The movement to erase the memory of Christopher Columbus goes hand-in-hand with the removal of Confederate statues. Be that as it may, let me point out that there is a definite Jewish connection to Columbus. Some even believe he may have been Jewish, perhaps a converso who became Catholic once the infamous Isabella and Ferdinand took the throne of Spain).
We all know, “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” There is another, less familiar, verse…
”In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue
and his interpreter whose name was Lou
was a Jew
and that is true”
(Why that one didn’t take hold is beyond me)
Louis de Torres was a member-of-the-tribe who was fluent in Hebrew. Since Columbus was interested in finding the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel – and expected to - he brought deTorres along. Columbus’ navigator and doctor were also Jewish (well, of course his doctor was Jewish), and three conversos financed the trip for the Queen and King. It is said that they had converted in order to serve in the royal court.
Columbus entered into his log that he saw ship after ship sail away with Jews who had known Spain as their country for hundreds of years. It is said that Columbus’ journey was financed by the confiscation of Jewish property.
Now about my view that the explorer himself may have been Jewish….just as Mordecai and Esther of Purim fame had changed their names most likely to assimilate into Persian culture, some believe Columbus did so as well. Both used alien deities to achieve their goal. The gods of Persia were Marduk and Ishtar (Mordecai and Esther… see!), so who would think that someone with CHRIST (opher) in his name would actually be a nice Jewish boy (well, ok, Jesus was Jewish, but the Italians and Spaniards of that day didn’t put 2 and 2 together)?
Colombo is Columbus in Italian, and there are Jews of his generation who did have that last name. Furthermore, he was born on the coast of Italy, and when our people left Babylonia, thus developing the diaspora, many settled on the coast of Italy and other Mediterranean countries to take advantage of business opportunities. But when one considers his terrible treatment of the indigenous people of the Americas, murdering and enslaving so many, one would hope he was not Jewish.
(A chuckle: Speaking of Catholics, the children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic Elementary School for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun wrote a note, posting it on the apple tray: “Take only ONE. God is watching.” Moving further along the lunch line at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note: “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”)