This document provides an overview of ancient anti-Jewish oppression from the beginning of recorded Jewish history until around the time the Christian gospels were written. It details some of the major events and periods including the Hebrew settlement in Canaan, their enslavement in Egypt, the Exodus led by Moses, the development of Jewish spiritual and national identity, the establishment of the Hebrew monarchy and Solomon's Temple, the division into two kingdoms, and the conquest and dispersal of Jews by the Assyrians and Babylonians. It also discusses the Persian and Greek rule over the region.

1. CONVERSION, EXPULSION,
EXTERMINATION: PART 1
A History of Anti-Jewish Oppression
Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld
warrenblumenfeld@gmail.com

2. ■ Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld is available to
come to your campus or community
organization.
■ Contact: warrenblumenfeld@gmail.com

3. “An essential element of liberty
is the freedom to define oneself.”
Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld

4. The Flow
I. Cycle of Anti-Jewish Oppression
II. Terminology
III. Timeline of Anti-Jewish Oppression
❖ Ancient Anti-Jewish Oppression
❖ Religious Anti-Jewish Oppression
❖ Religious & Economic Anti- Jewish
Oppression
❖ Religious, Economic, Political, &
“Racial” Anti-Jewish Oppression
IV. Breaking the Cycle

5. Cycle of Anti-Jewish
Oppression
■ Throughout the long history of anti-Jewish
oppression, we see various trends or a
cycle of persecution:
1. From Conversion: you can’t live among us
as Jews,
2. To Expulsion: you can’t live among us,
3. To Extermination: you can’t live.

6. I. TERMINOLOGY

7. “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught”
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
“South Pacific,” Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein, 1949

8. IDENTITY
“…the organization of the individual’s drives, abilities, beliefs,
and history into a consistent image of self. It involves
deliberate choices and decisions, particularly about work,
values, ideology, and commitments to people and ideas.”
Anita Woolfolk

9. ASCRIBED IDENTITIES
■ In large part, identity depends on who the world around us
says we are through socialization.
■ Charles Horton Cooley: Other people are the
mirror in which we see ourselves.
■ What Cooley refers to as the “Looking Glass Self.”

10. Eric Erikson
■ Psychologist who asserted that there
is a genetic, instinctual drive or quest
for personal identity.
■ This propels the personality
development of the individual.
■ Development is contingent on how we
handle “identity crises” or “tasks” at
various stages of life.

11. Some Social Identity Categories
■ Race
■ Ethnicity
■ Nationality
■ Tribe
■ Linguistic Background
■ Sex Assigned at Birth
■ Religion
■ Sexual Identity
■ Gender Identity & Expression
■ Socioeconomic Class
■ Age
■ Physical and Mental Abilities
■ Physical Size & Appearance

12. TO “MINORITIZE”
■ An action, a verb, not an adjective or noun.
■ It is the process of objectifying, subordinating,
marginalizing, dominating, controlling,
disenfranchising, violating “the Other”
■ Through the practices of
– Defining
– Stereotyping
– Scapegoating
– Tokenizing

13. TO “OTHER”
 To Other and the process of Othering
 “Othering” is something people and groups
do –- it is an action, a verb, not an adjective
or noun.
 “Otherness”: is not static, intrinsic,
immutable characteristics or traits.
Nathaniel Mackey

14. TO “STEREOTYPE”
■ A stereotypeis an oversimplified, preconceived, and
standardized conception, opinion, affective attitude, judgment, or
image of a person or group that is held in common by members of
other groups.
■ Originally referring to the process of making type from a metal mold in
printing…
■ …social stereotypes can be viewed as molds of regular and invariable
patterns of evaluation of others.

15. Summary of Stereotypes Directed
against the Jewish People
■ Killers of God
■ In Service of / Fathered by the Devil
■ Catholic Host Desecrators
■ Poisoners of Drinking Wells
■ Transmitters of Diseases
■ Usurers
■ Ritual Murderers & Abusers of Christian
Children
■ Immature / Inadequate Religious
Consciousness
■ Forced Circumcisers onto Non-Jews
■ Proselytizers of Judaism
■ Clannish
■ Alien “Race”
■ Wanderers / “Stateless”
■ Freedom-Killing Communists
■ Super Capitalists
■ Sexually Perverse
■ Oversexed or Sexually-Frigid Females
■ Lecherous Males on Christian Women
■ Feminized and Non-Athletic Males
■ Controller of World Economic Systems
■ Exaggerators of the Extent of Anti-Jewish
Oppression
■ Controllers of the Media
■ Financially Cheap and Cheaters
■ Exploiters of the Oppressed
■ Holders of Dual / Multiple Loyalties
■ Greedy for Wealth

