in the sight of Pharaoh. This letter, while it is not our duty to burden Christians with the weight of the Torah, the fact that in the Manchester region of Jamaica, there are many of Jewish descent who have converted to Christianity, means that at times we must address the problems and or challenges facing these converts to Christianity, for the simple reason that they remain our own. Their challenges are also shared by some members of the wider Jewish community. What is not understood, is that, a law abiding person, however deeply religious he or she may be, regardless how strong the individuals Faith in God maybe, if he or she is without an occupation, without skills and or training, that person is a burden on his or her community and the state and a burden to the king. This letter, recognizes, that similarly to the Mile Gully-to- Bethany region of Northern Manchester, there are other places with individuals of Jewish descent who have access to religious instructions however lack access to institutions offering skills and or occupational training. Here one may seek to blame the state, in other words blame Pharaoh for depriving the people of access to training, however one is also forced to recognize that many a times the institutions offering religious instruction, in the Mile Gully-Bethany region the Church, has either failed to grasp the importance of skills and or occupational training or does not feel that, it as the 40

institution providing community leadership has a role to play in seeking to represent the community in approaching the state or utilizing its own resources to provide the necessary infrastructure and tools needed to provide such training because of the view which holds that Holiness is enough. This reality acts as a disincentive to many to seek to utilize their abilities in the way that God had intended and in the way which would earn them favor in the sight of Pharaoh. It is highly possible, that such an attitude has its roots in a narrow and selective reading and understanding of the Holy Scriptures. What many fail to recognize, is the fact, that be it in the case of Noah in his construction of the Ark, be it Moses and Aaron in equipping the House of The Lord, be it Salomon in the building of the Temple or be it the building of the walls of the city, Jews and those who were led by the Words of God, saw it necessary to gain skills and occupations, be they shepherds, trades men, carpenters, bakers, managers, gold smiths or masons, skills and occupations were of tremendous importance to the survival of the Jewish people and to the Jewish state. Here I would like to point out, that the Great and wise King Salomon, had a great dislike if not hatred for those who did not contribute in a positive way to the economic success of their families and to the kingdom. Today among us are many, who because of their attitudes towards work who would have earn the wrath of the king and are at a loss today to understand why they have not gained favor in the sight of those who rule. For their benefit and for ours, I would like to present the following quotations from the Book of Proverbs, one might argue that Proverbs is not in the Torah, that argument does not hold water for the simple reason, that while King Salomon might have preached and beseeched, Moses was a man of commands and his attitude towards the taking on of the giants in the Promised Land and his approach to the agricultural capacity or potential of the Promised Land would make any word of anger coming from the pens of King Salomon appear to be words of kindness and gentleness. Moses was a task master, King Salomon was not. Proverbs Chapter 6

6:6. Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom:

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6:7. Which, although she hath no guide, nor master, nor captain, 6:8. Provideth her meat for herself in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 6:9. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 6:10. Thou wilt sleep a little, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to sleep: 6:11. And want shall come upon thee, as a traveller, and poverty as a man armed. But if thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a fountain, and want shall flee far from thee. 6:12. A man that is an apostate, an unprofitable man, walketh with a perverse mouth,

Proverbs Chapter 10

10:4. The slothful hand hath wrought poverty: but the hand of the industrious getteth riches. He that trusteth to lies feedeth the winds: and the same runneth after birds, that fly away. 10:5. He that gathereth in the harvest, is a wise son: but he that snorteth in the summer, is the son of confusion.
Proverbs Chapter 12

12:10. The just regardeth the lives of his beasts: but the bowels of the wicked are cruel. 12:11. He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that pursueth idleness is very foolish. 12:12. He that is delighted in passing his time over wine, leaveth a reproach in his strong holds.
12:24. The hand of the valiant shall bear rule: but that which is slothful shall be under tribute. Proverbs Chapter 13 42

13:4. The sluggard willeth, and willeth not: but the soul of them that work, shall be made fat. Proverbs Chapter 14 14:23. In much work there shall be abundance: but where there are many words, there is oftentimes want. Proverbs Chapter 18 18:9. He that is loose and slack in his work, is the brother of him that wasteth his own works. Proverbs Chapter 19 19:24. The slothful hideth his hand under his armpit, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth. Proverbs Chapter 20 20:4. Because of the cold the sluggard would not plough: he shall beg therefore in the summer, and it shall not be given him. Proverbs Chapter 22 22:13. The slothful man saith: There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the midst of the streets. Proverbs Chapter 24

