Ever since I read Leon Uris’s Trinity, I felt that there are certain similarities between Ireland and Israel. From their diaspora living, to their fight against empires to their refusal to let their culture and way of life be erased no matter the odds. Then there was the Irish pilot who flew Jews out of Yemen to Israel and today I learned something new, about a Jewish-Irish partnership which defined from the Chicago Skyline to the fabric of United States in general.
Oh and as it happens this year, the Jewish holiday of Purim when you are to be drunk past memory loss just so happens to coincide with the Irish day to drink past memory loss.
So here’s to the day, when a variant of Jewish religion and Jewish values entered Ireland. Happy St. Patrick’s day to all the Irish lads and lasses. I raise a pint of Guinness to you, any day.
http://forward.com/articles/