bananabrain
awkward squadnik
WHAT? we did not separate *ourselves* from society. we were HERDED INTO GHETTOS and forced to live separately. the society did not want us - except when they needed someone to deal with money. in no way, shape or form should that be construed as "setting ourselves up for hate". as for andalusia, lose the rose-tinted glasses and read some history. we lived peaceably there whenever there weren't fundamentalists in charge. read up on the almohad and almoravid persecutions before you maintain that it was all wine, roses and poetry. jews lived under the "pact of umar", meaning that we were second-class citizens, with less value to society than muslims, protected as dhimmi only on the condition that we paid a "protection tax". whenever the pact of umar conditions were enforced (and they were always there in the background) no new synagogues were allowed, jews were not allowed on horseback and there were a myriad of other demeaning restrictions. ok, it was a lot better than being demonised in christendom, but we were still officially held in contempt in the muslim world.The jews in a way set themselves up for hate in separating from the society/culture they found themselves in after the diaspora; unlike andalusia in the golden age circa 9th century, where muslims and jews lived peacably.
b'shalom
bananabrain