To Nini Karpel; growing up in Vienna during the 1920s was a romantic confection. Whether schussing down ski slopes or speaking of politics in coffee houses; she cherished the city of her birth. But in the 1930s an undercurrent of conflict and hate began to seize the former imperial capital. This struggle came to a head when Hitler took possession of neighboring Germany. Anti-Semitism; which Nini and her idealistic friends believed was impossible in the socially advanced world of Vienna; became widespread and virulent.The Karpel's Jewish identity suddenly made them foreigners in their own homeland. Tormented; disenfranchised; and with a broken heart; Nini and her family sought refuge in a land seven thousand miles across the world.Shanghai; China; one of the few countries accepting Jewish immigrants; became their new home and refuge. Stepping off the boat; the Karpel family found themselves in a land they could never have imagined. Shanghai presented an incongruent world of immense wealth and privilege for some and poverty for the masses; with opium dens and decadent clubs as well as rampant disease and a raging war between nations. Ten Green Bottles is the story of Nini Karpel's struggles as she told it to her daughter Vivian so many years ago. This true story depicts the fierce perseverance of one family; victims of the forces of evil; who overcame suffering of biblical proportion to survive. It was a time when ordinary people became heroes.
#5935516 in Books 2000-10-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.00 x 5.76 x 8.80l; #File Name: 0312222289288 pages
Review
6 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Proves mistreatment of non-Muslims under IslamBy Alyssa A. LappenThis 249-page collection includes 15 essays on the relations of Jews and Muslims over the last millennium. One; by Zeev Rubin; covers Judaism and Rahmanite monotheism in the fifth century. But most of the articles focus on the modern period; namely the last two centuries.One of the best essays in the lot; by the editor; concerns the 19th century treatment of Jews in Morocco. In November 1863; British foreign officer Sir John Drummond was informed that Sir Moses Montefiore would proceed to Morocco to petition the Sultan to grant absolute equality to non-Muslims; Jews and Christians alike; throughout his dominions. The British Consul in Tangiers; Thomas Reade; was well aware that such a demand "flew in the face of Islamic law and; as he put it; was opposed to "the religious and deeply rooted prejudices of a fanatical people." In response; the Sultan issued a "fine sounding dahir; which was nothing more than a statement of the status quo ante: namely the traditional position of the Jews under Islam as a protected people."The Jewish people of Morocco were soon aware that Sir Montefiore's visit had accomplished nothing: Jews forced to work on the Sabbath warned that any effort to contradict this order could cost them their lives.The foreign office had hoped to dismantle the dhimma; the laws under which non-Muslims were subjugated as abject people; but Drummond Hay knew perfectly well that there was no hope of abolishing that code in Morocco.In the decades following the dahir; many appeals were made to the British government regarding their safety. One case concerned a certain Jew called Benaim; whose throat was slit for his donkey. "The frequency of these atrocities perpetrated on the persons of unoffending Israelites in Morocco has produced great consternation throughout that community;" said a memorandum to the Marquis of Salisbury in 1880. The dahir of 1864 had said that non-Mussulman subjects of Morocco should enjoy perfect equality before the law--but witness of a Jew was not accepted by the country's legal tribunals; thereby proving how flagrantly justice was denied to them. The memo continued; "Moorish officials act towards the Jews especially in the interior in an arbitrary and insolent manner and ...the populace treat them with contempt and not infrequently indulge in brutal attacks upon them."Consciousness of these great evils led to the establishment of consular protection; its effectiveness and necessity was proved by the numerous legitimate occasions when consular protection was invoked; both to protect local Jewish inhabitants and travelers from distant lands. After Drummond Hay retired in 1885; in February 1888; a group of British merchants and bankers again brought up the safety and lack of equality of Moroccan non-Muslims. But a committee of Jewish people demanded the abolition of the dhimma. Stressing the "oppressed condition of the 300;000 Jewish inhabitants of Morocco;" who "suffer from the violence and injustice of the native authorities;" they wanted action that would relieve the Jewish people of Morocco of their degraded position. The list of disabilities affecting Jews numbered at least 27. Jews were forced; for example; to pay a capitation tax; and could not plead a legal case against a Moor. They could also not drink from public fountains. And so on. The committee's plaints fell on deaf ears. Thus in October 1891; two Jews were killed by tribesmen; who were ordered to pay the families (in traditional Islamic practice); and in November 1892; cruelty was again noted by Lord Roseberry.While the publisher's description of this book denies the mistreatment of Jews under Islam; the essays rather prove otherwise.--Alyssa A. Lappen