24:30. I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard of the foolish man: 24:31. And behold it was all filled with nettles, and thorns had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down. 24:32. Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the example I received instruction. 24:33. Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest.
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24:34. And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man.
Proverbs Chapter 26

26:13. The slothful man saith: There is a lion in the way, and a lioness in the roads. 26:14. As the door turneth upon its hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. 26:15. The slothful hideth his hand under his armpit, and it grieveth him to turn it to his mouth. 26:16. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that speak sentences.
Proverbs Chapter 28 28:24. He that stealeth any thing from his father, or from his mother: and saith, This is no sin, is the partner of a murderer.

Ellen, it is not my intention to bore, nor could it be, however, there are many of us, who believe that we are able to hide shoddy work under the cloak of Holiness, there are many of us who believe that our piety should protect us from carrying our own weight at work, there are many of us who believe that because we are able to say long prayers the society owes us something. These individuals are a burden to the community, a burden to us as individuals and a burden to the king and those who rule. It is important, that as parents and as members of given communities, train our young from an early age to understand that knowledge of the Scriptures should be accompanied by the mastery of skills and or trades and that our children must be able to shoulder the tasks which face them, even as we step in to help them where needed. Here I would like to point out that the Scriptures are not gender biased in terms of its demands for industriousness and a healthy work attitude. There are many of our women, be they in Jamaica, New York or New Jersey, who believe that wearing very long skirts, having their heads covered and bearing many children is enough, sadly 44

for them the Scriptures place far greater demand on them. As pointed out earlier, it cannot be our intention to give unto the world the Torah, because that would be the giving of chains and burdens to the world, thus our main focus and only focus must be own people. Below I am presenting but a few quotations describing the attitude expected of our women:-

Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master. 15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 18 19 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done
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drinking. 20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 22 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; 23 24 25 26 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

Proverbs Chapter 31

An exhortation to chastity, temperance, and works of mercy; with the praise of a wise woman. 31:1. The words of king Lamuel. The vision wherewith his mother instructed him. Lamuel... This name signifies God with him, and is supposed to have been one of the names of Solomon. 31:2. What, O my beloved, what, O the beloved of my womb, what, O the beloved of my vows? 31:3. Give not thy substance to women, and thy riches to destroy kings.

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31:4. Give not to kings, O Lamuel, give not wine to kings: because there is no secret where drunkenness reigneth: 31:5. And lest they drink and forget judgments, and pervert the cause of the children of the poor. 31:6. Give strong drink to them that are sad; and wine to them that are grieved in mind: 31:7. Let them drink, and forget their want, and remember their sorrow no more. 31:8. Open thy mouth for the dumb, and for the causes of all the children that pass. 31:9. Open thy mouth, decree that which is just, and do justice to the needy and poor. 31:10. Who shall find a valiant woman? far, and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her. 31:11. The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils. 31:12. She will render him good, and not evil all the days of her life. 31:13. She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands. 31:14. She is like the merchants ship, she bringeth her bread from afar. 31:15. And she hath risen in the night, and given a prey to her household, and victuals to her maidens. 31:16. She hath considered a field, and bought it: with the fruit of her hands she hath planted a vineyard. 31:17. She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm. 31:18. She hath tasted, and seen that her traffic is good: her lamp shall not be put out in the night.
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31:19. She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle. 31:20. She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor. 31:21. She shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments. 31:22. She hath made for herself clothing of tapestry: fine linen, and purple, is her covering. 31:23. Her husband is honourable in the gates, when he sitteth among the senators of the land. 31:24. She made fine linen, and sold it, and delivered a girdle to the Chanaanite. 31:25. Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the latter day. 31:26. She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue. 31:27. She hath looked well on the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her bread idle. 31:28. Her children rose up, and called her blessed: her husband, and he praised her. 31:29. Many daughters have gathered together riches: thou hast surpassed them all. 31:30. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 31:31. Give her of the fruit of her hands: and let her works praise her in the gates.

