Anti-Semitism Ism

Alexander the Great.—Josephus gives an account of a friendly visit of Alexander to Jerusalem : the historicity of this incident has been challenged but whether the meeting with the High Priest be historically true in the letter or not, it is certainly true that between Alexander and the Jews cordial relations ex isted. There is no reason to doubt either that they were given privileges in his army by which they were enabled to observe their religion (already in 419 B.C. Darius II. issued orders enabling his Jewish soldiers at Elephantine to observe the Passover and abstain from leaven [see pp. 6o seq. of A. Cowley's Aramaic papyri of the Fifth Century B.C., Oxf., 1923] ), or that a quarter was assigned to them in his newly founded city in Egypt. In his honour, Jews adopted his name as a skein qadhosh, i.e., a Jewish as opposed to a Gentile name; and this indicates the esteem in which Alexander was regarded by the Jews. It is a noteworthy fact of history that great conquerors, Alexander, Caesar and Na poleon, have always treated the Jews well: they recognized their religious function and sought to give it freedom to develop, for their own advantage as well as for that of the Jews. On the other hand, lesser men, endowed with narrower outlooks, have failed to recognize the Jew and have sought to crush him. In their desire to impose an artificial uniformity, they "broke down the boundaries of peoples and put down the inhabitants" (Isa. x. 13). But such Procrustean methods are contrary to nature, and tyranny, whether towards Jews or towards any others, has never secured permanent results. The same policy of religious unification has characterized subsequent dynasties, from the Assyrians to the Romanoffs, and the same fate has overtaken them. The Jew has survived their disappearance.

The Diadochi.—No sooner was Alexander dead (323 B.c.) than his successors, the Diadochi, struggling for his possessions and having broken up his empire, endeavoured to carry out his schemes of Hellenization. But they lacked his foresight. On the whole the Ptolemies realized that culture must be diffused by kindness, while the Seleucids believed in compulsion. Yet Pales tine suffered at the hands of the former within three years of Alexander's death. In 320 Ptolemy invaded the country from Egypt and captured Jerusalem on a Sabbath. Palestine was lost to Antigonus in 315 but re-won in 312 at Gaza. Constant war fare ensued between the houses of Seleucus and Ptolemy until, in 198, Antiochus the Great (III., 222-587) defeated Scopas, the general of Ptolemy V., at Panium in north Palestine, and the country definitely passed to the Seleucids. Between the death of Alexander and this period, two notable events must be recorded. On the Seleucid side there was the establishment of the Seleucidean era (see CHRONOLOGY: Jewish) while in Egypt the Pentateuch, and subsequently the rest of the Bible, was translated into Greek. (See SEPTUAGINT.) This was the first known version of the Scriptures. During this time the Diaspora or dispersion of the Jews was spreading. The Jews abroad seem to have enjoyed a peaceful existence, so far as the relatively meagre and uneventful information implies. Thus the Prologue to the Greek translation of the Wisdom of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), as well as the book itself, affords every indication of quiet and prosperity. Apamea

was a centre of Phrygian Jewry and the Jews seem to have taken a prominent part in its trade.

Antiochus Epiphanes.

Palestine was involved in the strug gle between Egypt and Syria. The orthodox Jews preferred the tolerant rule of the Ptolemies : they wished to abstain from poli tics and develop their religion and culture in isolation. But there was another class, which looked to the Seleucids and favoured nationalism. These two streams of thought have both previously and subsequently been paralleled in Jewish history. Solomon, Ahab and Herod all wished to make the Jews a great nation politically at the expense of religion : such schemes have never won success. The mission of the Jew is cast on other lines. When Antiochus IV. (Epiphanes, 175-164) succeeded his brother, the opportunity of the nationalists was at hand. They desired to see a strong Jewish nation which would be an integral part of a great Hellenic empire and command respect, not in consequence of the heritage of the Torah, but by reason of the adoption of Greek institutions. They looked to Antiochus, who made the error of assuming them to represent the majority of the Jews. Antiochus was a strange character : as depicted by the historians he presents, in his belief in his own inspiration, in his assumption of artistic gifts, in his self-persuaded mission to impose his national culture by force, in his whimsical impulsiveness and his egoism, a striking parallel to Wilhelm II.

On his accession Antiochus appointed a new high priest, Jesus, the brother of Onias, who changed his name to Jason and pro ceeded to turn Jerusalem into a Greek city. He built a gym nasium, introduced the Greek cap, popularized Greek customs and endeavoured to suppress everything Jewish. The young priests and nobles flocked to the Palaestra: as they had to appear nude— an act in itself shocking to the Jewish mind—the evidence of their Judaism became visible. They adopted surgical means to obliterate the mark of the circumcision and this treacherous device has ever since become proverbial as the worst form of apostasy. The Jews of Jerusalem were counted as citizens of Antioch, in order to degrade their capital. The High Priest himself paid for a sacrifice to Heracles at Tyre and by every means in his power sought at once to crush Judaism and ingratiate himself with Antiochus. But a rival, Menelaus, brother of Simon, the treasurer of the Temple, offered to raise more tribute for Antiochus, and Jason was superseded. Riots, fighting and massacres ensued. An tiochus, ordered by Rome to quit Egypt, came to Jerusalem and pillaged the Temple (168). He razed the walls and planted a garrison of Greeks and apostate Jews in the city. Measures were taken to enforce his policy of unification. Judaism was an eccen tricity and needed ruthless and systematic elimination. The Jerusalem Temple was devoted to Zeus Olympius, that at Garizim to Zeus Xenius. The Jewish religion was definitely interdicted and that of Athens was to be imposed by force. Swine's blood was offered on the altar on Kislev 25; ten days after the "Abomi nation of desolation" (Dan. xi., 31 : xii., : Matt. xxiv., 15: Mark xiii., 14) an image had been erected there. Harlots were brought to the Temple. The Torah was burnt. Every Jewish rite was proscribed.