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The Arch of Titus

The Arch of Titus was constructed in 81 AD by the Emperor Domitian to commemorate the victory of Titus and Vespasian, over the Jewish rebellion in Judea. The arch depicts the triumphal procession celebrated in 71 AD after the Roman victory culminating in the fall of Jerusalem, and provides contemporary depictions of artifacts of the Holy Temple, including the Great Menorah. 

Josiah, do not see the taunting crowd
As they parade us through the streets of Rome.
Ignore their shouts. Pretend they are not loud.
Think only of Jerusalem—our home.

Remember the deep kinship that we shared—
Before the Legions conquered, killed and trod
On all we ever loved—before they dared
To violate the worship of our God!

Blot out your nightmares of the Roman fire
Which leveled our Great Temple to black ash—
The stones displaced, our scrolls burnt on a pyre,
Our sacred objects bartered off for cash.

Old Friend, as we approach the pagan Arch
On which they’ve carved our people’s subjugation
Do not look up. Though they can make us march,
Let them not see our grief or indignation.

Etched deep into the stone: our Great Menorah
Raised high as if an idol made of gold
And flaunted through their Forum and Agora.
They desecrated it. Then it was sold.

Our Temple’s treasures built their Colosseum!
They raped our wives; our homes were lost to pillage;
They looted every grave, each mausoleum
To break our people’s will down to each village.

Disgraced and now enslaved—our abject lot!
These chains cut gouges deep into our feet.
Worse still, they force this march upon Shabbat
To advertise the depth of our defeat.

This Arch, at least, will always prove the land
From which we were displaced by ruthless Rome.
They’ve left Judea ruined and unmanned—
But one day, Friend, we’ll find our way back home.

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The Old Rabbi

The rabbi shook to hear them yell—
That gang of thugs he knew too well.
He feared to robe and step outside
To walk to prayers. But he had pride,
Belief and ancient words to tell.

While hobbling past their citadel
He grimly heard their catcalls swell.
With each new shout to turn aside
__The rabbi shook.

One pushed him and he almost fell.
Appeasing them would not dispel
Their hate. He roared “I will not hide!”
In shock the hoodlums stepped aside.
But seeing they were bound for hell
__The rabbi shook.

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Poet’s Note: It is for the reader to decide whether this poem takes place in 1492 Madrid, 1595 Prague, 1895 Kiev, 1935 Berlin or New York City in 2022.

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The Synagogue in Prague

The memory casts stone upon the heart—
The ghetto walls through which the Nazis cursed
The Jews of Prague and cleaved their lives apart.
They froze and starved. And this was not the worst.

Like cattle in a pen they were confined,
A yellow Star of David on their arms.
They waited, faces gaunt and terror-lined
To face brutality and monstrous harms.

So crowded was it every graveyard plot
Was deeply dug to bear the bones of six.
No space was left to breathe let alone rot
Surrounded by barbed wire and smoke-stained bricks.

And then the trains began their evil task:
Transporting Jews from Prague to camps in which
Mass death no longer bothered with a mask
And burial meant ashes in a ditch.

In Prague, the cruel ones let the synagogue
Stand empty—the museum of a race
Efficiently extinguished in a fog
Which hubris said would never leave a trace.

Decades later when we toured this place
We saw two dozen pictures drawn in crayon
And carefully displayed within a case—
Birds and trees, stars twinkling, sunshine, rain.

We sobbed. These drawings should be deeply cherished.
The plaque at the old synagogue explained
That these were drawn by children who had perished.
These hopeful scrawls were all that had remained.

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Brian Yapko is a lawyer who also writes poetry. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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43 Responses

  1. Russel Winick

    Brian – This is deeply moving work. The third poem in particular will stay with me. As for the inquiry posed after the second poem, my response would be “all of the above.” Fine work, thank you. This must have been difficult to create.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you very much, Russel. These were not easy to write and the third poem, in particular, was a painful one. I’m very glad you found it moving.

      Reply
  2. Cheryl Corey

    These are poems to be appreciated by all readers, not only those who are Jewish. Only one minor bug-a-boo: the final line of “The Old Rabbi” is missing a period.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you, Cheryl. I’m hoping these poems carry some universality. And thank you for the sharp eye! I let Mike know about the missing period and he fixed it right away.

