Burning jews…with a vengeance!

A year ago we had dealt with the evergreen folk custom of «The Burning of Judas/Jew» – «Το Κάψιμo του Ιούδα/Οβριού».

Anyway a year passed, yet again nothing changed and yet again the only time anyone took notice was only when the State Department published it’s yearly report on religious freedom which reported the protests of the Greek Jewish Community. So I thought it would be rude not to re-propose the same article also this year. :)

Let’s go again though the salient points of last year:

1. The custom was an occasion for antisemitic outbursts during Easter.
2. These outbursts happened in all of Greece, including Asia Minor greek communities, Thessaloniki, Crete and the islands of the Aegean like Hydra or of Ionio like Corfu.
3. This is according to the Metropolite Anthimos a pagan custom and not a christian one and should stop.
4. The Catholic Church at Syros banished it because of the violence it procured, despite the people wanting it to continue.
5. University professors like F.Abatzopoulou agree that the «Burning of Judas» is the «most familiar and widespread manifestation of traditional anti-Semitism in Greece.»
6. The National Tourism Organization is proud of the custom and continues to promote it in various web sites.
7. Various elementary schools are proud to teach small children how one can burn Judas/Jew.
8. The Regional Directorship of the Primary Education in Thessaly, is happy to offer easter carols that tell the children how to «burn the Jew» and talk about «damned jews». (By the way in the meantime let’s also talk about how the gipsies supplied the nails with which Jesus was crucified).
9. The Holy Synod of the Greek Church considers this custom to «incite to religious hatred» and «foster fanatism» and condemned it inqequivoabilly in encyclicals in 1891, 1910 and 1918. (Strangely it has failed to do so recently but that’s another story).
10. The Jewish Community has officially Metropolites like the one of Hydra to voice their dissent, (and they have refused to).

So unless the Greek Church was taken over by zionists that wanted Greece to appear evil, it has asked that Greek Orthodox Christians should refrain from the Burning of Judas/ Jew/ Niger because it is contrary to the religion and an antisemitic act of fanatism. If someone sees an american conspiracy of the State Department please check with the Holy Synod of the Church and ask if it was erroded by zionists back in 1891, (the year of the pogrom and the blood libel in Corfu), when not even zionism was even founded!

– link to the original article

«Burning jews, niggers and gipsies « –

_ Here’s a video of how to burn Judas /Jew (or even nigger as in Gastouni choose to name the doll).

_ Greek writer Kazantzakis has no doubt about the nature of this custom and in his novel includes a scene where small children set fire to the rabbi’s house. He also describes the religious frenzy and the fear that produces for the Jews who would stay inside during the Holy Week.

Κόντευε πια να ξετελέψει ο Απρίλης, μπήκαν οι χριστιανοί με τρόμο στη Μεγάλη Βδομάδα…

…Σιγά σιγά, όσο προχωρούσαν, μέρα με την μέρα, τα Πάθη του Χριστού, οι χριστιανοί της Κρήτης, ξαναμμένοι από την αγρυπνία, από την νηστεία κι από τον πόνο του Θεού, ένοιωθαν το παράπονο ν΄ανεβαίνουν και να ραιζουν την καρδιά τους. Βλεφάριζαν με άγριο μάτι τους Τούρκους και με βιας κρατιόνταν να μην περάσουν απο μαχαίρι τους λιγοστούς Οβραίους – τενεκετζίδες και σαράφηδες – που, στριμωγμένοι στην Οβριακή, κοντά στο λιμάνι, κλειδαμπαρώνονταν απο νωρίς στις άγιες επικίνδυνες βραδιές του Μεγαλοβδόμαδου.

Μα το Θρασάκι ήθελε να δει, να συδαυλίσει την φωτιά, να τη βοηθήσει να κάμει στάχτη το οβραίικο σπίτι. <<Τι πάει να πει, έλεγε με το νου του, να φκιάνεις οβραίους με κουρέλια κι άχυρα και να τους καις. Να καις ζωντανούς Οβραίους, αν θες να΄χεις την ευκη του Χριστου>>. Ζύγισε να χύσει στην αναμένη πόρτα και το επίλοιπο πετρέλαιο…

Ν. Καζαντζάκης / Ο Καπετάν Μιχάλης

_ Theriomorph in her comments includes Christian and Jewish reactions in postwar Greece:

In the Jewish families, what was described was more an inter-generational argument, where some older family members would be concerned about attacks and insist their kids (some of them adult now) didn’t go out, while the others would find this either ridiculous (not agreeing there was an increased risk of hate crimes on Easter), or offensive (more a ‘I will not let my life be circumscribed by fear’ response). Sometimes this arguing was intense.

The Xtian families described the ‘sensible’ Jews staying indoors on the holiday, and did so with what seemed to me to be a mixture of embarrassment (they knew what I was writing about, after all) and Nationalistic, angry pride.

1. Greek bloggers who have posted on this custom:

• H καλύβα ψηλά στο βουνο / Πάνος
• Ροίδη Εμμονές / Α.Λασκαράτος

2. Greek newspaper articles on the background of the Burning of Judas:

• ΛΑΪΚΟΣ ΑΝΤΙΣΗΜΙΤΙΣΜΟΣ: ΤΟ ΚΑΨΙΜΟ ΤΟΥ ΙΟΥΔΑ – Eλευθεροτυπία
• Ιούδας ο Ισκαριώτης – Βήμα
• Το φάντασμα του Ιούδα – Ιός

3. How this custom is extended throughout Greece:

• Ζητήματα Ελληνικής Λαογραφίας του διευθυντή του Λαογραφικού Μουσείου.
• Crete
• All of Greece.

3. Elementary schools on Burning of Judas:

• Regional Directorship of the Primary Education in Thessaly
• 3° Elementary School of Alimos.
• Elementary of Avestochori

4. The Burning of Judas is an occasion of antisemitic violence:

• Korombokis and Kotinis on Thessaloniki.
• At Asia Minor from the Oral tradition Archive.
• At Syros where the local Catholic Church abolishes it.