Now Ellen, the conditions of work and the type of work, have changed in qualitative ways since the Scriptures were written, however the attitude of man has not changed, equally as the challenges created by bad work attitudes changed much 48

except in terms of costs. This one of the reason, that equally as our fathers and mothers demand much from themselves and from their children, so do we demand from our children and ourselves. Our attitudes to work and our expectations of life, strongly influence their own attitude to work, if our view of life is miserable and we believe that we are living among enemies, then not only will we refuse to put out our best, but we will encourage our own children not to put out their bests. If we believe that the giants can be defeated and the lions in our way killed, then we would have trained our children to deal with the challenges of life and work. Without work, there is nothing to thank God for. While we will not be made responsible for camels and the masters jewels, if we do have a correct attitude towards work, if we do train ourselves in the areas of skills or professional occupations, if we maintain a positive attitude towards life, then the king great or small, for whom we work will entrust to play critical and important roles in his organization and in the affairs of the state. Of such responsibilities we should not be afraid, because it is of the Blessing of God, that we have those abilities. In the responsible and caring carrying out of our responsibilities, we also give thanks to God and fulfill His Commandments in practice and not just in words. By earning our keep, we become individuals of value to the state and our communities, rather than sources of burdens. If we are able to instill these attitudes in our children at an early age, and encourage them to excel then we would have done a lot to pass down the traditions and values of our fathers.

Genesis Chapter 24
10. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. Ellen, I can only but hope not only for that the youth in the Mile Gully Bethany region of Manchester in Jamaica will be provided with access to skill training within or near to the community, but also hope that the Black Jamaican Jews in New York, in New Jersey and elsewhere and members of your community, make full use of the training opportunities available, and that Holiness must be matched with work. 49

According to the clipping below, which is out of the United Kingdom, the AfroCaribbean Church is the fastest growing segment of the religious community in that country. Among those Afro Caribbean Churches, would be some Jamaican led Churches serving mainly a Jamaican and West Indian congregation, which would include some Black Jamaican Jews. Of importance to me, is to what extent, are the Jamaican led Churches in that group actively preparing their congregation to excel in the United Kingdom in the area of work and professional leadership. To what extent are those Jamaican s of Jewish descent preparing themselves and their children to serve the Crown in positions of leadership. In my view based on information that I have read, people from the African continent, be they from Nigeria, Zimbabwe or Ghana, seems to be moving forward in the society and in the education system much faster than Jamaicans and West Indians in general. To what extent does this reality holds true for Black Jamaicans of Jewish descent. It is one thing to speak about Black Unity only to find oneself at the back of the line the day after. This is why it is critical, for Black Jamaicans of Jewish descent, to shake the dust of their feet and off their clothing and reclaim their identity and sense of being. It was never intended for the Children of Abraham to stand in the back of any line, where ever that line maybe, if the can help it. What excuse can Black Jamaicans of Jewish origin offer for their lack luster performance? They are giving the Poles, Russians, Nigerian, and Zimbabweans a break, a chance to move forward? What happen to your own children? Do they not deserve good education and good jobs also? Will any Nigerian, Russian, Pole or Ghanaian going to take money out of their pockets to help to support your families? What excuse can Black Jamaican of Jewish origin offer for their underperformance? Have you been charmed and put to bed by unemployment benefit and subsidized housing? Flush this Black Unity garbage in the nearest toilet, and take your place in the race to the top! Ellen Manaker, these people have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked into taking the back of the line, not even Jacob would have put up with that type of trickery. Yes, it is called Black Unity. Jews are not into the business of either Black or White unity, at the end of the day they will seek someone to feast on. Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Europe and Germany, no more feasting on us by anyone or any race! 50