16. TO “SCAPEGOAT”
The origin of the scapegoat dates back to the Book of
Leviticus (16:20-22). On the Day of Atonement, a live goat was
selected by lot. The high priest placed both hands on the
goat’s head, and confessed over it the sins of the people. In
this way, the sins were symbolically transferred to the animal,
which was then cast out into the wilderness. This process thus
purged the people, for a time, of their feelings of guilt, shame,
and fear.

17. TO “SCAPEGOAT”
■ Social scapegoating occurs when groups single out
individuals and other groups as targets of hostility and
violence, even though they may have little or nothing to do
with the offenses for which they stand accused.
■ With scapegoating, there is the tendency to view all
members of the group as inferior and to assume that all
members are alike in most respects. This attitude often
leads to even further marginalization.

18. TO “TOKENIZE” PEOPLE
■ Tokenism occurs when dominant
groups generally and leaders
specifically single out one or a few
individuals from minoritized groups for
acceptance or advancement to give the
appearance of social inclusivity and
diversity,
■ Members of dominant groups perform
this to avoid challenges to their
dominant group privilege, power,
domination, and control and
accusations of social discrimination.

19. PREJUDICE
■ When stereotyping occurs, people tend to overlook all other
characteristics of the group. Individuals sometime use
stereotypes to justify the subjugation of members of that
group.
■ In this sense, stereotypes conform to the literal meaning of
the word “prejudice,” which is a prejudgment, derived from
the Latin praejudicium.

20. “DOMINANT” (or “AGENT”) &
“MINORITIZED” (or
“SUBORDINATED,” or
“OTHERED,” or “TARGET”)
IDENTITIES
■ “Dominant”:
– When our inner and outer experiences are in
harmony.
– When the images by others are similar to the
images we have of ourselves within.

21. “DOMINANT” (or “AGENT”) &
“MINORITIZED” (or
“SUBORDINATED,” or
“OTHERED,” or “TARGET”)
IDENTITIES
■ “Minoritized”:
– When our inner and outer experiences are not in
harmony.
– The aspect of identity that is the target of others’
attention, and subsequently of our own attention.
– This is often what sets us apart as exceptions or
“other” in other people’s minds.

22. INTERSECTIONALITY or
INTERSECTIONALISM
■ Kimberlé Crenshaw
■ Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA Law
School
■ Definition: the study of intersections
between forms or systems of oppression,
domination, or discrimination,
■ And how these impact the lives of people
by investigating multiple identities.

23. INTERSECTIONALITY or
INTERSECTIONALISM
■ Each person is composed of MULTIPLE identities that
interconnect with each other.
■ Depending on time and location, some of these identities
may seem more or less important to the individual.
■ Most of us have some identities accorded more social
privilege.
■ Simultaneously having some identities accorded less social
privilege.

24. OPPRESSION
■ Oppression is prolonged cruel or unjust treatment and control.
■ The concept of “Oppression” can be represented by the equation…
O = P + SP
…in which “Oppression” Equals
… “Prejudice” plus
…the “Social Power” to enforce that Prejudice on a number of
different levels…

25. THE LEVELS OF OPPRESSION
Oppression occurs on a number of different but interrelated levels:
■ Personal
■ Interpersonal
■ Institutional
■ Larger Societal
Rita Hardiman Bailey Jackson

26. Microaggressions
■ Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and
environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or
unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative
messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized
group membership. (from Psychology Today)

27. Genocide
■ Genocides are the deliberate murdering of large groups of people
based on their minoritized “other” status.

