What Organized Judaism Doesn't Want Gentiles (or unorthodox Jews) to Know

Excerpts from Israel Shahak’s Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight Of Three Thousand Years, without commentary.

This book was first published by Pluto Press with an introduction from Gore Vidal. The copy I bought (which includes that intro) was from Omnia-Veritas, a conspiracy press with an obvious ideological bias, and was quite poorly formatted and resembled a self-published edition. The Pluto Press edition is “currently unavailable” on Amazon.

“The society of classical Judaism is in total opposition to the surrounding non-Jewish society, except the king (or the nobles, when they take over the state)” (p. 133).

“in a pre-modern state, a ‘better’ position of the Jewish community normally entailed a greater degree of tyranny exercised within this community by the rabbis against other Jews” (p. 138).

Totalitarian Jewish Community

This was the most important social fact of Jewish existence before the advent of the modern state: observance of the religious laws of Judaism, as well as their inculcation through education, were enforced on Jews by physical coercion, from which one could only escape by conversion to the religion of the majority, amounting in the circumstances to a total social break and for that reason very impracticable, except during a religious crisis. (note: All this is usually omitted in vulgar Jewish historiography, in order to propagate the myth that the Jews kept their religion by miracle or by some peculiar mystic force.) (p. 62)

So one will not find in Hannah Arendt’s voluminous writings, whether on totalitarianism or on Jews, or on both, the smallest hint as to what Jewish society in Germany was really like in the 18th century: burning of books, persecution of writers, disputes about the magic powers of amulets, bans on the most elementary “non-Jewish” education such as the teaching of correct German or indeed German written in the Latin alphabet.

Nor can one find in the numerous English-language “Jewish histories” the elementary facts about the attitude of Jewish mysticism (so fashionable at present in certain quarters) to non-Jews: that they are considered to be, literally, limbs of Satan, and that the few non-satanic individuals among them (that is, those who convert to Judaism) are in reality “Jewish souls” who got lost when Satan violated the Holy Lady (p. 63-4).

It is important to note that all the supposedly “Jewish characteristics”—by which I mean the traits which vulgar so-called intellectuals in the West attribute to “the Jews”—are modern characteristics, quite unknown during most of Jewish history, and appeared only when the totalitarian Jewish community began to lose its power (p. 67).

But what happens when a faction of intellectuals desires to drag a society, which has already opened up to a considerable extent, back to its previous totalitarian, closed condition? Then the very means of the former progress—philosophy, the sciences, history and especially sociology—become the most effective instruments of the “treason of the intellectuals.” They are perverted in order to serve as devices of deception, and in the process they degenerate (p. 69-70).

Hassidism & Martin Buber

Hassidism—a continuation (and debasement!) of Jewish mysticism—is still a living movement, with hundreds of thousands of active adherents who are fanatically devoted to their “holy rabbis,” some of whom have acquired a very considerable political influence in Israel, among the leaders of most parties and even more so in the higher echelons of the army. What, then, are the views of this movement concerning non-Jews?

As an example, let us take the famous Hatanya, fundamental book of the Habbad movement, one of the most important branches of Hassidism. According to this book, all non-Jews are totally satanic creatures “in whom there is absolutely nothing good.” Even a non-Jewish embryo is qualitatively different from a Jewish one. The very existence of a non-Jew is “inessential,” whereas all of creation was created solely for the sake of the Jews. . . .

A chief deceiver in this case, and a good example of the power of the deception, was Martin Buber. His numerous works eulogizing the whole Hassidic movement (including Habbad) never so much as hint at the real doctrines of Hassidism concerning non-Jews. . . .

Buber’s works were translated into Hebrew, were made a powerful element of the Hebrew education in Israel, have greatly increased the power of the blood-thirsty Hassidic leaders, and have thus been an important factor in the rise of Israeli chauvinism and hate of all non-Jews. If we think about the many human beings who died of their wounds because Israeli army nurses, incited by Hassidic propaganda, refused to tend them, then a heavy onus for their blood lies on the head of Martin Buber (p. 83-85).