      Reply
  3. Paul Freeman

    I write a lot of light, easily-penned verse, but know that when the dark muse comes, the serious stuff is difficult to write.

    Three fine, serious-themed poems, Brian, that deserve a wide audience.

    Thanks for the reads – and some educative, historical context.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you very much, Paul. I appreciate your kind words and taking the time to visit some difficult subjects.

      Reply
  4. Joseph S. Salemi

    In the detail from the Arch of Titus, it should be noted that on the far right of the picture a large rectangular box is being carried (two long trumpets are crossed before it). This is very likely The Ark of the Covenant, the holiest relic of Judaism. This carving on the Arch is probably the only contemporary depiction of it.

    The smaller rectangles held aloft on poles with small triangular attachments on either side are Roman legionary emblems, which would give the name and number of those units that took part in the crushing of the rebellion.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you, Joseph, for these explanatory notes on the details of the Arch of Titus. I did not realize that the object on the right was the Ark of the Covenant, which makes this a doubly exceptional depiction. The Arch is indeed a fascinating and unusually well-preserved ruin which bears witness to some very consequential history. Situated in the Forum, it should be seen by any visitor to Rome.

      Reply
      • Lannie David Brockstein

        Brian, although it can be tempting to perceive the object in question as the Ark of the Covenant, according to historian Josephus Flavius, and also according to Professor Steven Fine of Yeshiva University in New York City, what the Arch of Titus depicts is the Table of the Showbread, and not the Ark of the Covenant.

        There are many articles and videos about the Table of the Showbread, including those by the Showbread Institute.

        The Learning Sites website features images that reconstruct much of how the Arch of Titus probably appeared in ancient times: https://learningsites.com/Rome/Titus_home.php

      • Brian Yapko

        Thank you for this additional information, Lannie. I’ve never heard of the Table of the Showbread but I just looked it up and am intrigued to learn about it as an additional sacred object in the Temple. As for a definitive identification of the object depicted in the frieze, I imagine that there is room for scholarly debate. Thank you also for the citation to the Learningsites.com which presents a fascinating digital reconstruction of the frieze with what are presumed to be its original surprisingly garish colors.

  5. Sally Cook

    Brian —

    These are fine poems, with a lasting message, for everyone — gentile and Jew.
    Marvelous control of language, concept .

    I could not read them on a technical level., They are much to somber. I had heard of similar children’s drawings before; they may even have been some of the same. To me that single ray of hope says it all.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you, Sally, for your kind words. I am glad that you see the universality in these poems. As for the children’s drawings, they are truly a devastating thing to see but — as you point out — the hope that shines in them is real, much like the bittersweet hope one gets from reading Anne Frank.

      Reply
  6. C.B. Anderson

    All three are exquisite and poignant, Brian. The peculiar thing for me is that I am a kind of honorary Jew, having many times partaken of sabbath dinners in the homes of some of my many Jewish friends. The food is always good, and I never get tired of the rituals that precede the meal. These are very old traditions, and I feel deep connections with them for reasons I cannot well explain.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you very much, C.B. Thank you especially for your beautiful story and your connection to the Jewish people. I myself am half-Jewish (on my father’s side) and was raised thus up to the age of 13, when I had my bar mitzvah. Although I am baptized and a confirmed member of my church, my connection to my Jewish roots remains very strong so I very much appreciate the connection you describe.

      Reply
  7. Jeff Eardley

    Brian, this is a moving trilogy today. I well remember our own tears after a visit to the Prague cemetery. Most poignant today as horror breaks out in Europe once again.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Jeff, thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so glad you got to see the Jewish Quarter in Prague and that you were moved as we were. The cemetery and adjacent synagogue are among the most heart-breaking Holocaust sites I’ve been to. I tried to do them justice.

      Reply
  8. Margaret Coats

    Brian, these are all good, and I think “The Synagogue in Prague” is the best. The tourist who has learned history is not your usual choice of speaker, but that is managed here with a light touch, keeping the speaker discreetly in the background, even at the end when his thoughts must be revealed to make the final point. Earlier, the concrete descriptive details bring history to life. One question: I am wondering if by “ghetto walls” you mean the enclosure of the synagogue itself. I have visited the Dohany Synagogue in Budapest where there had not been any definite ghetto, but the Nazis rounded up Jews and crowded them all into the synagogue space with no concern for adequate food or sanitation. Was the situation in Prague similar?

