Custom part 5

Although  the acceptance of the Shulchan Aruch by the vast majority of communities largely solved the problem of radically different approaches in different groups, the centrality  of custom was, and is, still an issue. As I noted earlier, originally customs were geographic, not genetic. If one moved to a different location permanently, one was to abandon his original customs and accept the custom of the place where he now resides. But what happens when people from several different places all settle in the same place; and what would be the status of a place that had NO customs (as Jews had not lived there before)? How would customs be set? Should they be set? Should new customs be made?
There was always a concept that if a group moved en masse to a new area, which had no existing community, the customs of the original residence should be maintained. When German Jews migrated East as a result of the Crusades (a third of the Jews of Franco-Germany were murdered at that time, proportionally equivalent to the Holocaust, but lasting a lot longer) they settled mostly in Poland, which had  few Jewish communities previously. That is how Ashkenazi minhag spread across Central and Eastern Europe. But what about when Jews came to a pace with existing customs, with the new comers becoming the majority? Here we have two very different approaches.
One approach was that they must accept the local custom completely. An example of this is Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition settled in many places, mostly around the Mediterranean. But a sizable group also settled in Ashkenazi lands, notably Austria, and the portion of Poland known as Galizia; today that would be Eastern Poland and Western Ukraine. (I have searched in vain for information if the Polish Galizia was named for the Spanish region by the same name. Anyone know?) Those who came to Austria maintained their original Sepharadic ways, forming separate organized communities. However, those who came to Galizia,  felt it necessary to adopt their new home's ways. Most Galizian Jews are unaware that they are, at least in part, descended from Spanish Jews. Many Spanish names are preserved in Yiddish names, albeit in a barely recognizable form.  Two examples: A common Galizian woman's name is Shprintze. The name is meaningless in Yiddish, and is fairly unheard of outside that region. It is actually Esparanza! ("hope" in Spanish). The same holds true for the male name "Anshel". It is actually the Spanish "Angel".
Another approach, and far more widespread, was for each person to keep the custom of his father. This is what is most commonly heard today, and is endorsed by many great rabbis. However, there is no classical source for this.
Now, what about America and Israel? America had no ancient Jewish community. The first communities (Newport, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston) were without exception Sephardic, but soon became  the home of many Ashkenazim, eventually becoming the vast majority. Should all American Jews consider themselves Sepharadic? Should they have, but once communities were organized with Ashkenazic institutions, is this irreversible? Should each person keep his family's customs? Each of these views has rabbinic adherents, but the latter is by far the accepted opinion of most rabbis. Israel is even more problematic. It's original customs were the very basis of Ashkeanzi customs. Should it be considered "Ashkenazi territory"? Should the Jews there go back to the full observance of the Jerusalem Talmud, as their ancestors had done until 1200 years ago? (A small group of rabbis actually advocates that.). Or, since there was no organized Ashkenazi community between about 1300 and the late 1700s. is it Sepharadic territory, with everyone required to accept those customs and traditions? (This was the privately held view of Rabbo Ovadia Yosef, which he didn't address publicly for political reasons). Or is it "keep you father's ways"?. Each approach has its adherents, but  here too, the latter is the most common, albeit with the acceptance of a few customs that are universally recognized as "Minhag Eretz Yisrael". These are mostly Sepharadic customs, that became accepted among Ashkenazim in the Holy Land.
My personal approach is anti custom, unless said custom was instituted by a Sanhedrin for the entire Jewish people, or by an accepted community rabbi or Beit Din FOR THAT COMMUNITY ONLY. The fact that we have sanctified folk practices, some even pagan, has often come at the expense of real Torah practices and concepts. Needless divisions hurt us. Lets look more at the Torah, and the Judaism we present our children, rather than at what our great great grandparents may have done.