In 1944, during the actual struggle against Hitler, the British Labor Party approved a plan for the expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine, which was similar to Hitler’s early plans (up to about 1941) for the Jews. This plan was approved under the pressure of Jewish members of the party’s leadership, many of whom have displayed a stronger “kith and kin” attitude to every Israeli policy than the Conservative “kith and kin” supporters of Ian Smith ever did. But stalinistic taboos on the left are stronger in Britain than on the right, and there is virtually no discussion even when the Labor Party supports Begin’s government.

In the USA a similar situation prevails, and again the American liberals are the worst. This is not the place to explore all the political consequences of this situation, but we must face reality: in our struggle against the racism and fanaticism of the Jewish religion, our greatest enemies will be not only the Jewish racists (and users of racism) but also those non- Jews who in other areas are known—falsely in my opinion—as “progressives” (p. 89).

Judaism, Kabbalah & Goddess Worship

In many, if not most, books of the Old Testament the existence and power of “other gods” are clearly acknowledged, but Yahweh (Jehovah), who is the most powerful god, is also very jealous of his rivals and forbids his people to worship them. It is only very late in the Bible, in some of the later prophets, that the existence of all gods other than Yahweh is denied. . . . The decay of monotheism came about through the spread of Jewish mysticism (the cabbala) which developed in the 12th and 13th centuries, and by the late 16th century had won an almost complete victory in virtually all the centers of Judaism (p. 91).

According to the cabbala, the universe is ruled not by one god but by several deities, of various characters and influences, emanated by a dim, distant First Cause. Omitting many details, one can summarize the system as follows. From the First Cause, first a male god called “Wisdom” or “Father” and then a female goddess called “Knowledge” or “Mother” were emanated or born. From the marriage of these two, a pair of younger gods were born: Son, also called by many other names such as “Small Face” or “The Holy Blessed One”; and Daughter, also called “Lady” (or “Matronit,” a word derived from Latin), “Shekhinah,” “Queen,” and so on. These two younger gods should be united, but their union is prevented by the machinations of Satan, who in this system is a very important and independent personage. The Creation was undertaken by the First Cause in order to allow them to unite, but because of the Fall they became more disunited than ever, and indeed Satan has managed to come very close to the divine Daughter and even to rape her (either seemingly or in fact—opinions differ on this).

The creation of the Jewish people was undertaken in order to mend the break caused by Adam and Eve, and under Mount Sinai this was for a moment achieved: the male god Son, incarnated in Moses, was united with the goddess Shekhinah. Unfortunately, the sin of the Golden Calf again caused disunity in the godhead; but the repentance of the Jewish people has mended matters to some extent. Similarly, each incident of biblical Jewish history is believed to be associated with the union or disunion of the divine pair.

The Jewish conquest of Palestine from the Canaanites and the building of the first and second Temple are particularly propitious for their union, while the destruction of the Temples and exile of the Jews from the Holy Land are merely external signs not only of the divine disunion but also of a real “whoring after strange gods”: Daughter falls closely into the power of Satan, while Son takes various female satanic personages to his bed, instead of his proper wife. The duty of pious Jews is to restore through their prayers and religious acts the perfect divine unity, in the form of sexual union, between the male and female deities. Thus before most ritual acts, which every devout Jew has to perform many times each day, the following cabbalistic formula is recited: “For the sake of the [sexual] congress of the Holy Blessed One and his Shekhinah” (p. 91-2).

How Orthodox Jews Read the Bible

There is yet another misconception about Judaism which is particularly common among Christians, or people heavily influenced by Christian tradition and culture. This is the misleading idea that Judaism is a “biblical religion”; that the Old Testament has in Judaism the same central place and legal authority which the Bible has for Protestant or even Catholic Christianity (p. 98).

It is quite clear even from these examples that when Orthodox Jews today (or all Jews before about 1780) read the Bible, they are reading a very different book, with a totally different meaning, from the Bible as read by non-Jews or non-Orthodox Jews. This distinction applies even in Israel, although both parties read the text in Hebrew. Experience, particularly since 1967, has repeatedly corroborated this.

