Famous Palestinian Jews Including My Own Padrow Neighbors

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

Hillel (the Elder) b: 1st century BCE in Babylonia had made his way to Palestine where he lived.  founder of school "House of Hillel-Bet Hillel." ancestor of dynasty holding office until 5th century, a manual laborer himself while studying with leading teachers Shemaiah and Avtalyon, became president of Sanhedrin and was one of the last pairs of Zugot of scholars (debators).  Known for his saying:  "Do not do unto others that which you would not have them do unto you."-the Golden Rule.

Hillel II: 330-365 CE, Patriarch of Palestinian Jewry.  called "My brother by emperor Julian, "the venerable patriarch".  published a system of intercalation to equalize the solar and lunar years, making it possible for the Jewish calendar to be determined without seeing the lunar phases; extremely accurate.                                                                       

Matthew Padrow b: November 22, 1898 in Jerusalem, immigrated to Portland, Oregon, was a dentist and a pharmacist.  d:July 16,  1967 in Portland.  They lived 2 houses from mine.  I grew up playing with Joan.  My father died on July 23, 1967, a week after Matt had died.  

Lea (Mimi) Padrow nee Robinson, b: Peta Tikva, Palestine 21 July 1907, d: June 5, 1975 Portland.  Lea walked over to our house every day to visit with my mother for a few minutes.  She would pinch our cheeks.   Her brother lived with them and was a Hebrew teacher.  

               
                                       Ben Padrow 1971
 

Ben Padrow:  b: 1927-d: 1986, son of Matthew Padrow born in Jerusalem who lived in Palestine and Mimi Padrow of Peta Tikva whose family had a small hotel and orange groves.  His parents  left around 1929 during the riots.    

Ben was Portland State's speech teacher on faculty and head of Jewish Review newspaper of Portland, Oregon. He wrote speeches for Oregon politicians, including Betty Roberts and Bob Straub, and served on Multnomah County Commissioner Don Clark's staff.  Padrow discusses his involvement in the Democratic Party, particularly serving on the Multnomah County Commission from 1971 to 1974. He closes the interview by discussing the future of Portland State University.  I took speech from Ben at Portland State.  He wanted a bio turned in and so I wrote the longest one I've ever written just for him.  

        Joan is almost completely hidden in the 3rd row in the back with her head between Donald Hart and me, the tallest girl.  Donald Hart was her friend.  My brother, David, is in the front row, the wee little blond boy holding onto his cousin Charlotte's hand.  Joan was about 7 and I was about 9. I lived in Ladd's Addition in Portland.    

Joan Padrow, b: c.1936, smartest student at Abernethy Grade School of her year. Married a graduate of Portland University in optometry and they moved to New York. 

Abiathar Ben Elijah Ha-Cohen (1040-1109) Last Palestinian Gaon. [Intellectual leader with temporal power of the Babylonian Jewish community in post-talmudic period of 6th to 11th centuries.]  Exiled for a period following a violent quarrel with Egyptian exilarch David ben Daniel.  He left Palestine at a time of the 1st Crusade, transferring the seat of the Gaonate to Syria.    

Akiva, Ben Joseph (50-135 CE) a Tanna (teacher of 1st 2 centuries) , uneducated until age 40 whose wife, Rachel, helped him to learn and he became the greatest scholar of his time.  He had his own school in Bene Berak, Palestine.  Akiva had a great interest in mysticism.  The Romans banned studying the Jewish law.  He ignored them, and was arrested and put in prison.                      

Simeon Bar/Ben Kokhba, nephew of Eleazar of Modiin, of Davidic descent, leader of the Revolution, took back Jerusalem in 132 -died by 135 fighting for it.  The Roman counterattack was with 35,000 soldiers under Hadrian and the commander, Julius Severus who entered Galilee, then fought actions for the Valley of Jezreel, Ephraim, and the Judean Hills before retaking Jerusalem. 

Roman soldiers enter the town of Betar in 135 AD, brutally crushing the Bar Kokhba Revolt, killing all the Jewish defenders. It also ended the long history of Jewish resistance to the Roman Empire, as all the Judean villages were totally wiped out. 

The Bar Kokhba revolt so called as it was led by Simon Bar Kokhba, was the last of the 3 major Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire. The main trigger was the construction of a new Roman City Aelia Capitolina over the ruins of Jerusalem.  The revolt ended in a total massacre of Jews in the Judea region. Around 400,000 were estimated to have been killed or taken into slavery by the Romans. Also Jews were barred from Jerusalem. One major effect was doing away with the Messiah concept. Instead of a physical figure, the Messiah in Judaism was seen to be more abstract, and the Rabbis gained importance. Simon bar Kokhba was later denounced as a false Messiah in the Talmud.

 Bar Kokhba fell when Betar fell by storm and Romans took 50 fortresses and 985 villages and 580,000 Jewish casualties  and those who died of hunger and disease.  Jerusalem became a heathen city, barred to Jews by the Romans.  Romans hated Kokhba who had organized a nearly total popular revolt which engaged the best Roman forces for over 3 years.  

Nahum Gutman (1898-1980)was a Moldovan-born Israeli painter and author, son of Simhah Ben-Zion, main work in graphic art and illustration, also wrote books for children.  

His father was a Hebrew writer and educator who wrote under the pen name S. Ben Zion. In 1903, the family moved to Odessa, and two years later, to Ottoman Palestine. In 1908, Gutman attended the Herzliya Gymnasium in what would later become Tel Aviv. In 1912, he studied at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. 

The Exodus ending in about 1571 or 1445 BCE on some records, should have ended when Moses died in 1271BCE on our Jewish calendar and brought  in 650,000 Jews;  and in 135 CE Romans killed at least 600,000-650,000 Jews.  

 Our soldiers guarding Israel with guns and prayers

As you can see, some Jews have been living in Judah, then called Palestine by the Romans ever since Romans occupied the land and then trashed it by burning down the Temple and the city. Though Jews were barred from living there, some managed to stay.

In 1920 from September to December, a total of 5,716 immigrants entered Palestine of which 5,514 were Jews.  202 were Christians and Moslems.  

In 1921, a total of 9,339 immigrants entered of which 9,149 were Jews.  190 were Christians and Moslems. 

In 1922, a total of 8,128 immigrants entered of which 7,844 were Jews.  284 were Christians and Moslems.

1924 had 12,856 Jews entering.

1925 had 33,801 Jews entering.  

1935 had 61,854 Jews entering.

1945 (January to November) had 12,032 Jews enter.

total Jewish immigrants:  367,845.  

Resource: 

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters, p.432.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachum_Gutman