The Jewish characters in the historical realism novels of Najib al- Kilani almost dominate the rest of the Islamic and other characters, because they are filled with evil, malice, and relentless activity in pursuit of their devilish goals. Although it seems that some of the few Jewish characters tend towards instinct and truth, which fulfills His saying, the Almighty.( Yet they are not all alike: there are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite Allah’s revelations throughout the night, prostrating ˹in prayer˺(113) They believe in Allah and the Last Day, encourage good and forbid evil, and race with one another in doing good. They are ˹truly˺ among the righteous.) (Ali 'Imran 113-114)

The Jewish character has become, in the realm of human reality as well as the artistic context, a global phenomenon among people. It is a unique being that does not submit to social interaction. It does not belong to the nation among which it lives. It rejects integration and assimilation into human societies out of a concern for a mysterious distinctiveness. The Jewish character is driven by evil and a desire for destruction, to undermine morals and corrupt souls, so that peoples become weaker and more vulnerable, while the Jews grow stronger, with the aim of world domination.⁽¹⁾

Rape, aggression, and massacres.

The applications of evil Jewish philosophy are too clear to elaborate on; they are evident in the usurpation of the Holy Land and the aggression against Arab peoples, and in the massacres, they have committed and continue to commit in Palestine, Lebanon, and elsewhere. Refer to what happened in the massacres of Deir Yassin, Kafr Qasim, and Qibya, as well as what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank, and southern Lebanon, to see the bleak nature of the Jewish character when they wield weapons and operate in the darkness and in daylight, shedding innocent blood without sparing an elder, a child, or a woman. They are not satisfied with killing alone; they indulge in torture, disemboweling pregnant women, dismembering bodies, and mutilating corpses to the point that recognition becomes difficult. Moreover, they appropriate that which does not belong to them—land, wealth, resources, and positions—and strive for power by every possible means to execute this bloody and brutal philosophy.⁽²⁾

The Jewish person, in general, allies with the powerful to achieve their own interests, even if it means destroying the economic, civilizational, and ideological foundations of nations. This is what their state and civilization in the world have been built upon.⁽³⁾

The Jew in Western Literature

European literature preceded our Arabic literature in its extensive and detailed exploration of the Jewish character. Ramsis Awad highlights an important aspect of the Western literary perspective on the Jew in his book "The Image of the Jew in English Literature," although he presents it under what he terms the manifestations of antisemitism at the end of the Middle Ages.

One of the most notable examples of this is the tale of the Prioress by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400 AD), which is one of the Canterbury Tales written by Chaucer. It tells the story of a group of Jews living in a Christian city, whose ruler had a habit of borrowing money from them. At the end of the street where the Jews lived, there was a school for teaching Christian children, and among the students was a very young boy who had just started to learn to read. He heard his older classmates chanting for the Virgin Mary – the mother of Christ – and became accustomed to listening to their recitations. The child quickly memorized the first line of one of the prayers without understanding its meaning and wondered about the meaning of the hymn. He was pleased to learn that it was about the Virgin Mary. The child resolved to learn the entire hymn so he could sing it in honor of the Virgin. He would raise his voice in singing the hymn in the street of the Jews without fear or hesitation. The devil, appearing as a serpent, whispered in the ears of the Jews, saying that it was shameful for them to accept the singing of the child who intended to insult and degrade them. So, they conspired against the child, hired a killer who slaughtered him, and threw his body into a pit.

The mother waited for her child who did not come, so she began to search for him, knocking on the doors of the Jews in the street where he used to walk, but they denied knowing him. Christ illuminated the path before her and directed her steps to the alley where the child was slaughtered and the pit where he was buried.

When the mother approached the place, she heard her son singing the hymn "Mother of the Savior." The people gathered around her, astonished by what was happening. They summoned the city's priest, and as soon as he laid eyes on the child who had been brought back to life, he ordered all the Jews to be shackled and imprisoned, dragging them on the ground with horses before hanging them.

The Christians took the child to a nearby monastery. During the mass, he sang the hymn "Mother of the Savior" in a loud and clear voice. The child told the abbot that Christ appeared to him and commanded him to sing this hymn. At the same time, the Virgin Mary placed a grain of wheat on his tongue, and the boy exclaimed, "I must sing out of love for her until you remove the grain of wheat from my tongue." The monk removed the grain of wheat, and the child peacefully passed away. Later, the people built a marble tomb in memory of the martyr child.⁽⁴⁾

Anti-Semitism!

Some critics believe that the tale of the nun reveals a clear hatred for the Jews, as Chaucer describes the Jews as wretches in more than one instance. Additionally, some Western scholars argue that this tale contains a significant amount of troubling anti-Semitism, which contradicts what is known about Chaucer's sensitivity and humanity. Some attempt to excuse Chaucer by saying that anti-Semitism was a characteristic trait of Europe in the Middle Ages, and that the nun expresses the prevailing sentiments of her time, suggesting that she does not hate the Jews as much as she shares the biases of her contemporaries, viewing anti-Semitism in the tale as something natural.⁽⁵⁾

Scholars attribute the animosity of the Christian Church towards the Jews in the Middle Ages, since the first century AD, to their refusal to acknowledge that Christ is the Savior of the world.⁽⁶⁾

Inaccurate judgment.

