Don’t repeat the lessons of history — heed them

Marina Berkovich, JHSSWF President

David Ulee, Judah P. Benjamin, Abraham C. Myers, Ezekiel and Isaac Levy, Octavus S. Cohen, Julius Ochs … do you know who they were? Southerners! During the time when the United States were not so united. The inevitability of impending war pressed them and hundreds of other Jewish families of the South to choose between the Union, where many of them studied, made friends and made business and trade contacts, or the South, the land to which they were born or immigrated; established homes, professions and businesses; raised children; and envisioned generations of heirs multiplying their efforts of prosperity rooted in the principles of religion and honor.

But nothing goes as planned during wars — a truth we are witnessing over and over in our lifetimes. The Southern Jews are often blamed for owning slaves. They, indeed, did during the era of worldwide open-markets slavery, as did all peoples who participated in it for thousands of years. There is nothing embarrassing about Southern Jewish slaveowners and patriots, who were frequently the same. Yet, for frequently antisemitic reasons, their stories are hidden or extracted out of the context of their time as if to prove some politicized points.

The world always gangs up on Jews in times of difficulty. Nothing new. But history does not lie. It always teaches. Revisionists lie and invert the truth.

Keren Berman, a Naples mother to three, knows it too well. She was in Israel on Oct. 7 and, after reuniting with her family in the U.S., she found herself amid the rise of anti-Israel demonstrations and such. Keren expressed the barrage of thoughts bombarding her wounded heart and mind in an impassioned statement. Here is a small excerpt: “(We are being told to) (sic) Wait! They can’t see evil, the funders, professors, administrators and college students, on campus on U.S. soil… Wait! Wait! We said never again, is that not now? Wait! No soldier left behind enemy lines! Wait! Kidnap victims! 240 taken! Why?”

Did not the Jewish Confederate mothers cry out in 1861 like all Jewish mothers? Do not all mothers cry and weep for lost husbands, children, parents and peace?

The American Civil War was fought over slavery. Somehow, one false claim continues: Jews controlled slave trade. Nearly 160 years after the last Civil War battle, slavery is still an issue to be debated, contested and misused by parties interested more in prolonging the impact of slavery for modern gains than in the equality of application of all citizens’ rights already existing under the U.S. Constitution.

Every year, Jewish groups in the U.S. march in support of the Black community in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parades. Jews, a significantly smaller minority, always rise in defense of American Blacks. Whether the entire United States of America rises to defend its Jewry remains to be seen. We will be here observing, recording, imparting the Jewish history as it happens. And bring it to you.

Come celebrate the annual Florida Jewish History Month with us on Wednesday, Jan. 24 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center.

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