Roma are not Palestinian or Dalit

[Rehmat]

Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, a prominent Jewish leader in Navada and California along with Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism - has demanded that the newly elected European Parliament (EU) must work for “urgently ending the apartheid conditions of European Roma”, terming it a moral and a dark stain on the face of Europe. Roma the second largest minority (approx. 10 million) after Muslim communities in Europe (more than 15 million excluding Russia).

“Roma live in deep poverty even in most prosperous parts of the world. Many of their children reportedly study in segregated schools offering inferior quality education and many do not attend school at all.

Their alarming condition is a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world as they reportedly regularly face social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, unusually high unemployment rates, etc.,” – says Zed and Freirich.

Both Zed and Freirich, should be complimented for raising their voices for the most victimized western community which lost more members to the Nazi era than the Jews – but have never been included in as ‘the Holocaust’ – which is reserved the ‘chosen people’ alone. However, they should also be excused for NOT raising their voices for Palestinian and Dalit – being born and brought-up in the world’s most racist societies. Like the illegal Jewish-only settlements in the occupied Palestine – there are thousands of Hindu high-caste housing projects all over India. India’s one of greatest Hindu philosopher, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar (d. 1956), in his book ‘Pakistan or Partition of India’ (p 358), wrote: “If Hindu Raj became a reality then it would be greatest menace to this country. Whatever Hindus may say, actually it doesn’t make a difference that Hinduism is a danger to Independence, Equality and Brotherhood. Thus it is an enemy of democracy. We should make all out effort to stop Hindu Rajfrom becoming a reality.”

Jewish racism aka “chosenness” could not have been explained better than Israeli-born British musician and writer Gilad Atzmon. In his essay The Jewish Experience, he wrote: “In order to understand the Jewish concept of self-loving, we may have to reflect first on the issue that makes this particular form of personal emotional consciousness take place: the issue of chosenness.

While the religious Judiac understanding of Jewish chosenness is realized as a moral burden in which Jews are ordered by G-d to stand as a model of ethical behaviour, the secular Jewish interpretation is reduced into a banal chauvinist form of racially oriented supremacy. It clearly encourages those who are lucky to have a Jewish mother to love themselves blindly. It is crucial to mention at this stage that in most cases Jewish supremacy would lead to a certain level of dismissal of the elementary rights of the others. In many cases it leads toward animosity and even hatred whether latent or manifest……”

It’s interesting to note that while close to 150,000 German Jews served in the Nazi Army – Gypsies were forbidden to serve in the Nazi Army in 1941.(Hancock, 1991).

Roma are an ethnic minority group originally from the Indian subcontinent. The Roma entered Europe and dispersed through the continent around 1300 CE. Roma speak an Indo-Aryan language with many dialects but the roots are from ancient Punjabi or Urdu (Hindi). No universal Romani culture exist, but there are some common traits. These traits are loyaty to family, a belief in their God, Del, and beng their devil. they believe in predestiny, and practice Romaniya, their standard of living. (’A Brief History of the Roma’, 1999).

Turkey is home to the oldest Roma community within Muslim world. Istanbul city authorities are planning to demolish 600-year-old ‘Sulukule Gypsy quarters including belly-dancer night-clubs, to make way for townhouses for the 2010 European Capital of Culture Festival.

More Palestinians (5 million) live outside their native land as refugees than who live (4 million) as the “fourth-class citizens” after European, Arab and Asian/African Jews – in the occupied Palestine. Dalits (members of Hindu lowest caste community) is estimated at 220 million – out of which 20 million live outside India.

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