History of Sorts

I know that in the current political environment, there is a popular belief among some that the name Israel did not exist until 1948. Ironically, some of these same people will be celebrating the birth of a Jewish man, born in Bethlehem, a city in Israel, more than 2000 years ago.

I can appreciate that many will not accept that as evidence. So the best way to prove the existence of the name Israel is by pointing out a law created by the biggest enemies of the Jews, the Nazis, a law which came to power on January 1, 1939.

Paragraph 2 of the Law on Alteration of Family and Personal Names

“If a Jew bears a name differing from those which according to § 1 can be given to Jews, as of January 1, 1939, he must adopt an additional first name, namely Israel in the case of a male and Sara in the case of a female.”

The government required Jews to identify themselves in ways that would permanently separate them from the rest of the German population. In the new August 1938 law, authorities decreed that by January 1, 1939, Jewish men and women bearing first names of “non-Jewish” origin had to add “Israel” and “Sara,” respectively, to their given names. All German Jews were obliged to carry identity cards that indicated their heritage, and, in the autumn of 1938, all Jewish passports were stamped with an identifying red letter “J.” As Nazi leaders quickened their war preparations, antisemitic legislation in Germany and Austria paved the way for more radical persecution of Jews.

Sources

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1933-1938/law-on-alteration-of-family-and-personal-names