Basil

Afro-Caribbean churches growth ahead of all other churches

Black-led churches are at the forefront of the few areas of church growth in Britain, according to the Christian Research Association. In the last five years, the membership of predominantly Afro-Caribbean churches has grown 18%, compared with a 5% drop for churches overall. And the participation of Afro-Caribbean Christians across the churches accounts for 7% of worshippers nationally, although the Afro-Caribbean population is only 2% of the nation.Pastor Jonathan Oloyede of the 3,000-strong Glory House in East London says that the growing African communities bring with them a deep-rooted church culture. They have a strong, very vibrant ministry. The church is not something you attend, its part of your life. But much of the growth is in churches which might fairly be described as charismatic. Other Afro-Caribbean churches have come under the microscope recently because of their association with pagan or occult practices such as casting out demons from young children using violent methods. Conservative Leader Michael Howard courted the Christian black vote in the recent General Election and organised a successful summit with Afro-Caribbean church leaders. Conservative strategists have viewed black church-goers as natural allies, with shared family values and a tendency to support tough law-and-order measures on crime and drugs and free enterprise. A recent survey found that over half of the Afro-Caribbeans in London were regular worshippers, far in excess of the general population. There are thought to be over 400,000 regular Afro-Caribbean worshippers in Britain. Mr Howard met with Britains top nine black community ministers, but voter apathy in the Afro-Caribbean community prevented Mr Howard from capitalising on his summit meeting, which was chaired by black Bishop Dr Joe Aldred of Churches Together in Britain & Ireland.

European Institute of Protestant Studies

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Why Have Not Black Jamaican Jews Not Taken These Positions And Why They Have Not Out Performing These People?

Pauline Long named Role Model of the Year

Monday, 10 June 2013 15:53 Section: black community community Share Ms. Pauline Long, the Role Model of the Year Pauline Long, the Founder of Black and
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Ethnic Minority Awards (BEFFTA) has received the Role Model of The Year Award from International Online Awards. Ms. Long, a mother of two, is philanthropist, TV presenter, entrepreneur and a mentor to many young people. She is also the founder of Europe's biggest award ceremony that honours and celebrates black and ethnic personalities in entertainment, film, fashion, television and arts. A well respected figure in the African Caribbean community, Ms. Long was recently listed in Black Women In Europe Power List. She has dedicated her life to giving back to the community through the BEFFTA Awards and Mr and Miss East Africa UK beauty pageants. Ms. Long also runs their family business East End Studios, the award-winning film studio where she supports many unsigned artists to shoot high quality music videos. Ms. Long is a self-appointed crusader for human love. She believes in spreading love and humanity as a means of ending war, poverty, hunger, rape and all other injustices. She uses her premier daytime TV talk show on SKY channel 182 - Pauline Long Show to highlight on worlds injustices by engaging her panellists and the viewers at home in a live discussion. On awarding the generous entrepreneur, the organisers of International Online Awards said: "IOA has awarded you Role Model of the Year because you are doing so much for yourself and then using it to help people around you. So many people look up to you." The humble and down to earth TV presenter said: "I'm deeply honoured and humbled by this

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award. I will continue to serve my community with clarity and integrity. I dedicate this award to everyone and to all the young ones I mentor.

Pauline Long
Owner, Africa's World Best Reality TV Talent Show
Northampton, United Kingdom Entertainment

Pauline Long
@paulinelong
Mother, Philanthropist, TV presenter @paulinelongshow owner film/TV studio, Director. Founder BEFFTA awards, Mr/Miss East Africa UK, Pauline Long Collection eastendstudios.co.uk

Film Studios, London 6,000 SQFT London East End Studios

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East End Studios, Film Studios, London, is one of the largest independent film studio hire facilities in London. Our London Film Studio is located in Leyton, Waltham Forest, East London. East End Studios is a very versatile Film Studio and can be used for Commercials, Music Videos, Digital/Viral Feature Films, TV Series, Feature Films.

Video Studio Hire

The Film, Commercial and Video Production Studios are available to hire on a hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis; For more information on our London Film Studio or our Film Studio rates please email us on studio@eastendstudios.co.uk or call us on 07594631768.