28. DOMINANT GROUP PRIVILEGE
■ “Privilege”: A right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit,
advantage, or favor; such a right or immunity is attached specifically to a
position, office, or, in the case of dominant group
privilege, a social identity.
– It is Granted, not Earned
– It bestows Favors, Benefits, and Advantages on members of the
dominant social group that are not bestowed on
minoritized others
Peggy McIntosh

29. DOMINANT GROUP PRIVILEGE
■ Not Monolithic,
■ Not a Binary between those who have these forms of privilege, on one
side, and those who do not on the other.
■ A Continuum or a Hierarchy based on:
– Historical Factors
– Intersections with other social identities
– Degrees of Social Power attached to these other
social identities
Blumenfeld, 2006

30. Hegemony
(Antonio Gramsci)
■ How the dominant group successfully disseminates its
particular form of social reality and social vision in a manner as
to be accepted as common sense, as normal, as universal.
 And even at times by those who are
marginalized, disempowered, or rendered
invisible by it (Rosemarie Tong).
■ Hegemonymaintains the marginality of
already marginalized / minoritized / othered groups.

31. CULTURAL IMPERIALISM
A specific form of hegemony, according to
Iris Marion Young, that involves the
universalization of a dominant group’s
experience and culture, and its
establishment as the norm.
Iris Marion Young

32. DECULTURALIZATION &
CULTURAL GENOCIDE
(Joel Spring)
■ Cultural Genocide:
– The process of destroying a people’s culture and
replacing it with a new culture. This works through the
process of deculturalization.
■ Deculturalization:
– The attempt to destroy other cultures through forced
acquiescence and assimilation to majority rules and
standards.

33. DISCOURSE
■ In the service of hegemony, discourse
includes the ideas, written expressions,
theoretical foundations, and language of
the dominant culture.
■ These are implanted within networks of
social and political control, described by
Michel Foucault as Regimes of Truth,
which function to legitimize what can be
said, who has the authority to speak and
be heard, and what is authorized as true
or as THE Truth.
Michel Foucault

34. DEMAGOGUE
While in ancient Greece and Rome, a demagogue originally referred to a
leader or orator who advocated for and championed the common people,
the term has since come to represent a leader who, rather than
employing rational arguments, appeals instead to peoples’ fears,
prejudices, stereotypes for their own political / social / economic ends.

35. ANTI-JEWISH OPPRESSION
“Anti-Jewish Oppression” (a.k.a. “Anti-Semitism”) is
the systematic discrimination against, denigration, or
oppression of Jews, Judaism, and the cultural, intellectual,
and religious heritage of the Jewish people.
Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor, Tikkun Magazine

36. I. ANCIENT ANTI-JEWISH
OPPRESSION
From beginning of recorded Jewish history to
approximately the time the Christian gospels
were first written.

37. Hebrew People Settle in Canaan
circa 760 Jewish Calendar / 3000 b.c.e.
Hebrew people settled in Canaan (known today as “Israel”).
Canaan was located between four large empires: Egypt,
Babylonia (Iraq), Assyria (Syria), and Persia (Iran), nations that
were often at war.
Canaanite Goddess Asherah

38. Abraham
1760-1860 / 2000-1900 b.c.e.
Abraham (commonly referred to as “the father of the Jewish
and Arab peoples”) lived sometime during this century. He was
a distant ancestor of Shem, son of Noah. (Descendants of
Shem are called “Semites.”)
Abraham

39. Abraham
1760-1860 / 2000-1900 b.c.e.
Abraham had a wife named Sarah, and a son named Isaac.
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac

40. Abraham
1760-1860 / 2000-1900 b.c.e.
Abraham had a maidservant named Hagar, and a son named
Ishmael, whom Abraham exiled.
Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael

41. Journey to Egypt
circa 1960 / 1800 b.c.e.
Hebrews suffered a severe famine, and many journeyed to Egypt.

42. Hebrew Captives
In Egypt, Hebrews eventually were forced into slavery (along
with other national groups, including black Africans), and the
systematic oppression of the Jewish people begins. They were
enslaved in Egypt for approximately 400 years.

43. The Exodus
circa 2510 / 1250 b. c. e.
Moses, sister Miriam, and brother Aaron led Jews from Egypt
back to their homeland in Canaan.

44. Passover
The celebration of the festival of Passover commemorates the
Exodus from Egypt and the journey to freedom.

45. Spiritual & National Identity
circa 2510 / 1250 b. c. e.
The Hebrew people began to develop a strong spiritual and
national identity. Jews were the first monotheistic people
believing in one G*d, surrounded by polytheistic peoples
believing in many gods.
Moses receiving G*d’s laws for the Jews.

