As I noted in As a Jew I Apologize: "Jews invented Western Culture that gave us the idea of equality before the law, the sanctity of life, and the dignity of man. That by giving the world the Ten Commandments we all have learned the meaning of individual conscience and social responsibility."

So a few days ago, my friend Bernard Wishnia sent me an email with the title "Jews on the Moon" about all the Jews in the world going to the moon and noting that the writer of this brilliant piece remains unknown. I was able to locate the actual author of the essay and because it perfectly illustrates what would indeed happen to an Earth devoid of Jews, I would like to reprint the original, unaltered version.

Here, with the permission of Janet S. Tiger, is her essay © 2003

"May we please have the moon?"

The Jews settled the moon in 2053, just about five years after the end of the Islamic Wars of the 40's, where the Middle East, and Israel, of course, had been obliterated by nuclear weapons.

The two million Jews remaining throughout the rest of the world – less than 100,000 total in all the Islamic countries- banded together and purchased the dark side of the moon, which no other companies or people wished to colonize.

Great transports were arranged via the 62,000 mile space elevator and the Space Shuttle and every Jew on Earth – including anyone who claimed any Jewish heritage whatsoever – left to go to a place where no one could blame them for anything. The Earth rejoiced – happily rid of all Jews. There were huge parties throughout all of Sweden and the rest of Europe, Africa, Asia South America, and North America. (Now known as the Northern Alliance of Islamic States after the United States was taken over peacefully in the elections of 2040 by a predominantly Muslim Congress and President, who immediately passed amendments making Islam the main religion of the United States and the world.)

After the last Jew entered the elevator, (a David Goldstein, 62, formerly of New York), the Earth was officially declared Judeinfreit by Hans Ibn Hitler, a great, great-grandson of Hitler who had been raised in Brazil and hidden by Nazis until the precious moment.

It was not an easy move for the Jews, but, in some ways, it was no different than all moves of previous eras. Some former Israelis, (still alive because they were out of Israel when the bombs dropped), claimed that the moon was easier to deal with because there were no Extremist Muslims. Of course, this precipitated a huge argument with some Jews, who felt not having the Radical Muslims nearby was not enough challenge. Other Jews argued that taming a wilderness with no atmosphere, plant or animal life and freezing temperatures was enough challenge.

And yet other Jews argued that arguing was counterproductive. It came as no surprise to anyone that the two million Jews, there were eventually one million synagogues. (With the other million Jew not joining.)

It was also no surprise that within just three years, the Jews had created a controlled environment that allowed for fantastic plant and animal growth and production. The transports, which had been called the Arks, had also carried two of each animal and plant (remember, Noah), and through the ingenuity of the Jews and cloning, there were now many new species which sped up production of food (cows with six udders, chickens with four legs.)

The population had rapidly increased, and due to the amazing collection of scientific and medical minds, most diseases and even ageing had been reduced to nil.

There was even a ministry of communication with Earth consisting of the remains of Hollywood producers and moviemakers, who sent back to Earth portraits of life on the moon.

Of course, it had been decided when the Jews first got to the moon – based on six-thousand-year history of people being jealous of Jewish accomplishment – that all news coverage of the moon’s population would be "movie-ized" to show only horrible things. The film industry, led by Jordan Spielberg, went to great lengths to fabricate news clips to show Jews barely surviving in the harsh lunar habitat. Artists and engineers laboured to cover over the vast environmental successes with illusionary domes showing massive areas of wasteland – just in case anyone from Earth ever sent a spaceship with cameras to see what was going on.

But no one ever did, and the years passed rapidly. One decade, then another. Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, brises, all celebrated under the artificial world that the Jews had created – not only had it not been that bad, but by the end of the century, some Jewish authors were calling the moon colony – Eden 2.

Of course other Jews disagreed. In fact, much time was spent on disagreeing. There were even contest for arguing, but, in general, there was peace. Anyone who threatened the peace was forced to officiate at a contest with people arguing about why that person was wrong. The contests would go on for days, (sometimes weeks) until the troublemaker begged for forgiveness. (Many penalties on the moon were similar to this, and were extremely effective.)

Back on Earth, life disintegrated without the Jews. There was a return to Middle Ages thought – only the current religion du jour was valid – all others were kept legislated into poverty until a war erupted and the positions changed for a few years.

Another amazing anomaly appeared when there were no longer any Jews on Earth – antisemitism actually increased to monumental proportions. Famous orators explained this simply by saying; "I don’t have to have a gun to be afraid of having my brains blown out."