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London Music Video Production

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Gething appointed first black minister to Welsh Government

Wednesday, 03 July 2013 06:07 Section: black community community Share

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Mr. Vaughan Gething (right), the Welsh

Governments first black minister Vaughan Gething has become the Welsh Governments first black minister. Mr. Gething was sworn in to the newly-created position of Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty on 1st July 2013. He becomes the first black minister in any of the devolved UK governments. Mr. Gething said: It is an honour to be appointed to this role and have the opportunity to make a positive difference to the lives of the most vulnerable communities in Wales. Tackling poverty is central to the point and purpose of the Welsh Government. I am delighted to be taking up this post. The impact of welfare benefit changes and state of the UK economy means that more and more people in Wales are facing difficult, and at times bleak, choices. I am committed to taking action that stops people getting into poverty and helps lift others out of it.
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Mr. Gething, 39, was born in Zambia. He went to primary and comprehensive school in Dorset, and Aberystwyth and Cardiff universities. He was the first black President of the NUS Wales from 1997 to 98. After qualifying as a solicitor in 2001 he specialised in employment law, becoming a partner at Thompsons solicitors in 2007. Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Gething was a councillor for Cardiff Council, representing Butetown. He was elected the AM for Cardiff South and Penarth in the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election. I am not here to make up the numbers or act as window dressing. The challenges facing communities across Wales are very real and our response as a Government has to be focused on delivering a practical, meaningful change, Mr. Gething said. Today the Welsh Government will launch its Tackling Poverty Action Plan setting out how ministers will target resources to prevent poverty, alleviate its impact and help people into work. The Deputy Minister will work with Jeff Cuthbert, the new Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.

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Picture of A Jamaican Handcart

Lessons From A Jamaican Gentile

Dear Ellen; I met the husband of a very good friend of mine in Clapton, in London, the United Kingdom. He had come over from Jamaica a few years before. In Jamaica, he worked as a driver with the Denoes and Geddes Company ltd, the bottlers of Red Stripe beer among other bottled beverages. He loved driving big trucks, in England when I saw him he was being trained to drive buses for the public transport system. His young teenage son had made friends with a group of wall sitting nowhere going Jamaican teenage boys. This did upset both his mother and father deeply. His father did not argue with him, but rather took him by bus one day, from Clapton to East London (near to Campbell Well Green) by bus, which took them through the City and other places. At the end of the journey he asked his son, how many handcarts he had seen. There we none. He then explained to his son that he needed a plan for his life and that he needed to learn a trade or some type of skill. The boy understood, there was no more need for further arguments. 60

Many Black Jamaican Jews, be they in the United States or in the United Kingdom, can learn from this humble Jamaican bus driver. We can learn a lot by observing a listening to the Gentiles at times, they too have their experience and their ways, some of which we can use to our own advantage. Basil

The lesson taught by that Jamaican bus driver in the United Kingdom could be of value also to the Rastafarian communities in the United Kingdom and in the United States. The interest of the Rastafarian community is not to serve the state or crown; however, they as a group have an interest in relying on their own skills and applying their talents in such a way that is of benefit to them as individuals and as a group, talents and skills which could be greatly improved through training. I as an individual do see what is wrong if a Rastafarian became a neuro-surgeon, a nuclear physicist or the Chief Accounting Officer at General Motors. The image of Rastafarian as a wall sitting, beach bumming, group Rastafarians will have to dispel and replace it with an image more in keeping with where it started and what it represented. That spirit of peace, love and respect, cannot be the message only of the elders, it must become also the message of the young. The industriousness of the Rastafarian elders, their creativity, their discipline, neatness in attire, and care in their usage of words, must be passed down to the youth. There is a group of Rastafarians in the Bethany-Mile Gully region of Manchester, Jamaica,, which has been doing very good work in the area of agriculture, maybe other groups of younger Rastafarians can be invited to observe and participate in its activities. Maybe there are other such groups in the New York, New Jersey region of the United States and in London and Scotland in the United Kingdom, which could carry out a training and mentorship function.

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A very good music group for your listening pleasure. All Rastafarians will love them:http://www.matisyahuworld.com/tour B.F

The Black Jamaican Jew

5. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Ke-dar, as the curtains of Solomon. 6. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me; my motherss children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. The Song of Solomon, Chapter 1

24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ish-me-el-ites came from Gil-e-ad with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 26. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27. Come, and let us sell him to the Ish-me-el-ites, and let not our hand bbe upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Genesis 37 1. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Ra-chel, and unto the two handmaids.

