MOJECKI, PRZECLAW°

MOJECKI, PRZECLAW ° (second half of 16^th and early 17^th century), Polish Catholic priest and antisemitic author. His principle work, O zydowskich okrucieństwach, mordach y zabobonach ("The Cruelty, Murders, and Superstitions of the Jews"), was the first outright attack on the Jews and Judaism in Polish political writings. The pamphlet, which first appeared in Cracow in 1589 and was later printed in 1598 (Cracow) and in 1636 (Lvov), was dedicated to Prince Janusz Ostrogski – a newly converted Catholic – in the hope of convincing him to support the expulsion of the Jews from Poland. The author gives 25 stories of *blood libels from various countries and nine from Poland. Mojecki complains that Jewish trade finally results in the depletion of the country's resources in waste and corruption because of the encouragement of luxury, and that the Jews are not under the jurisdiction of the authorities of the towns in which they live. Moreover, Mojecki is of the opinion that the Jews are traitors to Poland and spy for the Turks, the Tatars, and the rulers of Moscow. The author attempts to convince his readers that God rewards those who persecute and expel the Jews and commends the measures adopted by the kingdoms of France, Spain, and Germany toward the Jews. This work, which was influenced by German and Italian antisemitic literature, was influential in the propagation of antisemitic ideas in Polish literature of the 17^th century.

bibliography:

K. Bartoszewicz, Antysemityzm w literaturze polskiej xv–xvii w. (1914), 40–50; S. Dubnow, Divrei Yemei Am Olam, 6 (1958⁶), 161–2.

[Arthur Cygielman]