Amish in the Holy Land, But Why? (Among other questions)

Submitted by editorkevin (not verified) on 30 November 2010 - 9:30pm

An interesting Amish-related article ran in the Jerusalem Post yesterday, but, wow, it is not a very good one. The piece really leaves a gazillion unanswered questions. The article is about a delegation of Amish that visited the Holy Land recently to express support for Israel and seek forgiveness from the Jewish people. But the article doesn't say how many Amish, where the Amish were from, how long they stayed, and even what they were seeking forgiveness for. Journalism 101. Sheesh. And there is a reference to "Amish from Switzerland"....there are no Old Order Amish in Switzerland, so were there also some Mennonites from Switzerland in on the trip? My quibble isn't with the trip the Amish took, it's with the poor article. I think it could have been a fascinating piece. If the Amish were expressing forgiveness for their silence during World War II, for not speaking out against the Holocaust....then...well, that is touching and poignant...but I think MANY groups were complicit in their silence and the Amish are typically an apolitical people so them not speaking out doesn't seem unusual. So either I'm missing something or it was just a potentially great article that turned into a flop. Click here to read and let me know your thoughts! I will say that many people were suspicious of the Amish during World War II because of their German language and reclusive nature. Of course, they are pacifists and generally apolitical so they didn't support Hitler in the least.....

Re: Amish in the Holy Land, But Why? (Among other questions)

Submitted by gusluke52 (not verified) on 3 December 2010 - 3:47pm.

Hello Muslim Sister,

I recognize that pottery you have displayed. It is Moroccan is it not? A tagine?

gusluke

Re: Amish in the Holy Land, But Why? (Among other questions)

Submitted by muslim sister (not verified) on 3 December 2010 - 4:39pm.

Re: Amish in the Holy Land, But Why? (Among other questions)

Submitted by muslim sister (not verified) on 3 December 2010 - 4:13pm.

it is a moroccan tagine. the one in the picture is really only for serving. the ones you cook out of are a terra cotta color.

they are really priced horribly here. in morocco you can get them for $3, the maxium $10 if they recogonize that you are a tourist. on websites here they are at least $40-50

they are great for cooking but they have taken advantage of people here who need one for cooking. i only have one left

Re: Amish in the Holy Land, But Why? (Among other questions)

Submitted by muslim sister (not verified) on 2 December 2010 - 3:07pm.

http://www.viciousbabushka.com/2009/03/jews-invite-amish-to-tour-brooklyn-hasidic-neighborhoods.html

Re: Amish in the Holy Land, But Why? (Among other questions)

Submitted by gusluke52 (not verified) on 1 December 2010 - 3:10pm.

As an Amish person I can tell you that I know nothing of any trip like this. It has not been mentioned in the Budget. The Minister's Meetings have not mentioned it. Why the Amish people would need to go and ask forgiveness of the Jews is beyond me. There was a Reconciliation Movement that started in Switzerland and involved some renegade Amish from Idaho, I think, that are not even Amish, anymore. The Swiss churches wanted to ask forgiveness of the Amish and Mennonites for the persecution of the Anabaptists back in the Middle Ages. Somehow they got ahold of these Amish in Idaho and they went over. Ended up they were enjoying the reconciling process so much they were reconciling with anybody they could get ahold of. Came back to the States and wanted to reconcile with Native Americans. Held some kind of pow-wow and were involved in danciing some tribal dance and smoking the peace pipe. The Amish people, as a whole, were not amused.

So, whoever went over to seek forgiveness from the Jews they weren't speaking for the Amish people. I have no idea who they were. Not that I know everything that goes on in the Amish communities nationwide but something like this would need the authorization of the Amish Steering Committee.

Why the Amish would need Jewish forgiveness I have no idea. There were no Amish in Europe during World War II. The Amish have never persecuted the Jewish People or any people that I know of. That's the whole point of being Amish. We are a Non-Resistant people. We don't want to hurt, anybody. We would rather take the hurt on ourselves than to hurt others.

Enough said.