Another community ripe for uprooting - sorry, ingathering:
"A prominent rabbi has recognised the Chuetas of Palma de Mallorca, who were forced to convert to Christianity 600 years ago. Rabbi Nissim Karelitz of the Bnei Brak Rabbinical Court has issued a written opinion stating unequivocally that the Chuettas are Jewish. Descendants of Mallorca's Jews, the Chuetas were forcibly baptised in the 14th and 15th centuries and then barred from intermarrying or assimilating with the island's Catholic population until the modern era. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Chuetas still live in Mallorca, though many have assimilated in recent years, according to Shavei Israel, an organisation that works to gain recognition for lost Jewish communities and bring them to Israel. In his written opinion, Rabbi Karelitz stated, 'Since it has become clear that it is accepted among them that throughout the generations most of them married among themselves, then all those who are related to the former generations are Jews, from our brethren the children of Israel, the nation of God'. 'This is an historic development', said Shavei Israel's chairman Michael Freund. 'The Chuettas no longer need to live in between worlds; we have succeeded in opening the door for them to come home. And I hope and pray that many will do so'. (Recognition for lost tribe, JTA/The Australian Jewish News, 22/7/11)
But, hey, wasn't this a close-run thing:
"Good news for the Jews: Unlike Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Bernie Madoff before them, the most recent scandal-plagued bold-faced names are not members of the tribe. You may have heard something of a little scandal involving phone hacking on the part of the defunct British tabloid News of the World. Well, the bright side to it all is that, despite her Semitic-sounding name, curly hair and criminal wrongdoing, the recently arrested former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks is NOT Jewish." (Phew! Not a Jew, The Forward/ The Australian Jewish News, 29/7/11)
Now, as for opening the door to ethnically-cleansed Palestinian refugees, Shavei Israel says, 'Go get lost!'
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Why can't they "discover" Mark [Moses] Arbib. It ain't hard, just google "Moses Arbib" and discover his illustrious ancestor the Chief Rabbi of Tripoli, Libya.
Now why, I wonder, is that not in his election C.V.?
What's all this twaddle about his father from Libya being of "Italian origin", a printers error?
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