History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, Volume 2 [of 3]: From the Death of Alexander I until the Death of Alexander III (1825-1894)Dubnow, Simon
Religion
History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, Volume 2 [of 3]: From the Death of Alexander I until the Death of Alexander III (1825-1894)
Dubnow, Simon
Jews -- Poland -- History; Jews -- Russia -- History; Poland -- History; Russia -- History
The new conflagration started in the city of Pereyaslav, in the
government of Poltava, which had not yet discarded its anti-Jewish
Cossack traditions. [1] Pereyaslav at that time harbored many fugitives
from Kiev, who had escaped from the spring pogroms in that city. The
increase in the Jewish population of Pereyaslav was evidently
displeasing to the local Christian inhabitants. Four hundred and twenty
Christian burghers of Pereyaslav, avowed believers in the Gospels which
enjoin Christians to love those that suffer, passed a resolution calling
for the expulsion of the Jews from their city, and, in anticipation of
this legalized violence, they decided to teach the Jews a "lesson" on
their own responsibility. On June 30 and July 1, Pereyaslav was the
scene of a pogrom, marked by all the paraphernalia of the Russian
ritual, though unaccompanied this time by human sacrifices. The epilogue
to the pogrom was marked by an originality of its own. A committee
consisting of representatives of the municipal administration, four
Christians and three Jews, was appointed to inquire into the causes of
the disorders. This committee was presented by the local Christian
burghers with a set of demands, some of which were in substance as
follows:
[Footnote 1: Comp. Vol. I, p. 145.]
That the Jewish aldermen of the Town Council, as well as the Jewish
members of the other municipal bodies, shall voluntarily resign from
these honorary posts, "as men deprived of civic honesty" [1]; that
the Jewish women shall not dress themselves in silk, velvet, and
gold; that the Jews shall refrain from keeping Christian domestics,
who are "corrupted" in the Jewish homes religiously and morally;
that all Jewish strangers, who have sought refuge in Pereyaslav,
shall be immediately banished; that the Jews shall be forbidden to
buy provisions in the surrounding villages for reselling them; also,
to carry on business on Sundays and Russian festivals, to keep
saloons, and so on.
[Footnote 1: This insolent demand of the unenlightened Russian burghers
met with the following dignified rebuttal from the Jewish
office-holders: "What bitter mockery! The Jews are accused of a lack of
honesty by the representatives of those very people who, with clubs and
hatchets in their hands, fell in murderous hordes upon their peaceful
neighbors and plundered their property." The replies to the other
demands of the burghers were coached in similar terms.]
Thus, in addition to being ruined, the Jews were presented with an
ultimatum, implying the threat of further "military operations."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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