The Ashkenazi Revolution

83time during various stages of the 19 th century. In contrast to this, theAshkenazi People entered the 20 th century with great force. Not only did itenter, but it was also one of the great peoples that brought the rest of theentire world into this century. The entry of Ashkenaz into the twentiethcentury was more complete, and more successful, than that of many otherEuropean peoples, which dwelt in their own lands. During the 19 th and 20 thcenturies a new stage was formed, in the struggle between Ashkenazi Jewryand Sephardi Jewry. Ashkenaz dwarfed Sepharad and made it a laughingstock. Even the fleeting and short golden age of Sepharad paled andlooked insignificant compared to the wonderful accomplishments ofAshkenaz. The claims of the Sephardic leaders, that political conditionsfavored Ashkenaz, are based on lies. The French penetration into NorthAfrica, which began with the conquest of Algeria in the year 1830, broughtabout good conditions for the development of the Jewish communitiesthere. Additionally, there were Sephardic concentrations in the Balkans, inEngland, in France and Holland. The Sephardi decline, and the ascent ofAshkenaz, did not come about from different external conditions, but fromthe internal historical strength that was imbedded within Ashkenaz, and thecorresponding weakness of Sepharad. The extended competition betweenAshkenaz and Sepharad ended in the 19 th century with the decisive victoryof Ashkenaz. Concerning the superiority of Ashkenaz over other Jewishpeoples, it is not necessary to even elaborate.The natural population increase of Ashkenaz in Europe worsened itscondition. Its strengthening fomented hatred and torrents of venom.However, this numeric strengthening of Ashkenaz was not the only reasonfor the intensification of anti-Semitism. It had an additional cause, whoseorigin lay with the nature of the relationship between the Jews and the non-Jewish nations. The compromise that was reached between the Jews andthe Romans, at the conclusion of the Roman-Jewish wars, allowed the Jewsto exist as a people with the condition that they relinquish any desire toinfluence the political lot of space, and that they concentrate their efforts onone single goal: The rule over time and the assurance of eternal life. Inthis unwritten Jewish-Roman arrangement, the Jews obligated themselvesto live in the ghetto and to refrain from leaving it as long as a messianic