Quotes from the early parts of this thread.
In keeping with the thread, since we're speaking of quotes, here's one that insults northern Christians AND YANKEES (my only relative in that war was one of those)!
Senator Ben Wade of Ohio accused him [Judah Benjamin] of being an "Israelite in Egyptian clothing" [for his defence of the South]on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Benjamin answered,
"It is true that I am a Jew, and when my ancestors were receiving their Ten Commandments from the immediate Deity, amidst the thundering and lightnings of Mt. Sinai, the ancestors of my opponent were herding swine in the forests of Great Britain."
Well, if he did say that, he was only making the same statement that Benjamin Disraeli said in the British Parliament. The quote has been attributed to both men; I don't know which of them actually said it first.
I may have recommended this book to you before...I have a signed copy!
Lots of tidbits like New Orleans had more Jews than anywhere in the USA outside NYC in antebellum days or that the antebellum South Carolina State Constitution was the first anywhere to grant religious freedom to Jews specifically...and so forth.
I have this one as well....pretty funny!
