Anti-Semitism: Blame the Romans

The main character in the novel is a young Jewish man called Lionel. In 1968, he comes up against anti-Semitism, which he thought had ended with the defeat of the Nazis. His mother has to give him a history lesson. She explains that the Romans became hostile to the Jews because they refused to worship the Roman gods. Later the Christians (wrongly) blamed the Jews for the crucifixion of Christ: the blame, in fact, lay with the Romans and the Jewish High Priests who were in cahoots with the Roman government. They both saw Jesus as a threat to them.
She added that in modern times, Jewish people generally can be the subject of censure in some quarters because of the conflict between the modern state of Israel and the Palestinians.
In view of the horrific events currently taking place in Israel and Gaza, we should all hope that a determined effort will be made by to find a lasting peaceful solution to a problem which has lasted far too long. More than enough blood has been shed in the Holy Land from Roman times and up to the present.
As John Lennon said, “Give peace a chance”. That will not be easy, given the deep rooted issues in the Middle East, and that fact that we live in a world of polarisation and populism,and where many people have forgotten how to have a discussion but prefer to shout at each other. People of goodwill can only hope.

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