By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — Donald Trump has revived his plan, originally raised five years ago, to purchase (or militarily seize) Greenland from Denmark, ostensibly “for economic security.” There is no permanent Jewish population in Greenland, though it is believed that there may have been Jews in Greenland as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, among the Dutch whalers who fished in Greenland waters. Which of the following is true about Jews in Greenland?
A. Fritz Loewe, a Jewish meteorologist, traveled to Greenland in 1929 to work with Alfred Wegener, the geologist who developed the hypothesis of how continental drift works. After their ground-breaking research Loewe returned to his native Germany. But in 1933 he lost his civil service job and was briefly incarcerated because of his religion, leading Loewe to flee Germany and resettle in Australia.
B. Fritz Loewe, a Jewish meteorologist, traveled to Greenland in 1929 to work with Alfred Wegener, the geologist who developed the hypothesis of how continental drift works. Unfortunately, on this trip to the frozen interior of Greenland, Loewe developed frostbite on his toes, leading to a crude amputation by scissors and a pen knife.
C. There are many ethnic communities around the world who claim to be Jewish or to have Jewish roots, including the Bene Israel and the Bene Ephraim of India, the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the Lemba people of southern Africa. There is a small community in Greenland called the B’nai Nordit (sons of Norway) who claim to descend from Jews who traveled to Norway (at the time of Jewish emigration to Russia in the 12th century), eventually then settling in Greenland. While they no longer live religiously as Jews, they do not eat the shellfish available in Greenland but thrive on the plentiful salmon, char and cod in the local waters.
D. Rita Sheftelovich, an Orthodox woman from Copenhagen, traveled to Greenland in the mid-1950’s to work as a nurse, caring for tuberculosis patients among others. Other than the many American Jews serving at the Thule Air Base, she may have been the only Jew in Greenland at that time. She kept kosher by eating canned goods and the plentiful fresh fish.
E. Rita Sheftelovich, an Orthodox woman from Copenhagen, traveled to Greenland in the mid-1950’s to work as a nurse, caring for tuberculosis patients among others. She kept kosher by eating canned goods and the plentiful penguins. (Her rabbi told her that turkeys aren’t listed in the Torah as kosher birds, but are called “tarnegol hodu,” or “Indian chickens” and are considered kosher like chickens. Similarly penguins are called “tarnegol eretz-yarok,” or “Greenland chickens,” and can therefore also be considered as kosher).
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Link to answer: http://rrrjewishtrivia.com/greenland-answer.html