It sometimes happens that extremists agree. Noted earlier was the case of mediocre philosophette Hypatia, killed by Christians during a riot. Modern atheists blame Ephesian Christians; Ephesians in antiquity proudly claimed it, themselves. Impartial historians these days suspect the Christian establishment didn't approve an execution. So: on to the Jews of Yathrib, and why there aren't any there today - the so-called "Khaybar" (oasis) expulsion. Or at least the murder of Ka'b bin al-Ashraf.
If you ask a Palestinian, he'll chant about the Yahud of Khaybar and about Ibn al-Ashraf in threats against Israel. If you ask Robert Spencer... well, The Truth about Muhammad should still be available for purchase. Ehsan Roohi offers a contrary opinion.
There exist skeptics of the Muhammadan sîra. Spencer took the skeptic tack in another book, Did Muhammad Exist?. Roohi splits this baby: he bypasses the Meccan mab'ath, to accept the Madinan maghâzî.
The man who has taken on much of the credit, or blame, for Ka'b's execution is one Ibn Maslama. This man turns out, at the time, to be a Jew himself. Plenty of Arabians converted to Judaism in sixth-century Late Antiquity; the king of Yemen was one. Ibn Maslama is credited/blamed for further murders of erstwhile-fellow Jews. It would be possible that we have a Torquemada here - but the accounts all follow the same pattern. This induces Roohi to consider Ibn Maslama's spree a topos, a "meme" in our parlance.
As alternative, Ibn Maslama and Ka'b were both Jewish-with-emphasis-on-ish warriors aligned with Muhammad. Ka'b may have died in battle but, perhaps, not with particular distinction or even on the "wrong" side. Ibn Maslama, who survived, ended up in high positions in 'Umar's circle and then with 'Uthman al-Umawi. Ibn Maslama faced accusations that he favoured the Jews among the Believers. It was remembered that Ibn Maslama made a personal petition with Ka'b. Ibn Maslama saved his reputation among the Muslims against the Jews by inventing or at least permitting a story that he had murdered some prominent Jews in his life.
Roohi does however accept that the Muslims expelled the Jews from Khaybar. Although even that might not be the Prophet's fault.
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