This is an inaccurate judgment, because what has been ingrained in the conscience of the Church's followers since the conspiracy against Christ (peace be upon him), along with their isolating social behavior accompanied by deceit, betrayal, and conspiracy, cannot simply be overlooked in Western literature. This is something we will see prominently reflected in the narratives of the Renaissance and beyond.

Every book on English theatre up to 1642, the year the theatres were closed by the religious Puritan zealots, mentions the Jewish physician Lopez, who was executed in 1594 on charges of poisoning in an attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth.

The Jews have gone through various stages, during which European literature in general, and English literature in particular, expressed disdain for them. There were other stages in which they attempted to change the negative stereotype, and the emergence of revolutions, especially the French Revolution, helped to alleviate this stereotype. The British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) exaggeratedly praised the Jews. Some writers leaned towards portraying the Jew as an ordinary person like others, possessing both good and evil traits. By the end of the 19th century, there was a massive production of Jewish novels written by Jews after their liberation and the granting of their parliamentary and electoral rights. However, this did not resolve all their problems, especially as they differed among themselves in their perceptions of the Jew and his value. Some criticized their fellow Jews for their materialism, while others focused on the presence of spiritual values among them, even among the poorest. Some sought salvation in the traditional Jewish religion, while others saw it in the Zionist movement. Despite all these differences, they strive to build bridges of understanding between themselves and the world.⁽⁷⁾ While preserving their evil intellectual and behavioral heritage, of course.

the evil deviant.

There are many examples of the wicked deviant Jew in Western literary works, including:

Shylock the Jew in the famous play "The Merchant of Venice" by Shakespeare, and Fagin the criminal Jew in the novel "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens, as well as the character in "The Diary of a Writer" by Dostoevsky. (The Hidden Hand, 45 and beyond).

In the early twentieth century, Stefan Zweig—a Jewish-Austrian writer—sneaks into the Jewish psyche and reveals its inclination towards deception, trickery, and the pursuit of material gain through all means. Through the character of the father in his novella "Beware of Pity," we encounter Mr. "Kanitz," who transforms into "the Herr von Kicksvaia" and becomes one of the prominent figures in the region where he lives. He engages in various tricks and deceit until he enters the club of the wealthy. The man worked in brokerage and mediation in the trade of antiques and collectibles, including insuring them, until he came across a rare opportunity. He managed to deceive a maid who had inherited from one of the Russian princesses, allowing him to seize her estate for a pittance, marry her, and have a beautiful daughter with her. He exploited his intelligence and commercial expertise to take advantage of this weak heir, who could only move through her masters, and his commercial skill enabled him to become wealthy at a minimal cost.

It was as if Stefan Zweig wanted to punish him for his deception by making his beautiful girl, who was only ten, fall ill and become immobile after the death of her mother, suffering through many long and bitter years, and ultimately facing a painful end that would shatter his being and future.

The writer's conscience, it seems, was stronger than his bias towards his own people and followers of his faith, to the extent that he would say, "I was a Jew by coincidence.

Selfishness, doubt, and brutality.

As for Marcel Proust – who is of half Jewish descent – he portrayed the character of the Jew "Swann," the hero of "In Search of Lost Time," in a somewhat ambiguous light. Although he moves in the social sphere in a monotonous manner, making sure to engage with others regularly, he appears to be closer to selfishness, doubt, and the pursuit of fulfilling his ambitions without making sacrifices for others!

In her lengthy novel "The Road to Beersheba," Eithil Manin portrays the brutality of the Jewish individual as he occupies the land of Palestine, kills its people, and drives them out of their homes and land. She presents horrific examples of Jewish behavior in many situations that strip it of its human or human nature.

These similar images of the wicked deviated Jew in the stories of prominent Western writers may reveal the true feelings of Europeans towards the Jew, even though Western governments are taking a different path that aligns with their interests and policies.

In modern Arabic literature, we see a limited portrayal of the Jewish character by a few writers, most notably Ihsan Abdel Quddous and Najib Kilani, which highlights the malicious opportunism of the Jewish individual. In recent decades, with discussions surrounding normalization with the enemy, some writers—especially those who reject the Islamic perspective—have inclined towards reproachment with the Jews, driven by a desire for fame, awards, or other such fleeting material gains.

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Sources:

1. (Abdel Wahab El-Messiri, The Hidden Hand, Egyptian General Book Organization, Cairo, 2000, p. 11-12)
2. In the details of those massacres: Abdullah al-Tal, The Danger of Global Judaism, Dar al-Qalam, Cairo, 1964, p. 56.
3. Looking at the models of the alliance between the Jews and the powerful: Nu'man al-Samarrai, Jews and the Alliance with the Powerful, Book of the Nation 32, Doha, 1412 AH = 1992 AD - Zionism and Violence, translated by Hussein Tantawi, Publications of Dar al-Sha'ab, Cairo, n.d., p. 234."
4. Ramses Awad, The Image of the Jew in English Literature, Al-Hilal Publishing House, Cairo, 1999, pp. 5-7.
5. The previous reference, page 7 and page 8.
6. The previous reference page 12.
7. The previous reference page  210

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