Thread by @Spinozasrose

@McintyreYesspam " The Jewish communities lived in the shadow of history, under arbitrary rule and the fear of all-powerful monarchs whose decisions could not be rescinded or even questioned. It can be said that everybody was governed by these absolute rulers: 1/x

@McintyreYesspam the sultans, beys and deys. But the Jews were at the mercy not only of the monarch but also of the man in the street. My grandfather still wore the obligatory and discriminatory Jewish garb, and in his time every Jew might expect to be hit on the head by any Moslem 2/x

@McintyreYesspam whom he happened to pass. This pleasant ritual even had a name - the chtaka; and with it went a sacramental formula which I have forgotten." 3/x

@McintyreYesspam "Just like the Moroccans and Algerians, they liquidated their Jewish communities cunningly and intelligently. They did not indulge in open brutalities as in other Arab lands - that would anyhow have been difficult after the services which had been rendered,"4/x

@McintyreYesspam "At each crisis, with every incident of the slightest importance, the mob would go wild, setting fire to Jewish shops. This even happened during the Yom Kippur War. Tunisia's President, Habib Bourguiba, has in all probability never been hostile to the Jews, 5/x

@McintyreYesspam but there was always that notorious "delay", which meant that the police arrived on the scene only after the shops had been pillaged and burnt." Albert Memmi

harissa.com/eng/whoisanara…
6/x

@McintyreYesspam "According to the Qur'an and hadith, Jizyah tax must be paid by the dhimmis as a sign of submission. This gives dhimmis some legal protection in return. As established by the Pact of Omar, dhimmis usually are not allowed to carry arms to protect themselves, 7/x

@McintyreYesspam serve in the army or government, display symbols of their faith, build or repair places of worship, they must wear distinctive clothing which includes the Zunar (a kind of belt) wherever they go, etc. Many of these laws are still enforced today in Muslim countries,8/x

@McintyreYesspam like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which enforce various aspects of Shari'ah. If the conquered do not wish to pay or convert, their fate may very well be slavery (under which, rape is permitted) or death. 9/x

@McintyreYesspam The pact also declares that dhimmis are forbidden to ride horses and camels, and may only ride donkeys, and only on packsaddles. " wiki

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@McintyreYesspam @threadreaderapp please unroll