Many Jews in Israel (and elsewhere), who are not Orthodox and have little detailed knowledge of the Jewish religion, have tried to shame Orthodox Israelis (or right-wingers who are strongly influenced by religion) out of their inhuman attitude towards the Palestinians, by quoting at them verses from the Bible in their plain humane sense. It was always found, however, that such arguments do not have the slightest effect on those who follow classical Judaism; they simply do not understand what is being said to them, because to them the biblical text means something quite different than to everyone else.

If such a communication gap exists in Israel, where people read Hebrew and can readily obtain correct information if they wish, one can imagine how deep is the misconception abroad, say among people educated in the Christian tradition. In fact, the more such a person reads the Bible, the less he or she knows about Orthodox Judaism. For the latter regards the Old Testament as a text of immutable sacred formulas, whose recitation is an act of great merit, but whose meaning is wholly determined elsewhere (p. 102-3, emphasis added).

From the ethical point of view, classical Judaism represents a process of degeneration, which is still going on; and this degeneration into a tribal collection of empty rituals and magic superstitions has very important social and political consequences. For it must be remembered that it is precisely the superstitions of classical Judaism which have the greatest hold on the Jewish masses, rather than those parts of the Bible or even the Talmud which are of real religious and ethical value (p. 119).

Imperial Oppression

The maxim that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it applies to those Jews who refuse to come to terms with the Jewish past: they have become its slaves and are repeating it in Zionist and Israeli policies. The State of Israel now fulfills towards the oppressed peasants of many countries—not only in the Middle East but also far beyond it—a role not unlike that of the Jews in pre-1795 Poland: that of a bailiff to the imperial oppressor.

It is characteristic and instructive that Israel’s major role in arming the forces of the Somoza regime in Nicaragua, and those of Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile and the rest has not given rise to any wide public debate in Israel or among organized Jewish communities in the diaspora. Even the narrower question of expediency—whether the selling of weapons to a dictatorial butcher of freedom fighters and peasants is in the long term interest of Jews—is seldom asked. Even more significant is the large part taken in this business by religious Jews, and the total silence of their rabbis (who are very vocal in inciting hatred against Arabs).

It seems that Israel and Zionism are a throw-back to the role of classical Judaism—writ large, on a global scale, and under more dangerous circumstances (p. 164-65, emphasis added).

Talmudic Laws (a few examples)

A Jew who murders a Gentile is guilty only of a sin against the laws of Heaven, not punishable by a court. To cause indirectly the death of a Gentile is no sin at all (p. 168).

Sexual Intercourse between a married Jewish woman and any man other than her husband is a capital offense for both parties, and one of the three most heinous sins. The status of Gentile women is very different. The Halakhah presumes all Gentiles to be utterly promiscuous and the verse “whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue [of semen] is like the issue of horses” is applied to them.

Whether a Gentile woman is married or not makes no difference, since as far as Jews are concerned the very concept of matrimony does not apply to Gentiles (“There is no matrimony for a heathen”). Therefore, the concept of adultery also does not apply to intercourse between a Jewish man and a Gentile woman; rather, the Talmud equates such intercourse to the sin of bestiality (p. 192).

[Regarding] sexual intercourse between a Jewish man and a Gentile woman . . . .the main punishment is inflicted on the Gentile woman; she must be executed, even if she was raped by the Jew: “If a Jew has coitus with a Gentile woman, whether she be a child of three or an adult, whether married or unmarried, and even if he is a minor aged only nine years and one day—because he had willful coitus with her, she must be killed, as is the case with a beast, because through her a Jew got into trouble (p. 193).

This has been a free post. As I have mentioned, CoJ is currently losing paying subscribers at an alarming rate. I am curious if it relates to content, time of year, or to a larger economic crisis. Pls let me know, if you have cancelled your subscription recently, your reasons for doing so, and help me keep this substack running.

Thanks.