18.11.2012 Views

Antelman to eliminate the opiate vol1

Antelman to eliminate the opiate vol1

Antelman to eliminate the opiate vol1

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

suddenly on November 9,1757. The people saw this as <strong>the</strong><br />

hand of God.<br />

The Frankists enticed women <strong>to</strong> leave <strong>the</strong>ir husbands and<br />

<strong>to</strong> join <strong>the</strong>ir orgies. Families were broken up in <strong>the</strong> hundreds.<br />

This is even more amazing considering <strong>the</strong> strong family life<br />

that characterized <strong>the</strong> Jews in <strong>the</strong> small communities of<br />

Podolia, Moravia, Poland, Hungary and Romania at that time.<br />

They joined with Christian bigots in accusing <strong>the</strong> Jews of blood<br />

libels, claiming that <strong>the</strong> Jews murdered Christian children and<br />

used <strong>the</strong>ir blood for <strong>the</strong> Passover holiday. For example, in <strong>the</strong><br />

public disputation with <strong>the</strong> Rabbis in Lvov in 1759, 86 <strong>the</strong>y made<br />

a public accusation of blood libel. Scholem is of <strong>the</strong> opinion<br />

that <strong>the</strong>y did this in a scheme <strong>to</strong> collaborate with bigoted<br />

Catholic clergymen in order <strong>to</strong> wreak vengeance on <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

Rabbinical persecu<strong>to</strong>rs. Scholem cites from <strong>the</strong> eminent<br />

his<strong>to</strong>rian, Meir Balaban, a conversation which <strong>to</strong>ok place in<br />

Lvov between Rabbi Chaim Rappaport and <strong>the</strong> Frankist<br />

Eliezer Jezierzany who said, "Chaim, we have given you blood<br />

for blood. You meant <strong>to</strong> make <strong>the</strong> shedding of our blood lawful,<br />

and now you have been given blood for blood!" 87<br />

In one case of blood libel, in <strong>the</strong> small shtetl of Villovich, <strong>the</strong><br />

Frankists <strong>to</strong>ok revenge on <strong>the</strong> local Rabbi of <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>wn by<br />

dressing one of <strong>the</strong>ir women up as <strong>the</strong> Rabbi's wife. The<br />

impersonation was perfect. She appeared before <strong>the</strong> local<br />

priest and said that she saw <strong>the</strong> Rabbi kill a Christian child for<br />

Passover. Because of this incident, <strong>the</strong> Rabbi and all <strong>the</strong><br />

members of his congregation were killed after a brief trial. The<br />

Rabbi's wife and his five remaining children were <strong>to</strong>rtured in<strong>to</strong><br />

accepting Christianity. 88<br />

In 1759, when <strong>the</strong> Frankists officially converted <strong>to</strong><br />

Catholicism, Frank was baptized in <strong>the</strong> Warsaw Ca<strong>the</strong>dral with<br />

no less a personage than Emperor Augustus III as godfa<strong>the</strong>r.<br />

A year later he was accused of heresy and was thrown in<strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Citadel of Czens<strong>to</strong>kova. He was released in 1773 only by <strong>the</strong><br />

Russian conquest on <strong>the</strong> eve of <strong>the</strong> first partition of Poland.<br />

90

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!