Re: Re: RE: Re: RE: Under Andalusian skies

[Michael Pugliese <debsian@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

   And the 900,000 Jews expelled from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, post '48?
   Do they have a right of return, too?
Michael Pugliese, Zionist Provacateur...That Is Until I Start To Argue  With a
Real Zionist...


]5/8/02 11:21:28 AM, Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Jim Devine:
>>Anyway, my point is that even though Tunisia generally treats Jews well,
>>it's possible that all we're seeing is surface appearances.
>
>Well, the only way to find that out is to study the history of Arab-Jewish
>relations as I've done for the past several days. It will demonstrate that
>anti-Jewish persecution simply did not occur as it did in Europe. BTW,
>although I could not deal with this in the post, which was focused on the
>middle ages, the absense of persecution is really related to the failure of
>capitalism to penetrate the Islamic world. Jews were persecuted in Spain in
>the 15th and 16th century, and in Poland and Russia during the 19th
>century, and Germany in the 20th century because of capitalist
>contradictions. They found a happy niche in the Islamic world because they
>were needed as financiers. When Christian Europe moved toward capitalist
>property relations, the Jewish banker became dispensible at best, an enemy
>to be vanquished at worst.
>
>> Similarly, just
>>looking at journalistic approaches to Yugoslavia before Tito's death, the
>>IMF austerity, and the political break-up might suggest that Serbs, Croats,
>>and Bosnian Muslims had settled their "age old" differences and were ready
>>and willing to live in peace for eternity. But when the economy breaks down
>>and normal social mores melt down, all sorts of horrible things can happen.
>
>That's true. But my post was simply intended to show that Jews prospered
>under Islamic rule.
>
>>This can happen in the U.S. someday, where we might see a replay of the wave
>>of popular hatred (backed and reinforced by government decree) that swept
>>Japanese-Americans off to internment camps in 1941-1942, though likely this
>>wave would hit some other ethnic group.
>
>Yes it can. But I am not sure what this has to do with Arab-Jewish
>relationships which were marked by amity and peace for over 1000 years,
>until Zionism reared its ugly head. Even when economic conditions in the
>Levantine deteriorated after the "discovery" of the New World, the Arabs
>did not make scapegoats out of my ancestors. There are ideological reasons
>for this as well. Islam never really regarded Judaism as a threat. In many
>ways, Islam can be seen as an outgrowth of Judaism. Unlike Christianity,
>however, it saw no need to kill its father.
>
>Louis Proyect
>Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
>
>