The Associated Press reports that a bunch of artifacts hidden by Jews fearing for their lives in 14th Century Europe, are on display in a London museum.
Isn’t that nice?
The report notes that the items, like silver vessels, historic coins and three of the earliest known examples of Jewish wedding rings, were believed to have been hidden by medieval Jews who feared being blamed for the plague.
This was not, by-the-way, an idle, baseless fear. Thousands of Jews were murdered throughout Europe by a populace seeking someone to blame for the Black Death, and the Jews were a convenient target. Rumors swirled about the Jews poisoning the wells and causing the plague.
I wonder if anyone besides me sees the similarity between what befell the innocent Jews of medieval Europe and the precipice on which the Jews of modern Europe and the rest of the world find themselves today.
Back then, the Jews were blamed for a disease that is estimated to have reduced the world’s population by between 75 and 100 million, even though the real culprits were the teeming rats and a failure to recognize the need for general cleanliness.
Now, the Jews are being blamed for worldwide terrorism, even though the real culprits are the teeming radical Islamists and a general failure to recognize evil.
I’ve read wild rumors about the Jews being behind the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Of several Israelis being deported right afterward for celebrating the carnage. That the Jews are shooting Palestinian children randomly for throwing pebbles in an attempt at genocide.
As far as I’m concerned, this and stuff like it are the modern equivalent of medieval anti-Semitism. Instead of the Jews shooting Palestinian children, they were using the blood of Christian babies to make matzah. Instead of secretly warning all New York Jews to stay away from the World Trade Center on 9/11, they were connected directly to Satan through special equipment hidden in their beards.
The ridiculousness of the accusations are exactly the same and the result could be, too, if something isn’t done to tone it down.
Admittedly, back then the Jews were entirely at the mercy of the countries in which they lived, and now there’s Israel, which has a fairly effective army. This makes the Jews a slightly less convenient target.
Nevertheless, there are only about 14 million Jews in the entire world, compared, let’s say, to 100 million Arabs and a billion Muslims.
It’s one reason why I have trouble fathoming anyone’s confusing the David with the Goliath in the Arab/Israeli conflict, but they do. All the time.
Anyway, some of the pieces in the London show are at least 650 years old. Most come from Colmar, France and Erfurt Germany, near the remains of the town’s 11th Century synagogue, according to the story.
Members of Erfurt’s Jewish community were murdered or driven out during a pogrom that began in 1349, the story notes.
What strikes me is that pretty much all that’s left of that once-thriving Jewish community are what are now ancient artifacts. But I can imagine when they were the precious belongings of real people who were probably murdered because someone believed they’d stolen Palestine from the Palestinians… Oops, I mean poisoned the wells…
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