The answer is a resounding no. Though
many Africans may desire to seek revenge, we must quell this urge and replace it with a desire for truth, a desire
to do what is right, and most importantly, a desire to be compassionate to a people who were also oppressed.
Deuteronomy 23:8 says: "You must not detest an Egyptian, for you became an alien resident in his country." There
is a great sense of justice in this passage of scripture. Moses, in a state of inspiration, undoubtedly understood man's
natural inclination to seek revenge. In like manner, Moses also understood that in order for people to prevent the continuance
of an act of wrongdoing, they must not respond in kind. Although Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandi take some credit
for teaching others this lofty principle, showing compassion to persons who have engaged in an act of wrongdoing against us
can be traced to the prophet Moses.
In order for Africans to extend compassion to European Jews,
we must first understand their story. An understanding of their past experiences, and the experiences of their ancestors may
shed some light on the pains Jews have suffered. Although it will not excuse their past complicity or present duplicity, if
may help Africans to understand them a little better.
Historian
Flavius Josephus chronicled the Jewish community's experiences, including its experiences during the destruction of Jerusalem.
According to Josephus, the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by General Titus and the Roman army in 70 C.E. During 4 short
months, from April 3 to August 30, over 1,100,000 Jews were killed. 97,000 Jews who were temporarily spared were then taken
into captivity. Of those taken into captivity, many were sent as slaves to Egypt. Others were killed by the sword or killed
by beasts in Roman theaters.
For many individuals, the Jewish Holocaust in Germany was the
only one. This is not true. Starting with the Roman Empire, its conquest of Europe and the outgrowth of its religious arm,
the Roman Catholic Church, the Jewish community in Europe was subjected to horrors the likes of which few individuals (except
Africans) have ever seen.
After the destruction
of the temple in Jerusalem, Jerusalem remained virtually desolate until 130 C.E. At that time the sitting emperor Hadrian
ordered a temple to be rebuilt there. The proposal to build a temple on top of the ruins of the temple of Jerusalem provoked
a Jewish revolt by Bar Kokhba which was eventually crushed.1
From the time of the Crusades2 until the 1800s, Jews were subjected to a great deal of persecution. European governments
did not allow Jewish people to own land. Except for petty trading and money lending, Jewish people were not allowed to engage
in any other form of business. Ghettos were created for Jews. These cities had walls and gates to prevent Jewish people from
expanding. Ghettos, because they were walled, grew up, not out. There was overcrowding, fire hazards and unsanitary conditions.
From the 1200s to the 1500s, Jewish people were expelled from nearly every place in Europe they tried
to call home. In 1290 Jewish people were expelled from England. In 1306 they were expelled from France. In 1391 the Jewish
people living in Spain were forced to convert to Catholicism. 100 years later, in 1492, in spite of their converting, they
were expelled from Spain. Many Jews that were expelled from Spain died. Others sought asylum in the Netherlands and Turkish
territories. German Jews, who experienced periodic expulsions throughout the 15th century, fled to Poland, where, although
they faced persecution, their culture was allowed to thrive.
After 1492, Spanish Jews (also
known as Sephardic Jews) spread throughout the Mediterranean. Many Separdic Jews also migrated to Eastern and Western Europe.
European Jews also suffered pograms -- mob attacks that, while executed by private citizens, were
condoned by authorities. After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, false rumors associating Jews with the murder
aroused Russian mobs in more than 200 cities and towns to attack Jews and destroy their property. Mob attacks diminished in
the 1890s, but they again became common in 1903–06. Although the government did not organize pogroms, its anti-Semitic
policy (1881–1917) and reluctance to stop the attacks led many anti-Semites to believe that their violence was legitimate.
One can see that the experience of being a persecuted minority in a hostile world has left an indelible mark on Jewish consciousness.
Since the destruction of the temple in Jerusalam, the Jewish community has been beset with murder, pogroms, ghettos, forced
religious assimilations, forced expulsions but above all -- the mark of being singled out as a pariah. One can logically deduce
that in the time that Jews travelled throughout Europe as pariahs, there was one thing they learned -- that in order to prosper,
one must become a conqueror or side with the conqueror. In order to defeat an enemy, once must malign one's character
in such a way that no one will ever come to the foe's rescue. This is what European Christians did to the Jews for hundreds
of years. Perhaps the European Jewish community was forced to believe the same thing.
These are just speculations, but whether
this is true or not, this is exactly what European Jews did. Unfortunately, the European Jewish community did not take this
out on Europeans. They could not. Instead they took it out on Africans.
What has been learned? Well, one
can see that in spite of their present accomplishments, European Jews have a very sad story to tell. Based on their history,
the Europe Jewish community understandably fears any kind of negative public exposure. Europe's past oppression of
Jews, from the start of the Roman Empire until the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi Germany is the precipitating factor for the monstrous
oppression that they suffered at the hands of European Christians.
While this in no way excuses
their conduct towards Africans, it does help us to understand them. However, this does not mean that Africans must be the
European Jewish community's"door mats." Africans' ability to stand with the European Jewish community is
contigent on the European Jewish community's willingness to publicly dispel the slanderous myth of the curse of black/dark
skin.
Africans have also suffered the experience of being
a persecuted minority in a hostile world, with such persecution leaving an indelible mark on our consciousness. As such,
Africans have a right— and a duty to demand that the slanderous Jewish myth of the curse of dark skin be publicly disavowed
by members of the Jewish community. Africans must also stand firm with Jews to ensure that no one capitalizes on the Jewish
community's attempts to try to make amends with Africans. However, the European Jewish community must, in accordance with
Luke 3:8 "produces fruits that befit repentence." This means that the European Jewish commuity must publicly disavow
any form of anti-dark-skin racism: anti-African racism, anti-black racism, anti-Hamitic racism, anti-Cushitic racism and anti-Canaanite
racism. If the European Jewish community willingly does this, Africans can work with Jews for a future where slander is no
longer used to attack any ethnic group.
As both the Torah and the Christian Greek Scripture states: "You must love your neighbor as you love yourself."
