Thursday, May 25, 2023
Elder of Ziyon
A certain Jew passed before Hadrian and greeted him.
[Hadrian] asked him: ‘Who are you?’ He said to him: ‘A Jew.’ He said to him: ‘Is there a Jew who passes before Hadrian and greets him?’ [Hadrian] said [to his men]: ‘Go and behead him.’Another [Jew] passed, who saw what had befallen the one who preceded him, and he did not greet him. [Hadrian] asked him: ‘Who are you?’ He said to him: ‘A Jew.’ He said to him: ‘Is there a Jew who passes before Hadrian and does not greet him?’ [Hadrian] said to [his men]: ‘Go and behead him.’His advisers said to him: ‘We do not understand these actions that you are performing. One who greets you is executed and one who does not greet you is executed?’ He said to them: ‘Do you seek to advise me how I am supposed to execute my enemies?’
Today as well, Israel is considered guilty no matter what it does - and the justifications come later.
The only difference is that today Hadrian would have a team of lawyers and academics who would write reports and papers explaining from a human rights perspective why a Jew greeting the emperor deserves the death penalty. And then they would write another set of reports and papers describing why a Jew not greeting him is a grave violation of the law as well and must be executed.
And Hadrian would have another set of publicity experts to explain to the media why these actions are not antisemitic, and how Hadrian isn't treating Jews any differently from anyone else, it is just that the Jews who greet him and don't greet him have some other attribute - perhaps curly hair, perhaps an offensive headcovering - that explains fully why they should be beheaded, but not others. And to point out that there are some good Jews that Hadrian hadn't beheaded yet which proves that he is not an antisemite.
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