Russian version
Throwing Stones at Jews is based in Ancient Islamic Ritual
- Информация о материале
- Автор: Joseph E. Katz
Eretz Yisroel.org
During the Hajj pilgrimage there is a ritual in which pilgrims stone
a pillar symbolising the devil near the holy city of Mecca.
Islamic sermons repeatedly emphasize the connection between the Jews
and Satan. What is the proper way to deal with an insolent Jew?
To throw stones.
Dr. Abdul Halim Mahmoud, rector of Cairo’s al-Ashar University, theologically
and politically the most influential university in Islamdom: “Allah commands
Moslems to fight the friends of Satan wherever they are to be found.
Among the friends of Satan—indeed, among the foremost friends of Satan
in the present age—are the Jews.”1
Just after the turn of the present century, the British vice-consul
in Mosul wrote a report that illustrated the nature of the "traditional
relationship" between Muslim and Jew in a less volatile moment:
The attitude of the Moslems toward the Christians and Jews, to whom
as stated above, they are in a majority of ten to one, is that of a master
towards slaves whom he treats with a certain lordly tolerance so long as
they keep their place. Any sign of pretension to equality is promptly repressed.
It is often noticed in the streets that almost any Christian submissively
makes way even for a Moslem child. Only a few days ago the writer saw two
respectable looking, middle-aged Jews walking in a garden. A small Moslem
boy, who could not have been more than 8 years old, passed by and, as he
did so, picked up a large stone and threw it at them -- and then another
-- with the utmost nonchalance, just as a small boy elsewhere might aim
at a dog or bird. The Jews stopped and avoided the aim, which was a good
one, but made no further protest.2
Perhaps the definitive historian on the North African Jews, H. Z. Hirschberg,
notes that in fifteenth-century Tunis, several Jews held "positions of
honor." To a Western-oriented reader, the "position of honor" would indicate
freedom from persecution. Yet an authenticated and respected document of
that period, written by a visiting Flemish nobleman, describes Tunisian
Jews as "despised and hated." After noting the privileged positions of
local Christians, the nobleman wrote:
The Jews, on the other hand, have no freedom. They must all pay a heavy
... tax. They wear special clothes, different from those of the Moors.
If they did not do so, they would be stoned, and they therefore put a yellow
cloth on their heads or necks; their women dare not even wear shoes. They
are much despised and hated, more than even the Latin Christians....3
A teacher was sent from Beirut in 1910 to assess the constant reports
of travail for the Yemenite Jews. He noted that, after
more than a week, I have made myself acquainted with the life of the
Jews in all its phases.... They are exceedingly unfortunate.... If they
are abused, they listen in silence as though they had not understood; if
they are attacked by an Arab boy with stones, they flee...4
According to nineteenth-century historians, some Jewish families in
Aleppo -which, like Alexandria, was an atypically tolerant cosmopolitan
center of international commerce -- were affluent and relatively safe.
Others, even in Aleppo, who were less well-connected were "subject to violence
and oppression from various quarters.".5 Money
was extorted by officials on every pretext, petty bullying was commonplace,
and one Jew reported that "When a Jew walked among them [the Muslims] in
the market, one would throw a stone at him in order to kill him, another
would pull his beard and a third his ear lock, yet another spit on his
face and he became a symbol of abuse."".6
1. Dr. Abdul Halim Mahmoud as quoted
by Prof Paul Eidelberg, in "PLO Terrorism and the Grand Strategy", Palestinian
Media Watch, March 12, 2001
2.Lewis, Islam in History, p. 319, n.
9. Lewis gives an illustration of the "traditional relationship" between
Muslim and Jew from a report by H.E. Wilkie Young, the British Vice-Consul
in Mosul, written January 1909, Middle Eastern Studies, vii (1971), p.
232.
3. Ansehn Adome, a Flemish nobleman,
visited Tunis in 1470. R. Brunschvig, Deux k I Ricits de Voyage Inidits
en Aftique du Nord (Paris, 19 36), p. 29b/ 15 8, p. 192; cited by Hirschberg,
History, pp. 475-476.
4. Reported by Yomtov Zemach, Bulletin
de I'Alliance Israelite Universelle, 1910, Beirut.
5. See E.B.B. Barker, Syria and Egypt
Under the Last Five Sultans of Turkey (London, 1876), vol. I, p. 306; H.L.
Bodman, Political Factions in Aleppo, 1760-1826 (North Carolina, 1963),
pp. 45, 48,102; Ma'oz, "Change, in the Position," Studies on Palestine,
pp. 145-146,
6. M.M. Raysher, Shaarei Yerushalayim
(Lemberg, 1866), p. 29. on extortion, see Ma'oz, "Changes in the Position,"
Studies on Palestine, pp. 145-156.
This page was produced by Joseph E. Katz
Middle Eastern Political and Religious History Analyst
Brooklyn, New York
Russian version
Russian version
An introduction to MAOF
Haim Goldman
Haim Goldman
Dear Friends,
Would you believe that the undersigned has anything in common with
-- Professor Victor Davis Hanson (Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University),
-- Dr Charles Krauthammer, (Washington Post, Time, The Weekly Standard),
-- Caroline Glick (Deputy Managing Editor of the Jerusalem Post),
-- Jonathan Tobin (Executive Editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent).
Amazingly, the editors of the MAOF website decided that the missives of the undersigned are worthy of translation and posting along the articles written by these distinguished authors.
The first letter was published without the consent of the undersigned.
However, after thorough examination of the laudable attitude of MAOF and of the excellent contents of the website, the undersigned had most graciously granted his permission for publication of his missives in both English and Russian.
“Analytical Group MAOF” [1] is an organisation founded about ten years ago by Russian-speaking Jewish intellectuals. The attitude of MAOF is definitely pro-Zionist -- unambiguously and unapologetically.
One of MAOF’s primary purposes is providing information and analysis about Middle-Eastern and world affairs as well as about Israel’s history, values and dilemmas. In addition to extensive publication activity in various media, MAOF also organises excursions and seminars. While the vast majority of the contents of the MAOF website is in Russian, texts originally written in English are provided in the original [2] as well as in Russian.
There are arguably about 250 millions of Russian-speakers worldwide and many of them do not read English. The indisputable motivation for the author’s permission was to grant those millions of disadvantaged people the grand benefit of reading the author’s ruminations. If the author is ever maliciously accused that his tacit motivation for authorising the publication was his craving to be listed along with the above-mentioned distinguished writers, his plea will definitely be “nolo contendere”.
The editors of MAOF expressed their gratitude by granting the undersigned a privilege that no other author got – the opportunity to review and correct the Russian translation before publication. The original letters of the undersigned are at [3] and their Russian version is at [4]. At of today, only two letters are posted but several other letters are pending translation.
You are kindly ENCOURAGED TO RECOMMEND the MAOF website to your friends and colleagues worldwide, particularly those who speak Russian. Those who do not enjoy the benefit of proficiency in the exquisite Russian language can find many thought-provoking and inspiring articles about Middle-Eastern and world affairs in the English section [2].
Sincerely,
Haim Goldman
28.10.2006
REFERENCES:
[1] http://maof.rjews.net
[2] section.php3? sid=37&num=25
[3] authorg.php3? id=2107&type=a
[4] authorg.php3? id=2166&type=a