    “The Old Rabbi” is an excellent rondeau because the meaning of the rentrement changes at the end, showing that the rabbi, though perhaps shaking from fear earlier, is a man of God because he now shakes in horror at hellbound sin. This, I think, is even more important to your characterization of him than his bold decision to be assertive in line 12.

    In “The Arch of Titus,” I especially like the rhymes of “Rome” and “home” setting up the same contrast in the first and last stanzas. It’s a good closing technique. In fact, the poem reminds me of a French ballade in which Frenchmen abroad for any reason (business, war, diplomacy) are called upon in the refrain to think of France, where the finest ideals are acknowledged. The poet is otherwise a sharp critic of everything that’s wrong with his country, but this is his very touching patriotic piece. France may be corrupt, but the rest of the world is worse because of the failure even to have the medieval French ideals of order and justice. Your poem here does something similar, with destruction rather than corruption at home, and destruction caused by the very state to which the speaker is now a captive.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Dear Margaret, I’m always grateful to get your take on my poems. I’m especially pleased that you liked The Synagogue in Prague, which is the one I struggled the most with trying to convey the horrors of the Holocaust but to do so in a way that was both bearable and respectful. I’m glad the tone worked for you.

      To answer your question, the ghetto I describe refers to the old Jewish ghetto of Prague, established in the 16th Century, which was where the Jews of Prague were concentrated and sealed off by barbed wire and temporary fencing prior to deportation to various camps throughout Europe, including Auschwitz. Wearing the Yellow Star of David became compulsory in September, 1941. Most of these deportations took place a month later also in 1941. Although there were sections of the Prague ghetto behind brick walls, the bricks I describe may more accurately refer to the second ghetto close to Prague, the Theresienstadt Camp – ironically nicknamed “The Paradise Ghetto,” which was indeed surrounded by heavy walls, barbed wire, armed guards and, like Auschwitz, a banner that said “Arbeit Macht Frei.”

      I should also mention concerning a later section of my poem that Hitler had hundreds of thousands of Jewish relics and artifacts transported to Prague after the Jews were deported. His intention was to create a “Museum of an Extinct Race” That museum– open only to high ranking Nazis – opened in 1942. It was later converted to Prague’s Jewish Museum.

      I’m very appreciative of your analysis of The Old Rabbi and I agree with your comments on his character. It’s difficult to fit action into a rondeau so I was pleased with being able to have the old man “roar” even though that is not his defining moment.

      Your thoughts regarding the Arch of Titus are particularly interesting. I would very much like to read this French ballade you mention. It sounds like there are certainly similarities. In my poem the Jerusalem that the speaker and his friend are lamenting – though deeply holy – must also have been a very stressful place what with the Roman occupation and the Jewish rebellion and cultural/theological conflict associated with the rise of Christianity. But I think it would be natural for the speaker to romanticize the home that he has lost. Jerusalem was, after all, still Jerusalem.

      Reply
  9. David Watt

    Brian, your three poems touch the heart, each in their own way.
    “The Synagogue in Prague” tells of a now familiar horror, but your stark descriptions are fresh, and the image of drawings left by innocent children still has great impact, even for one who has never had the chance to visit Prague.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you very much, David. The drawings created by those children was truly powerful. I’m truly glad that these poems touched you.

      Reply
  10. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Brian, this trio of poems depicting the torture and torment of the Jews throughout history is not only smoothly and beautifully written, it brings to life the sheer evil of persecution at a time we all need reminding of where this ungodly behavior leads.

    “The Arch of Titus”, with the immediacy of its present tense narrative, had me walking alongside Josiah hanging onto every wise word to get me through the cruel ordeal – such is the power of your poem. The closing line is heart-touching… hope amid horror… a glimpse of heaven amid hell. In “The Old Rabbi” you have used the rondeau to magnificent effect. “The Rabbi shook” is the perfect repeating line to make the powerful point in a clever twist at the end. Oh, if only the thugs knew. And finally, “The Synagogue in Prague” hitting home with the sheer magnitude of Satan’s power, each horrifying act building up to the heart-rending sob of the closing stanza. I would like to think that the majority of us hold the beauty and wonder of those children in our hearts – a pull towards God’s miracles in a world gone insane.