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4. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. 9. And Esau said. I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. Genesis 33 3. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 7. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 12. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. 13. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. 14. And he fell upon his brother Benjamins neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him. Genesis 45

In writing these letters to Ellen along with the few mini comments presented in this document, I do so not as a person who have met and had to deal with racial prejudices and even me racial hatred. I have lived in a society for a number of years, which sees nothing wrong in having a statue with a Black man in chains next door to an old Synagogue, I have lived in a society in which I sat in restaurants and was not served, I have lived in a society in which although I mastered the language, waiters and others responsible for providing service pretended that they did not understand me. I lived in the Czech Republic for at least eight years. Ellen can confirm some of these incidents because she was with me for a part of that journey. 63

I have been to France, where in passing a window, a woman upstairs on seeing me decided to throw through the window a basin full of water. I have been to England, London, where the only place that I did not encounter racism was in Stanford Hill among the Hasidic Jews who I would meet in that small park across the road from their little shops and later in an Irish Pub in Campbell Well Green. I know and I have experienced racism, equally as any of you. Yes, I have met Czechs students who mistakenly believed that because I was Black, I would not be able to cope with study in their university, I have met North Korean and Vietnamese students who shared that view, only to end up coming to my room for help in doing that which I as a Black student was not supposed to be able to do. I do not speak from a position of ignorance.

Equally as we are the products of a society, which has a Black majority component in its population, equally as our views about White people and people of fairer complexions were and are shaped by the socio-economic history of the country in which we live and by the fact that we also being Black and shares a lot in that history in one way or another; equally so we must expect that our Jewish brothers and sisters who lived in Europe for centuries, will also share so of the views of the majority population. Any lesser expectation would be to question their humanity, which would a most dangerous type of racism. What is important is that we recognize that we are the children of the same father, not different fathers, but the same father.

Of equal importance, is for us to recognize, that nobody in this world wants to know a poor relative or is glad to accept such a relative into his home. The recognition and acceptance of such a relative brings along with it responsibilities and commitments. This is why, Black Jamaican Jews, where ever they live, need to perform in such a way as to bring honor on to themselves and those around them. They must do their work in such a way 64

that even Pharaoh can say this is a good servant, a person who has brought wealth and honor to my household. If that is done , then like Esau meeting with Jacob, when we meet with our Jewish brothers of fairer complexions, we will have what celebrate about, we will have what to show. Thus once again, we must at all times remember who we are and the responsibilities we shoulder. Today, as the Ethiopian Jews are trying to find their place in what is to them a new and strange society, they too will encounter problems similar to those which we encounter living in either Europe or in North America. If we are successful, if we do a good job in the societies in which we live, there is a role which we as Black Jamaican Jews can play in assisting our Ethiopian brothers to find their place and play a positive role in the building and renewal of our home Israel. At this moment, because of our own failures not only to accept ourselves but also own under performance in all areas, it has meant that our brothers of fairer complexions have to bear the burden of trying to teach and or to assist our Ethiopian brothers to find their way in a society in which they are a racial minority. The work that has been done and is ongoing in this regard is good, but it could been much better, and done in a much more cost effective manner, if we as Black Jamaican Jews were carrying our ball as we should. One can only but hope that, in the coming years we as Black Jamaican Jews, will renew our strength, reclaim our patronage and will be glad to meet our brothers and sisters from other countries and other races. We too, I hope, will be able to say, that I am Blessed, I have what to share, I have what to show, I have made use of what my parents and grandparents left for me.

Basil Fletcher

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Saving is an important part of Jewish life

Preserving and Protecting The Created Legacies Of Our Fathers

Dear Ellen; I would like to end this series of letters and commentaries by turning our attention to the need to preserve the historical legacies left to us by our fathers. What struck me possibly the most in the Czech Republic was the attention given by the Czech government and people to the preservation of the artifacts created by their fathers, be they castles, ordinary buildings or books. The efforts made by their fathers are respected and valued. I had the opportunity of attending classes in a castle which was constructed before 1492 and to actually live in an equally old castle which was converted into a hostel for foreign students. Together, while on our way to visit that old Catholic Church which was made by a blind or near blind priest using the bones of the fallen soldiers from the Napoleon war, we also past a very old monastery which was converted into a cigarette factory. 68