Additionally, without the presence of the Jew, the world developed incredible evil that had no release. (Previous evil had always focused on the Jews;) One Rabbi actually said G-d spoke to him and said that he, G-d was about to destroy the Earth because everyone on the Earth was evil. The Rabbi begged him to reconsider, and that if there were 1,000 good people left on Earth, G-d should spare the planet. G-d then told the Rabbi, "Hey, I was through this before with Abraham and Noah and I already know the answer because I’m G-d"

People laughed at the Rabbi, but then, one day, while all the lunar citizens were going about their business, an enormous series of explosions was seen on the Earth. Everyone on the moon stared at the distant fireballs that seemed to engulf the blue planet that was once their home.

Although there had been great anger at being forced to leave the Earth, the true spirit of Judaism was always present on the moon, and no one had wished ill onto their former home. As in the tradition of the Seder (when the wine is spilled because the Egyptians perished and we do not rejoice fully when even an enemy has died) when the Jews saw what was happening, they began to weep and pray, and watch what was to be the final news broadcast from Earth.

The horror of the apocalypse was videotaped by cameras until all electricity was ionized by the new electron bombs. Entire countries were wiped away in the blink of an ion exploding.

And then, it was, the final transmission from the nation that had started the entire mess – it was a desperate headline screamed by a hundred dying newscasters. Their rant continued until it was just blackness. What were they saying? As the Jews watched, some gasped, others cried, and a few even laughed. For the last words of the disappearing civilization were a condemnation. "Then Jews have caused all our problems – they left us here to face the mess they made." "If the Jews hadn’t taken all the best scientists and engineers, we could have defeated our enemies" "our enemies are the Jews!" "Kill all the Jews"

It took a little while, but the electronics experts pieced together what had happened on Earth in the last days. antisemitism, which had grown stronger and stronger since the Jews had left, had reached its pinnacle, and all the countries of the world had decided to launch a massive attack on the moon.

The attack had been coordinated by the United Nations and, although all the missiles had been launched properly, there was some sort of glitch in the targeting system, resulting in all the weapons colliding in the upper atmosphere and showering the Earth with a deadly rain of nuclear fire, electronic destruction and a generally bad day. The mistake triggered the military response of all the nations – (who all had nuclear weapons by then – plus a few other horrid toys) and the result was truly an Armageddon.

The Jews on the moon went into a period of deep mourning. The Orthodox rent their clothing and there were mass counseling sessions.

And, then about one week after the BIG DAY, as it was now called, a presence was detected heading towards the moon. Had one of the missiles escaped? Were the Jews doomed after all? The leaders checked with the defense experts – no, this was not a missile, it was an old-style spacecraft, like the ones used in the early seventies. As it approached, the laser defense was trained on the craft. Debates raged as to whether the craft should be destroyed or allowed to get close enough to communicate with.

The message from the ship came just in time. It said, "We are the last representatives from Earth – two from each country and we come in peace." Some Jews rejoiced that there were survivors, others demanded isolation or death of the approaching group.

The Rabbi who had had the vision told the leaders that G-d wanted them to have a chance so they were allowed to circle the moon. When told they could have a section of land to themselves to farm and repopulate, the Earthlings were upset. They told the Jews that they should be allowed to live with the Jews and have all the same privileges – because, after all, in Judaism, the stranger is given the same rights and privileges as the citizen.

Upon hearing this, the leaders went to the Rabbi with the visions, and he offered to guide them to their new home. The leaders allowed him to give the instructions for landing. Not trusting the Rabbi, the commander of the ship didn’t listen and crashed into a lunar crater.

And so we have the final days of the history of the planet Earth, which have been generously shared with us by the Jewish colony of the 453rd Solar System of the (M Galaxy. Although the Earth is currently uninhabitable, the head engineer of the Jewish colony on Mars tells us that Venus will be fully colonized by the year 2120, and with continuous replanting, Earth will once again be ready for Jews returning from other planets in the year 2136.

An interesting side note – inside the wreckage of the rocket with the survivors from Earth was a specially marked package that had survived which included the following words:

"Once there was a great planet named the Earth. And there were many peoples on this planet, and they all existed peacefully with each other, except for the Jews. Wherever there were Jews, there was trouble. Jews brought dirt and death and hatred and strife. They were finally banished from our planet, only to take with them many great inventors and scientist and doctors, leaving Earth with nothing. We have decided to destroy the remnants of the Jews, and since the first attempt failed, we are the last chance for Earth. Whoever shall find this will know the truth - It was all the Jews’ fault."

This panel has been saved and is on display at the Earth Memorial Museum at Rivka Crater, NW, for all travelers who wish to see the remains of a civilization that did not understand the words - "he who blesses the Jews, is himself blessed, he who curses the Jews, is himself cursed"

Shalom

More Jewish-themed plays can be found at Holocaust related plays by Janet S. Tiger.

