Page 264 - Russian History Viewed through Distorted Mirrors, Vol. 1

Nicolai Levashov. Russian History Viewed through Distorted Mirrors. Vol. 1

tions, Oxford, 1901 b 23): “That who prepares poisons… must be executed with all
his posterity. That who hinders the import of bread in Teos… must be executed with
all his posterity. That who plots against the state of Teos... must be executed with all
his posterity”. So, here the psychology of ancient people in general is guilty, not that
of the Jews in particular”. 158

Being a Jew, Solomon Lurie tries to find an explanation for the cruelty of the Is-
raelites in the psychology of that time. But giving the legislation in Teos as an exam-
ple, he involuntarily underlines the cruelty and insidiousness of the Israelites. It en-
sues from the above extract, that a number of crimes in Teos were punished by the
death penalty for a criminal and his family. But were all crimes punished so severely
even in this state? I think not.

All the crimes given in the extract, one way or another, are related to the safety
and integrity of the state. A professional poison-maker is a danger, because the poi-
sons he would make can be used by enemies of the state and cause chaos in the coun-
try. Besides, the secrets of the “profession” were usually passed on from generation
to generation and required long preparation and deep knowledge. Therefore, the law
demanded the execution of the whole family which was engaged in the production of
poisons and was a transmitter of the secrets of this profession. So, this measure, alt-
hough cruel, had all the grounds and logic.

The death penalty for disruption of the bread delivery in Teos, also related to the
stability and welfare of the state and its habitants. Problems with the bread supply
may result in the uncontrolled growth of the price for bread, impoverishment of the
main population and increase in the speculators’ capital which can lead to civil dis-
turbances and threatens the stability of the state. There are a lot of examples in the
past of our civilization which can confirm this. I think there is no need to explain the
justice of the punishment for direct crimes against the state of Teos. In addition, all
the positions of legislation given by S. Lurie relate to punishment for already accom-
plished crimes!

However, if we believe the Old Testament (in other words, the Torah), the “pog-
roms” were just planned and were not carried out yet! In other words, the white Per-
sians were slaughtered together with their families for that which they did not do!
Thus, the facts which Professor Lurie gives to defend Judaic cruelty are invalid. Even
if in the Persian Empire there were laws identical that of the state of Teos, Haman’s
action, when he tried to prevent the putsch, would have been quite in the spirit of that
time, and the Israelites could have no reason to complain about their fate. The Persian
Empire gave them shelter, and they, in “gratitude”, prepared a putsch and destroyed
all the power of the people. Besides, they not only prepared but also successfully ac-
complished the revolution, destroying the colour of the Persian nation and getting in-
to their hands the enormous riches of the killed people…

Many people and nationalities, not to mention tribes, were completely destroyed
for lesser “sins” that the Israelites committed repeatedly without being conscience-

158 Solomon Lurie Anti-Semitism in the Ancient World, Petrograd, 1922

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