In the Old Town (Stare Mesto) we had the chance to see the city as it was centuries ago. I also had the opportunity of visiting an antiquarian which sold books printed before the 1990s. In France, I had the good opportunity of living in a flat in the center of Paris, in a most expensive part of the town. Not only did the buildings predate the Second World War, but the owner of the flat advised me to use the table ware with care, they were inherited from his great grandfather. Here in Jamaica, at my Aunt house, I encountered books printed before 1955, including copies of the Readers Digest which are much older than I am. In the house there are pieces of furniture which are as old as I am if not older, yet she is a woman who grew children and grandchildren and now great grands. Yet a trip Down Town Kingston, reviews that some of the best historical buildings in the city are left to fall apart, the old neighborhoods have become places which outsides do not want to visit and filled with crumbling buildings. It is not our duty to try to correct the world, nor to give unto the world burdens to carry, thus we speak to our own. Ellen, it is important that the young among us learn to value that which our fathers have left to us as a legacy. It is indeed frightening when one walks the road and see chairs, tables and other pieces of furniture made by excellent craft men in the days of our fathers and grandfathers, ripped apart and thrown out into the street, maybe to be used by the very poor as fire wood or they end up at the city dump. We can only but hope, that those Black Jamaicans of Jewish descent do not adopt these practices, it is not our way. I also noted , the attention my aunt and her children pay great attention to the preservation of their clothing, not only do they avoid the buying of the most expensive of clothing but whatever they buy in the form of clothing is expected to last. I in fact have an aunt who lives in England who, when I last saw her, had several pieces of clothing of the same style, same color and the same in all respect; no one could tell how frequently she changed her shoes or her clothes. Why is this so? It is not meanness, but rather the action taken by parents, to ensure that they are able to leave behind an inheritance for their children and even grand children. In my family (my mothers family) wealth and property are seen as being held in trust for the generations coming up and yet to come. My mother was in some ways a deviant in terms of this tradition, and that deviancy did cause great wars with my 69

grandmother. My mother was of the view, that one needs to enjoy themselves because children, especially boy children once they grow up and start families of their own will leave their parents in a state of want. One could reasonably expect that a person who held such a view would pay greater attention to saving than she did and that was a cause for conflicts, yet not to take from her, she bought her house with cash, without borrowing a single cent, and anything she had in her house was bought in cash. My mother and my grandmother, refused to have anything in the house which used more electricity than a light bulb or an electric iron. Perhaps my grandmother and I myself had expected a greater level of austerity from her. She did however, in spite of her deviancy did recognize that the wealth of the household, regardless who earned it, is held in trust for those to come and for the welfare of all the members of the household. I while I lived in that household, respected this tradition, regardless of the amount of money I earned, it was brought home with I taking only enough to buy a few cigarettes and a beer or two, this money was then handed over either to my mother or grandmother, to be used in the house as was needed. There was no question of who bought what, or who gave what. The money belonged to the house. My experience with living with the mother of my child and in dealing with other cultures within the Jamaican society, has shown me where the wealth earned by the members of the households are individualized, or privatized-if you wish, and money and resources used in such a way that there is little or no savings for tomorrow. I have also learnt at great costs, that there are values and traditions which do not go together and cannot be merged, without seriously bringing to ruin or near ruin the members of the household, especially the fathers who are expected by themselves to pick up the responsibility to cover all expenses incurred by the family and its members. The money of the woman or the wife belongs to her and is not counted as being a part of or an item of household income or revenue. From my own experience, many men are forced to live in debt, have bad credit ratings and at times are only an inch away from a term in prison. Having gained that experience myself and having seen its effect on the lives of others, I am now clear in my mind, that our children should be brought up to respect our values and our traditions. These traditions have carried us as a people 70

through good times and bad times. Our children, should also learn the importance of converting a portion of their cash earnings into items of value, be it jewelry, be it works of art or simple tools, they should learn to edge against devaluations, against security risks to the individual, the household and the community and other such types of risks. These are important traditions which we should seek to pass down, I learnt of their worth as a result of my ignoring them. These traditions allow us to live in peace with our neighbors, if not for the simple reason, that we do not envy everything that they have, the age of their car is not of importance, the brand of their jeans or shoes is nothing of worth to us, the cost of their market basket or the money they spend on entertainment is not our business; most of all these values allow us to live in peace with Pharaoh, because we have no need to take anything which belongs to another or to take that which belongs to Pharaoh.

With love, Basil

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