Janet S. Tiger’s monologues, one-acts and plays have been published in anthologies in the United States and Canada, and have been performed all over the world from Broadway to Burma. She is the recipient of an NEA-COMBO Fellowship Award, numerous contest awards and multiple commissions. From 2006-2008, she served as Playwright-in-Residence at Swedenborg Hall in San Diego.

Tiger is married with two children, and is currently on the Board at Ohr Shalom Synagogue in San Diego, serving as Publicity Chair.

Related: Here are 13 things to blame on the Jews.

In regard to Jews purchasing the dark side of the moon, it is interesting to note that Jews at the present time are the largest owners of moon real estate at the present time (with a tip of the turban to Allahpundit at Hot Air):

The Jerusalem Post, 4 Jan 2007,
Israelis blast past others in bid to own moon

Israelis own 10 percent of the privately owned area on the moon, according to Tom Wegner, a spokesman for Crazyshop, a company that sells plots of moon land to private individuals in Israel.

About 10,000 Israelis have purchased moon property since it became available in 2000. Of the 10 million acres sold worldwide, 1 million are owned by residents of Israel, Wegner said Wednesday.

"Some Israelis believe that buying land on the moon is an original gift and a great investment that their grandchildren might benefit from," he told The Jerusalem Post.

Israeli moon property sales rose dramatically last month following NASA's announcement on December 5 that it would establish an "international base camp" on one of the moon's poles, landing astronauts in 2020 - and setting up a permanent colony four years later.

Although the sales also increased in the United States, nowhere in the world were they as high as in Israel. While about 9,000 Israelis purchased plots from 2000 until December's announcement, a full 1,000 did so over the last month, Wegman said. "This trend will continue to increase in Israel; it is a snowball effect," he said.

Israelis make their purchases through a Web site run by Crazyshop, which also offers other "out of this world" products such as the opportunity to name a star after a loved one. The company, which claims to be the exclusive place to buy moon property, is a franchise owned by American Dennis Hop, who "owns the moon," according to Wegman.

For an interesting article on how Jews will live and thrive on other planets, read:

The Jewish Daily Forward, Jews in Space

Gene Roddenberry’s 1960s vision of a post-religious society challenges us to ask, as a people, whether we are space-worthy or Earthbound. Are there features of Judaism that make it adaptable to space and other planets?

Turns out we have been orbiting the space theme for quite some time. The future has long been contemplated by rabbis, Jewish writers and scientists, and so has the Jewish people’s ability to adapt to it.

Rabbis and academics — “exo-theologians” — already concern themselves with how Jews will live and thrive on other planets: how our concept of God might change, how we will celebrate Jewish holidays light years from home and when we should light the Shabbos candles on Mars.

As early as 1971, Rabbi Norman Lamm, now chancellor of Yeshiva University, began to grapple with Jewish exo-theology in his essay “The Religious Implications of Extraterrestrial Life.” If there is a “discovery of fellow intelligent creatures,” he concludes, it will “broaden our appreciation of the mysteries of the Creator and His creations.” We seem to be open to the idea of the cosmos: When we say in Hebrew, “Mazel tov,” literally we mean that an event is occurring under a “lucky star.” Science fiction, a genre with an abundance of Jewish writers and readers, has also dealt with the themes of Jewish life in space. Moreover, dispersion stories abound — humanity traveling far from home as a result of some cosmic calamity, as in the TV series “Battlestar Galactica.” With our history of expulsions and the Diaspora, it’s a story Jews know well.

The Talmud tells us that “God roams over 18,000 worlds,” and commentators speculate that He roams because there is life out there. But are there Jews?

In “Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy,” the age-old question “Who is a Jew?” gets a new spin. William Tenn’s 1974 story “On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!” recounts the tumult at the First Interstellar Neozionist Conference, when a group of creatures with gray spots and short tentacles arrive from Rigel IV and want to be included as Jews in the conference. Turns out they are Jews by descent whose alien environment has altered them over time.

...

At least a minyan has made the trek, and several Jewish astronauts even took Judaica with them. In 1996, astronaut Jeffrey A. Hoffman truly made aliyah, by taking a Torah with him on the Space Shuttle Columbia. The first Jew to live in the International Space Station, Garrett Reisman, affixed a mezuza to his bunk.

The jump into space has taken its toll on the tribe. Judith Resnik, who died in the 1986 destruction of the Challenger, was the first American Jew to die in space, and Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut who died in the 2003 Columbia space shuttle tragedy, had even sought rabbinic guidance as to when to celebrate the Sabbath in orbit.

The answer: He would follow Cape Canaveral time — that is, the point of lift-off, based on a principle in Jewish law that while living in a remote place, such as Earth orbit, one should observe Shabbat according to the times of the nearest city that has a large Jewish population.

If you are wondering why there are no Muslims in space in the Star Trek series, the answer is here.