Blair praises Jews' contribution to Britain

[T_i_B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/14/njew14.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/14/ixuknews.html

Jews celebrated their centuries-old if often edgy relationship with Britain yesterday at a thanksgiving service to mark the 350th anniversary of their resettlement in this country.

Leading figures from the Jewish community were joined by Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, at the Bevis Marks synagogue in the City of London, the oldest in Britain and the only one in Europe where worship has continued uninterrupted for 300 years.

In the candlelit splendour of the 305-year-old building, Mr Blair paid tribute to the fortitude of the Jews and their success in integrating into Britain since Oliver Cromwell ended nearly 400 years of banishment. "Throughout these years, the community has shown how it is possible to retain a clear faith and a clear identity and, at the same time, be thoroughly British," said Mr Blair.

"As the oldest minority faith community in this country, you show how identity through faith can be combined with a deep loyalty to our nation." Before a 500-strong congregation, which included Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, Lord Janner, the former Labour MP, and Michael Grade, the chairman of the BBC, Mr Blair said that Britain would always be "a true friend of Israel".

[Posteritatis]

1. *Cromwell* ended their banishment?

Okay, that goes on the list of Things That I Did Not Know Nor Suspect. Huh.

[atreides1]

2. But not only because he was a nice guy

"The commercial policy which led to the Navigation Act in October 1651, made Oliver Cromwell desirous of attracting the rich Jews of Amsterdam to London so that they might transfer their important trade interests with the Spanish Main from Holland to England. The mission of St. John to Amsterdam, though failing to establish a coalition between English and Dutch commercial interests as an alternative to the Navigation Act, had negotiated with Menasseh Ben Israel and the Amsterdam community. A pass has been granted to Menasseh to enter England, but he was unable to use it because of the war between England and Holland, which lasted from 1652 to 1654."

[megatherium]

3. Intolerance can be very costly.

The USA welcomed many of the Jewish scientists from Germany and Central Europe, in the 1930s and 1940s. These scientists played critical roles in the development of nuclear weapons. If the war in Europe had lasted two more months, it may have been Germany that saw the first wartime use of nuclear weapons. Germany had an atomic bomb program, and the German scientists involved still thought their program was the most advanced until the day Hiroshima was bombed.

The US military still bars openly gay persons from serving. We know this costs the military, when they must dismiss personnel with critical skills such as linguistic skills, simply for being gay (as has happened recently).

[BayCityProgressive]

4. This is good to here

diversity and tolerance should be celebrated everywhere.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. We also welcomed many of the Nazi scientists, post-war.

Helping get us into space and, eventually, the Moon.

If you add an "r"(Republican) to "moon" you get "moron."(Chimp)

Thanks a lot, Nazis!

[T_i_B]

9. And they weren't the only wave of Dutch refugees!

The town where I live has a "Dutch Quarter" where Dutch Calvinists fleeing Hapburg rule came to stay. It's actually quite a modern name for what is the oldest part of the oldest town in Britain! And it also helps to explain part of the reason why the town where I live was a parliamentary stronghold during the civil war.

[BlueIris]

5. Yeah, that line about Cromwell really...jumps right out at you.

Egh. It was the least you could do, Mr. Blair, considering your alliance with Bush.

[barb162]

7. Good; seems like it was a nice ceremony

[nealmhughes]

8. There was also a big "Lost Tribe" movement going on in England then.

Cromewell wasn't one of them, but a lot of the loud fringe groups of Puritans were. Of course it was in England's commercial interest, also.

Don't forget such notable British Jews as Baron Hayden-Guest, aka, Christopher Guest, without him there would have been no Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, or Spinal Tap and Waiting for Guffman; Sasha Baron Cohen aka Ali G and Borat; Lucien Freud and Siegfried Sassoon for those of a more posh bent.