The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1964, Blaðsíða 20

18
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1964
ICELANDERS AND JEWS
(A few comparisons)
It is not infrequently that Iceland-
ers and Jews are compared. When this
is done it is most often in connection
with the hope that Icelanders can keep
their identity as Icelanders and pre-
serve their native language, while
scattered over the Western Hemi-
sphere. It is remarkable that Jews, liv-
ing all over the world, persecuted and
homeless for nearly 2,000 years, have
kept their identity, traditions, and
religion. The Jews having done this,
why cannot Icelanders do likewise? So
goes the argument. I hope that a few
contrasts and comparisons of these
two peoples may throw some light
upon this question.
First let us say, that while the Jews
have kept their racial stock remark-
ably pure, also their religion and tra-
ditions, they have not maintained He-
brew as their living spoken language
as Icelanders have kept itheir language.
Only scholars and Rabbis have
learned Hebrew for several centuries
past. The O.T. is written for the most
part in Hebrew, the original language
of the Jews (Hebrews). By the time of
the N.T. the language used was
Aramaic. Both of these languages be-
long to the Semitic family of languages.
That the Hebrew language is lost to
the common people today is plainly
seen in the concerted effort made in
Israel to teach it to the people. Are Ice-
landers likely to maintain their lan-
guage outside of Iceland, were Jews
have failed.
A FEW CONTRASTS
Icelanders are a part of the larger
group called Scandinavians, which in
turn belongs to the still larger group,
the Teutons or Germanics. We are
well acquainted with the seafaring-
activities of our forefathers. Of course
they lived on land, yet they were quite
as much at home on the sea. Their
land discoveries—Iceland, Greenland
and Vinland (America)—are an integral
part of our proud heritage. They were
Vikings. The word Viking is almost
synonymous with the sea. To this day
we are sea people. Today Iceland gets
the larger part of its livelihood from
the sea. It was no accident that the
early immigrants from Iceland settled
on the shores of Lake Winnipeg in
Manitoba. The many Icelanders now
living on the Pacific Coast may have
chosen that locale because of the favor-
able climate, -but they also chose it be-
cause of the natural attraction that the
sea has for all Icelanders. We do not
feel at home far in :the interior of a
large continent, for the stormy sea is a
part of our being. The Vikings were
sea-rovers; they were also sea-lovers.
A new dimension is added to life when
we are by the sea or a large body of
water.
The Jews on the other hand are
land people with more than casual
acquaintance with the desert, belong-
ing to the Semitic group of people
inhabiting a large part of the Middle
East. They have never ventured out
upon the sea. Being land people only,
they have an awe if not a real fear of