putting kibosh questions

Victor Steinbok aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM
Fri Jun 18 05:51:42 UTC 2010


I have to ask about another issue that both these clippings raise--what
is the sense of "naturalized" here? From context, it seems to imply one
of two things--conversion (not likely), or assimilation. Compare that to
the use of "naturalized" and "naturalization" in the context of US
immigration and citizenship (the meaning that OED puts back to at least
the middle of the sixteenth century).

What makes it difficult to comprehend (for me) here is the apparent
opposition to "naturalization" by "other" Jews who attacked the one
whose family was supposedly "naturalized". I am very much interested in
the relevant history related to this matter, so I would greatly
appreciate it if someone could illuminate the terminology.

VS-)

On 6/17/2010 8:47 PM, Garson O'Toole wrote:
> I think that the article in True Sun contains a second instance of
> kibosh that may be of interrest.
>
> Cite: 1835 May 15, True Sun, Police Intelligence: Mansion-House, Page
> 4, Column 4, London. (NewspaperArchive)
>
> (The article begins:)
>
>    A German Jew, named Myers, summoned two
> officers of the synagogue for having urged on other
> Jews to assault and otherwise molest him and his
> wife.
>    Myers said, in the phraseology of the foreign Jew,
> that a great prejudice was raised against him by the
> defendants, who accused him of having been natu-
> ralized in order to have a good excuse for attacking
> him.
>
> (Skipping to second instance of kibosh:)
>
>    The Lord Mayor—Can your husband swear that
> they struck him?
>    Myers—I don't think I can swear; but they gets
> other Jews to give me the kibosh upon me, and its all
> the same to me which of the whole set struck me.
> All I say, is, that me and my poor vife vill be killed
> at last by 'em. They are all against us—all the Jews.
>    The Lord Mayor—"Perhaps the defendants can clear
> up the matter?
>
> (May contain errors in transcription)
>
> On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 7:31 PM, Sam Clements<SClements at neo.rr.com>  wrote:
>
>> Stephen--Yep, that's confirmed.
>>
>> "Please you, my lord, I an't no such a thing; I am a real Jew, and I never
>> was naturalized.  They say so to rise the kibosh against me, and my vife,
>> vot I vas a valking mid, vhen they comes down upon us.  Ve goes reflar to
>> the synagogue, and the gentlemen knows it.  I'm as good Jew as any on um
>> all, and so is my poor vife."
>>
>> Sam Clements

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