    Brian, thank you for this much-needed poetic slice of history. It serves to remind all those who have forgotten exactly where tyrannical governance leads. If only the children caught up in today’s political education system could read this… perhaps tomorrow would be different.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Susan, forgive me, once again in my eagerness to respond to you I replied in the wrong space! Please see below. And, as an additional response to your final sentence, I believe strongly that children should be taught about the Holocaust so that it never happens again. The fact that “Maus” was recently banned by a school board in Tennessee is infuriating to me. Fortunately, that banning has caused “Maus” sales to go through the roof.

      Reply
  11. Brian Yapko

    Dear Susan, thank you! I’m always so grateful to receive your perceptive and heartfelt comments. Although I had been vaguely mulling over a poem or two on Jewish themes, it was your incredibly brave poem for Holocaust Remembrance Day “Never Again” coupled with Evan’s very brave choice of image which inspired me to begin the work of writing these in earnest. Your work has often inspired me in this way. I can’t say that these were easy to write or that writing them gave me the pleasure that writing poetry usually does, but I felt like I had something important to say and was driven. I’m glad you view this trio as a success. These are indeed evil times and, using a zoom lens as it were, the present-day explosion of antisemitism is a very compelling symptom of that evil.

    I appreciate your words on Arch of Titus. I did indeed intend for that closing line to give cause for optimism, but there is a cruel historical irony in that line as well which addresses the leftist BDS movement which claims that Jews are colonizers in their own country. Anyone who knows the Bible, history or archaeology would know that the Jewish presence in Israel gives them a most compelling claim to indigeneity in the Holy Land which makes the leftist position both absurd and based on science-denial. The Arch of Titus is provides the ultimate archaeological proof that Jerusalem was indeed Jewish. And leftist criticism of Jews “finding their way home” strikes me as both cruel and disingenuous.

    Thank you also for your kind words about the rondeau. You are a master of the form so your favorable critique means a lot. This one required a lot of revision and attention to word-choice. I’m glad it works for you.

    And thank you especially for your thoughts on The Synagogue in Prague which is my favorite of the three. I really love your comment “I would like to think that the majority of us hold the beauty and wonder of those children in our hearts – a pull towards God’s miracles in a world gone insane.” I pray that what you say is true. But even if that is not a general view, the fact that this is your view means a great deal. In the end, I think a society is judged by its commitment to children and the vulnerable. What you say about tyrannical government is so true — and especially government (at least in my view) which is based on an atheist world view. When government is godless, human life means very little and literally any abomination becomes possible.

    Thank you again, Susan, for your generous words. And thank you for the poetic inspiration!

    Reply
  12. Kevin

    Extraordinaire , loved all of them, much went into each of your works. Too felt , it must not have been anything close to an easy write. Thanks for doing the work.Also read all the beautiful comments, touched as well. Congrats!

    Reply
  13. James Sale

    Your stature as a poet grows and grows Brian, and these are wonderfully wrought poems. Their perspective is Jewish, and as you invoke so much history it is sobering to reflect that we can ask of all the great conquerors – Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greek and Rome – where are they now? We know where the Jews are – but where are they? Indeed, it was said in the Middle Ages – I think by Barbarossa’s physician – being asked what was the biggest piece of evidence for the truth of the Bible? The existence of the Jews. It is quite extraordinary, and they are quite extraordinary; but so too is what you omit to say about the arch and Titus’ victory: namely, on the pretty sound assumption given by many scholars that Christ was crucified in AD 30, the sacking of Rome in AD 70 exactly fulfilled the 40 year term of prophecy of Christ that not one stone would be left standing on another. The will of God and human history are entangled in ways that we simply cannot imagine in terms of either scale or of suffering. Let’s hope we are not in line for another major outburst of it. Well done: fantastic work.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      James, thank you so much for this generous comment! I so appreciate your encouragement as well as the additional historical details you’ve brought up. Yes, many an ancient civilization has come and goes but the Jews continue — a rather astonishing thing considering their very small numbers (2 out of 1000 in world population) and the odds that have been stacked against them. The story about Barbarossa’s physician is one that I shall remember and repeat. You’ve raised a fascinating subject with Christ’s 40 year prophesy being fulfilled by the sacking of Jerusalem (I’m sure that’s what you meant rather than Rome) in AD 70. I must read more on that subject. It sounds like something worth writing about. I agree fully about the incomprehensibility of God’s will and how it relates to human history and suffering. Alas, I fear that the major outburst you fear — if not inevitable — may at least be on the table. Still, one must hope for the best. Thank you again, James. You’ve made my day!

