Parsha Lech Lecha: Went forth from my Heritage The Philippines and New York from where I was born (Left Behind my Hometown of Ramapo) and my father Sixto's Home to Florida (Genesis 12:1). Giant American Flags, Golf Carts, Car Washes, and Storage Facilities, as well as Lovebugs, Cranes, Lizards, and the occasional Turtle were in the land of Spanish Moss, Pine Trees, and Snake Plants, besides plenty of Rainbows (Genesis 12:6).
AMANDA BORSCHEL~DAN: Much like the ancient Israelites, the Edomite people settled and resettled in the Holy Land during various periods of history. Their kingdom was destroyed by the Babylonians around the 6th century BCE. By the Persian era they resettled in the southern hills of Judea. By the Hellenistic period they were called Idumeans by the Greeks following the conquest of Alexander the Great. They eventually assimilated and became Jews.
AVIVA AND SHMUEL BAR~AM: Resin from the spices was so highly valued that in 26 BCE, Roman emperor Augustus tried to capture South Arabia and wrest control of the spices from its rulers. To that end, he sent an army of 10,000 soldiers, 500 Jews drafted by King Herod, and a thousand Nabateans ~ locals who served as middlemen in the spice trade ~ to help in the conquest. The fact that Judean soldiers accompanied the Roman army into South Arabia is the first indication we have of Jews in Yemen.
Jewish Virtual Library: Simeon was absorbed by Judah.
YANIV POHORYLES: According to Shmuel Avukia of the community of Kokhav Yaakov, one of the organizers of these conferences, the Romani people are the lost descendants of the Israelite tribe of Simeon.