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504 Pádurean ticide, or the political, such as undermining the state, were normally undertaken by the group. "The Jews have gathered, With pitchforks and axes, Our Lord to murder, says an old Romanian carol (Oisteanu 2004: 362). This mythology is confirmed by the medieval iconography, where Jewish crimes are generally sustained on compositions of figures. A simple logic, that a conspiracy implies at least two culprits, pluralized the portrait of the Jew. Ihe Jew is never alone, not even when his accomplices are not in sight. Nominating one Jew did not mean disregarding the others.”° However, this vision was not unique, and the myth of the plot was often debunked, revealing rather humorous natures than evil ones. The Jews’ funny talk, their strangely peculiar deals, their seemingly unoffending nature, especially that of the poor Jews, constructed many tales in the European culture. For example, the “two Jews in a train” jokes became quite popular in some central and eastern European countries. Startlingly, many Jewish jokes were produced by Jews themselves, a testimonial to the unmatched quality of Jewish humor. This unique sense of humor manifested itself in a rare and long-lasting readiness to laugh not only at their persecutors but at the same time, occasionally, at themselves (Hillenbrand 1995: 72).”” The gag cartoons unveiled the diverse dialogue, the Jews became humanly complex: They were, indeed, talking small things and, not only did they not elaborate maleficent collaborations, but they often argued. “Not coincidentally, two Jews always contradict on any topic,” noticed the Israeli writer Amos Oz in one of his books, How to Cure a Fanatic (2007: 92). In fact, contradiction, rather than teamwork, stood at the base of the Jewish jokes. As C. Eretescu observed, “Ytzig and Shtrul [find themselves] always in an argument and [they are] never clear about their lives” (2004: 296). Amos Oz also pointed out that his favorite story from the Talmud was one discussing the incurable spirit of contradiction of the Jews. Let us retell this anecdote in closing, as it also derides the very fact that the Jews talk too much. Two virtuous rabbis engaged in a religious debate. For seven days and seven nights, they talked restlessly, without sleeping and without eating, until God felt sorry for them and intervened, giving justice to one of them. But the other one dared to contest God’s decision: “Oh, mighty God, you gave the Torah to the people, please stay out of this discussion,” he asked. And the rabbis continued to argue (Ibidem: 93-94). 26 In the anti-Semite paranoia, the total absence of Jews could signify their regrouping somewhere else. Marius Mircu, a Jewish-Romanian journalist, captured the atmosphere in Jassy prior to the pogrom of 1941, when 500 Jews were murdered: “[The Jews] hid. They didn’t get out of their houses. Why would they hide in their houses and cellars? They probably plot! They definitely plot! The Jews plot!” (Mircu 1944: 8). 27 Barbu Lazareanu, a Romanian writer and satirist of Jewish descent, seems to have taken his humor from his father, Hers Lazarovici: “The Moldavian boyars were crazy about the anecdotes with Jews that Hers Lazarovici used to tell. The first one to laugh was himself, contaminating the others” (Iacob 2003: 44).
