History Notes Strong Judeo-Irish Heritage
March 13, 2004
Jonathan A. Harris
http://www.ctnow.com/news/opinion/op...,4721143.story
Every year, I look forward to marching in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hartford, which is being held today. As I march through the streets of the capital city, through a spirited sea of green-clad cheering people, I cannot escape the overwhelming pride of the Irish - a people that have contributed so much to the region, state and nation.
Pride in one's roots is a crucial ingredient in the success of the American melting pot. It must never be forgotten. We must also recognize the numerous connections between groups of people. One such connection is between the Irish and the Jews.
A while back, a friend told me about an organization called the Loyal League of the Yiddish Sons of Erin. This New York-based group was composed of Irish Jews who immigrated to the United States. They would hold their own St. Patrick's Day celebration in which they would eat green bagels and green matzo balls in chicken soup. For many years, they marched under their own banner in New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade.
There have long been Jews in Ireland. The period of 1881 to 1911 represented the high period of Jewish immigration to Ireland. The majority of these immigrants hailed from Lithuania. Jews in Ireland were overwhelmingly in favor of Irish independence from Britain. For example, the Judeo-Irish Home Rule Association was formed in 1908. During the Troubles, Fanny Goldberg of Cork joined Cuman na mBan, according to "Shalom Ireland: A Social History of the Jews in Modern Ireland," by Ray Rivlin. This women's arm of the Irish Volunteers nursed the wounded and transported ammunition. Irish Republican Army fugitives were sheltered in Jewish homes, Rivlin writes. The main IRA underground newspaper was secretly printed by an Irish Jew, Abraham Spiro. Countless Jews are among the list of decorated IRA veterans.
The Jewish community in Ireland reached a high of nearly 6,000 in the 1940s. In the 20th century, the island's three largest cities - Dublin, Belfast and Cork - each elected a lord mayor of the Jewish faith. For decades, Dublin had its "Little Jerusalem" neighborhood, Cork its "Jewtown." In fact, until the 1950s, Dublin reportedly had eight kosher butcher shops and 12 synagogues.
The island's Jewish population has dwindled considerably in recent years. According to one estimate, in 1991 there were 1,581 Jews in the Republic of Ireland and 410 in Northern Ireland. In recent decades, younger Irish Jews have left the island for better economic opportunities, just like their Roman Catholic countrymen, mainly headed to the United States and England. An estimated 350 Irish-born Jews live in Israel today.
One of the immigrants to Israel was Chaim Herzog. Herzog, who was elected president of Israel in 1983, was born in Belfast in 1918 and raised in Dublin. He spoke fluent English, Gaelic, Hebrew and Yiddish. His father was the chief rabbi of Ireland and would later become the chief rabbi of Israel. Herzog's 1997 obituary in The New York Times made slight mention of his Irish heritage and no mention of his enthusiasm for Irish independence. It was a glaring omission because Herzog's experience with the Irish independence movement undoubtedly shaped his role in Israeli independence.
As I march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade today, I will not only be feeling the pride of the Irish, I will also be celebrating the connections many of us have to Ireland and to each other. "Slainte!" Or is that "L'chaim"?
Jonathan A. Harris is mayor of West Hartford.
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