>
> My question is this: In looking at the question of whether Jews
> have ever engaged in forced conversions, I recalled reading of two
> incidents in which Jewish forces held different villages hostage,
> forced them to convert and in one case succeeded (they converted),
> and in the other case slaughtered the villagers when they refused.
> My recollection is that this occurred early in the Maccabean era
> or slightly before it. Needless to say, my recall on these points
> is quite hazy. My preliminary investigations have turned up
> nothing to corroborate my recollection however.
According to 1&2 Maccabees, and Josephus the Hasmonean
ruler John Hyrcanus I conquered Idumea in 129 BCE and
forcibly converted the non-Jewish population. One of his
sons, Aristobulus, is reported to have forcibly converted
the Itureans, who had infiltrated Galilee.
Lewis Reich
LBR AT sprynet.com
(Fwd) Re: Off topic: history,
Lewis Reich, 11/03/1998