46. Independence Period
2560-2860 / 1200-900 b.c.e.
Jews lived in relative harmony with their neighbors.

47. Hebrew Monarchy
2737 / 1023 b.c.e.
An independent Hebrew kingdom was established ruled first
by King Saul, then King David, & then King Solomon.
Crowning of King David

48. Solomon’s Temple
circa 2810 / 950 b.c.e
David’s son, Solomon, had the first holy Jewish Temple
constructed in Jerusalem.

49. 12 Tribes
■ The 12 tribes divided into 2 connected kingdoms:
– a Northern Kingdom called Israel (tribes of Reuben, Simeon,
Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and
Manasseh)
– a Southern Kingdom of Judah (tribes of Judah and Benjamin)

50. Fall of Jewish Independence
2910-3038 / 850-722 b.c.e.
The Assyrians conquered the Jews, dividing what was
previously their connected kingdoms into two separate states:
Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

51. Assyrian Annexation
3038-3039 / 722-721 b.c.e.
They took the Jews prisoner, then the Jews were expelled and
dispersed throughout the land. The roots of the stereotype of
“The Wandering Jews,” as permanent aliens, as foreigners in
the countries in which they reside began here.

52. Babylonian Invasion
3173-3174 / 587-586 b.c.e.
The Babylonians conquered the Jewish homeland. They
destroyed the first Jewish Temple, and once again, Jews were
dispersed. Many journeyed to Babylonia. Once in Babylonia,
Jews continued to write and codify their sacred laws, and keep
their culture alive.

53. Persian Empire
Between 3260-3360 / 500-400 b.c.e, the Persian empire
replaces the Babylonian empire. The Persians support the
restoration of a Jewish homeland. They allow some Jews to
return to Jerusalem (though many choose not to).
King Darius I (seated), son Xerxes (behind)

54. Second Jewish Temple
5245 / 515 b.c.e.
Jews are permitted to rebuild their sacred Temple in Jerusalem
in 5245 / 515 b.c.e.

55. Alexander the Great
3428 / 332 b.c.e.
Alexander, Greek commander and ruler of Macedonia,
defeated the Persians and conquered Canaan.

56. Alexander the Great
3428 / 332 b.c.e.
The Hellenistic king outlawed Judaism and made the Jewish
practice of circumcision and observance of the Sabbath
crimes punishable by death.

57. Greeks Loot Jewish Temple
3593 / 167 b.c.e.
The Greeks looted the Temple, and erected an alter to their
god Zeus, and forced Jews to sacrifice a pig to the Greek god.
The Greeks and other peoples saw the Jews as a threat
because the Jews followed their own G*d and their own laws.

58. Under Greek Domination
Jews were forced to accept Greek ways. Some Jews
assimilated to Greek culture, while others did not.

59. Maccabean Revolt for Independence
3593/ 167 b.c.e.
A revolt for Jewish independences was led by the Maccabees
under their leader, Juhudah Maccabaeus.

60. Jewish Resistance
The Maccabean revolt highlighted an important point:
a myth exists that Jews have quietly submitted to their
oppression, while in fact, throughout their long history of
persecution, Jews displayed numerous examples of active
resistance.

61. Maccabean Revolt for Independence
3596/ 164 b.c.e.
Jews reclaimed the Temple, and rededicated it as a sacred
Jewish center. This battle is commemorated today in the
Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Soon, however, Rome became
the dominant power in the area.

62. Roman Rule
There were about 4 million Jews (7%) of the total population in
the Roman Empire before the advent of Christianity.

63. King Herod
3623-3764 / 37 b.c.e.-4 c.e.
King Herod ruled Judea. He was part Jewish. After his death,
Syrian governors ruled Judea.

64. Jesus
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, southwest of Jerusalem. His
mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph, were Jews. Jesus was
born and died a Jew.

65. Governor Pontius Pilate
3786 / 26 c.e.
Rebel Jewish bands fought against the Romans for their
independence. Roman Governor Pontius Pilate went to
Jerusalem to quell the trouble. Romans seized all instigators
and crucified them.

66. Jesus Crucified
circa 3793 / 33 c.e.
The Romans, under Emperor Tiberius and Governor Pontius
Pilate, crucified Jesus. Jesus was tried, convicted, and
sentenced by Roman law and judges, and crucified by Roman
soldiers.