      Reply
  14. Roy E. Peterson

    I feel the pulse of Jewish history and persecutions permeate your three poems. As one who has seen similar sites in Poland and Germany, I share the sadness lingering in the two-dozen crayon depictions made by the children with the memories and hopes of seeing “Birds and trees, stars twinkling, sunshine, rain.” While disparate in depictions of time, space, and subject, the three combined are tightly linked to make a powerful presentation of suffering and continued prejudice.

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thank you so much, Roy. It’s hard to see such painful sites but I think it’s important to bear witness. I’m glad the you see all of these connections between these poems which yet provide only the briefest of snapshots of the long, unbroken suffering which marks so much of Jewish history.

      Reply
      • Roy E. Peterson

        One of my heartbreaking stories: When I was a student at the U.S. Army Russian Institute in Garmisch, Germany, our class was able to go to Poland for a one-week tour in 1985. While visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau former concentration camp, we saw a room piled high with suitcases most of which had names on the side. One of the LTC’s in our class was closely reading the inscriptions scrawled, pasted or printed on the sides. I asked why he was so intently reading them. He said, “My grandparents died here. I thought I might find their suitcase(s).”

    • Brian Yapko

      That’s a devastating story, Roy, which I’m very glad you shared. It deserves to be remembered.

      Reply
  15. David Whippman

    Brian, thanks for these well-written and moving poems. Like you, I am Jewish by birth on my father’s side. I’m proud to be a full member of a synagogue, but I respect everyone’s right to choose any religion (or indeed none.) These three poems are all too timely, given the current wave of Jew-hatred (usually shabbily disguised as antizionism.)

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      David, thank you very much for your comment. I, too, respect each person’s right to choose and, although I am very committed to my church, I yet feel quite comfortable going to synagogues because Judaism still speaks deeply to my soul. (I write this while I nibble on prune and apricot hamantaschen that I baked yesterday for Purim!) I appreciate the “timeliness” comment as well, because I am hyper- aware of the antisemitism that has become an epidemic throughout the West. These poems were born because I had to do something to ease my heart on the issue. I decided to try to make the Jewish experience a little bit more relatable by putting it into poetry. A form of bearing witness, as it were.

      Reply
      • David Whippman

        I understand, and you succeeded. These poems do indeed bear witness in a powerful way.

  16. Tamara Beryl Latham

    Brian, all three poems in your trilogy are excellent, but my favorite was “The Arch of Titus.” The meter illustrated a wonderful example of iambic pentameter and we can all, unfortunately, relate to the content and what you’ve painted with words. The rhymes were difficult to write, I’m certain, but fit perfectly in place like a jigsaw puzzle.

    Regarding the first poem, in my opinion, what was being carried away on the far right was “The Table of Shewbread.” I do not see two arched “touching” cherubim wings above the table, so I do not believe it is the “Ark of the Covenant,” but I can make out a cup on the far left and what appears to be a flagon (slightly faded) on the far right.

    As well, you may already know, there was a second “Arch of Titus” found at the “Circus Maximus” in Rome, Italy.

    https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/a-second-triumphal-arch-of-titus-discovered/

    You mentioned it was for the reader to conclude in which city and country the horrific scenario between the rabbi and the hoodlums occurred. I believe this abomination is cyclic and has happened in all the cities around the world that you’ve mentioned. There are just too many people that harbor hatred. Realistically speaking, it’s a disease that cannot be cured, since it is incumbent upon men to have a change of heart. This is what Jesus continuously preached, obviously to no avail.

    Your third poem introduces a series of perfectly rhymed quatrains with an emphasis on the unfortunate history of the Jewish people of Prague. You do have a special talent for making words, set on parchment, come alive.

    Years ago (when I was about 8 years of age) I found a 14K gold circular medal that was about 3/4″ diameter, with an image on the obverse of an infant. I never did any research on the medal until a few years ago. I found the image to be “The Infant of Prague,” and always wondered what was the significance?

