Angela Merkel and Sultan Bayezid II

TIME 2015 Person of the Year.

It is without doubt, to my mind, that the 21st century Germany Chancellor, Angela Merkel is the equivalent of the visionary 15th century Ottoman ruler, Sultan Bayezid II, who welcomed thousands of Jewish refugees to Ottoman lands.

While Bayezid II accepted thousands of Spanish Jews seeking refuge from the Spanish Inquisition 1492, Merkel has to date welcomed more than 100,000 Syrian refugees and is reported to take in a million more refugees.

This is why history is very important. As George Santayana famously said, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it".

Donald Trump is one good example. 

His ridiculous proposal to ban Muslims from entering America is no different from King Ferdinand's decree to expel Muslims and Jews from Spain.

Someone should really remind Trump and his fellow GOP supporters about the dark history of the Spanish Inquisition. I cannot imagine the kind of disaster if Trump becomes president in 2016 - god forbid.