Blogging Kinot: Arab betrayal of Jews before Islam

Kinot are the sorrowful prayers/intricate poems that Jews say on Tisha B'av recounting the many terrible events that happened to the Jewish people over the millennia.

In the very first Kinah this morning there is a brief episode that is hinted at:

I felt compelled to call my Arab kin for help;
but they teased me and disastrously deceived me.

The commentary in Mesorat HaRav explains:

This refers to the story in the Midrash (Eicha Raba 2:4) of how the Jewish exiles were maltreated by the descendants of Ishmael in the land of Arabia. First they gave the starving Jews exceedingly salty and spicy food. Then they gave the Jews containers, but they containers were filled with stagnant air, not water.This betrayal is also remembered on Tisha B'av.