    I’m certain everyone had their own interpretation of your poems and all have concluded your poetry is in a class by itself. 🙂

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Tamara, I am so honored by your wonderful comment. Thank you! I appreciate your comment regarding the meter in the Arch of Titus. It’s our most commonly used meter, but it best conveys – for me – that sense of steady forward motion which matches the march of the vanquished. If I could have used a metronome, I would have. A steady meter was essential to the exhausted marching effect. As for the rhymes, I confess to being rather pleased with myself by using “agora” to rhyme with “menorah.”

      What you say about the depiction on the right side of the photograph being the Table of Shewbread does make sense. I had never heard of it before Lannie Brockstein’s comment above.
      Nor was I aware that a second Arch of Titus once existed. Thank you for the Biblical Archaeology article. Fascinating stuff and I hope they are one day able to recreate what was depicted on Arch No. 2.

      As for The Old Rabbi, yes, this is a cyclic abomination which only seems to be interrupted when great tragedy occurs like the Holocaust. Or a pogrom that is so hideous and deadly that remarkably ineffective people of good conscience wring their hands and say “how could we have let this happen? Something must be done.” It’s frustrating. It’s especially frustrating to see it happening today and yet to have so many people blind to it. I have yet to see a bleeding heart leftist put out a sign that says Jewish Lives Matter despite the fact that Jews are the tiniest of minorities but with the highest percentage of hate crimes directed against them.

      Thank you for the kind words about the Synagogue of Prague. I think that bringing history to life is essential for people to recognize themselves in it. Besides that, I’m intrigued by your “Infant of Prague” coin. If you find out its significance, please share it!

      Again, thank you, Tamara, for your very generous comments and the additional information.

      Reply
  17. Tamara Beryl Latham

    You’re quite welcome, Brian.

    The reason the Black Live Matter movement is so effective is because they stand together as one.

    Decades ago a Jewish student from Australia, who was taking classes toward a PhD in New York city, was attacked and killed in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
    Thanks to an Australian attorney there were massive protests and this incident wasn’t repeated for decades.

    When people look away (turn their heads from what they know is wrong) or accept bad behavior, nothing is ever done to resolve the problem or to make certain there are no future incidents.

    Yes, Jewish lives matter, as do all lives, but a large crowd and a megaphone are necessary to make it known that what was done was unacceptable and surely will not be tolerated by the majority in the future.

    Wiki link. See the section that reads –

    Crown Heights –
    Riots and murders
    Yankel Rosenbaum killing

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Heights_riot

    Brian your agora/menorah rhyme was fantastic and there’s a challenge on this site about writing a poem with a word that rhymes with orange. Go for it! 🙂

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Wow, Tamara — I’d heard of the Crown Heights Riots but I’ve never known anything about them. The Yankel Rosenbaum story is horrifying and infuriating. I think what you say about a large crowd and a megaphone are spot on. I think you’re also spot on concerning standing together as one. There are far too many Jews who have become leftists (there have been many such since the 19the Century) who are so devoted to leftist causes that they are willing to betray their own people and/or sell Israel down the river. I find them repugnant.

      As for the “orange” rhyme — I actually participated in that challenge and my entry got some positive feedback. I went the cockney route. Check it out if you’re interested!

      Again thank you for your very perceptive insights!

      Reply
  18. Tamara Beryl Latham

    Brian, the reason many of the Jewish people have become leftists is because they feel the left supports the arts, where the right doesn’t. At least that’s one of the reasons, from what I’ve been told.

    Yes, I remember the Crown Heights riot and what it reminded me of, with regard to the counterattack by the Australians, is the old cliché; “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”

    Brian, I have to leave now, but I will check out your “orange” rhyme later this afternoon. 🙂

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      Thanks, Tamara. There’s truth to what you say. It partially explains the phenomenon in the present but it doesn’t explain historical Jewish leftists like Karl Marx or that horrible anarchist, Emma Goldman. There is a common denominator among them, however: zealous evangelical atheism despite their titular Jewish backgrounds. I consider their ilk to be traitors to their people.

      Reply
  19. Tamara Beryl Latham

    What about Henry Kissinger with his statement “Let the Jews bleed a little”?

    Is there anything worse than that?

    Reply
    • Brian Yapko

      No, Tamara, there isn’t. In some ways he is the apotheosis of the self-loathing Jew. He actually said “If it were not for the accident of my birth, I would be antisemitic.” I consider him no hero.

      Reply

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