67. Jews Blamed
circa 3793 / 33 c.e.
Soon after the crucifixion, though, the myth develops that Jews
were responsible for Jesus’s death. Though the Jews did not
make the decision to kill him, nor did they have the power to
carry out a death sentence…

68. Judas
circa 3793 / 33 c.e.
…Judas, who betrayed Jesus, became the Jewish archetype of
evil and deception.

69. Pogrom in Alexandria
3798 / 38 c.e.
The first account of a pogrom (organized massacre) against
the Jewish people occurred in Roman-ruled Alexandria, Egypt.

70. Herod Agrippa I
3801-3804 / 41-44 c.e.
The provocation for the pogrom was the arrival of Herod
Agrippa I, who would later rule.

71. Roman Rule
3823 / 63 c.e.
Rome conquered Jewish lands. Roman Emperors Vespasian
and Titus crushed a Jewish revolt.

72. Judea Capta
Rome minted coins with the inscription Judea Capta (Judea is
Captive).

73. Jews under Rome
■ Rome persecuted Jews for retaining their cultural and
religious traditions. Rome took most rights of citizenship
from Jews. They levied a special tax on Jews, confiscated
their property, and enacted laws against proselytizing and
conversions.
■ Greco-Roman writers accused Jews who adhered to their
religious beliefs as “bigots fighting in defense of
circumcision and a pigless diet.”

74. Great Jewish War
3826-3833 / 66-73 c.e.
Jews waged war against the Romans for independence. Rome
destroyed the Jewish Second Temple in 3830/ 70 c.e.

75. Arch of Titus
3831 / 71 c.e.
Rome carried away a seven-branched menorah from the
Jewish Temple in Jerusalem after Titus defeated the Jews.

76. The “Western Wall”
Called the “Western Wall” or the “Wailing Wall,” today this is the
holiest of Jewish sites. It is one of the only remaining walls of the
outer courtyard of the great Temple.

77. Masada
3830-3833 / 70-73 c.e.
A band of Jews held out at a mountain fortress overlooking the
western shore of the Dead Sea, led by their leader Eleazar ben
Yair. They survived until 3833 / 73 c.e. When the Roman
Legions breached their fortress, all but two of the 960
defenders chose to commit suicide rather than submit to
Roman captivity.

78. Hadrian
3892 / 132 c.e.
Roman emperor Hadrian built a Roman city over the ruins of
Jerusalem, at the site of Herod’s Temple.

79. Bar Kokhba Revolt
3892 / 132 c.e.
A revolt, led by Simeon Kosiba (called by his admirers Bar
Kokhba: “Son of a Star”) surprised the Roman Tenth Legion
forcing it to abandon its encampments near Jerusalem.

80. Bar Kokhba Revolt
3892 / 132 c.e.
Jews set up a provisional government, proclaimed a new
calendar, and issued new coins with the inscription “Shimeon
[Bar Kokhba] President of Israel.”

81. Bar Kokhba Revolt Crushed
3894 / 134 c.e.
Emperor Hadrian sent in reinforcements, and brutally
suppressed the rebellion. Bar Kokhba was slain. Not until
3960 / 200 c.e. were Jews permitted to become Roman
citizens.

82. II. RELIGIOUS ANTI-
JEWISH OPPRESSION
From Around 3760 / or the beginning of what
has come to be called the “Common Era,” to
around 4360 / 600 C.E.

83. Split between Christianity & Judaism
3810 / 50 c.e.
Saul, who became the Christian Paul, separated Christianity from
Judaism and made it a separate religion.

84. Split between Christianity & Judaism
3810 / 50 c.e.
Here Paul argued with Jews. Early Christians sought to win
converts. Their theology attempted to discredit traditional
Judaism, and to play on current Roman hostilities toward Jews.

85. Split between Christianity & Judaism
3810 / 50 c.e.
Jews who would not convert, were
depicted as evil, as rebels, and
heretics against God, and
eventually…

86. Jews in Service of the Devil
…especially widespread during the Middle Ages, as “agents of
Satan,” people to be hated and feared. The stereotype of Jews
having horns and tails originated as codified in the Christian
gospels…

87. Religious Texts as Justification for
Persecution
At various historical periods, religious leaders have applied religious
texts, sometimes taken in tandem, and at other times used selectively, to
establish and maintain hierarchical positions of power, domination, and
privilege over individuals and groups targeted by these texts.

88. Christian Gospels
■ And Jesus said: “If God were your father, you would love
me…[but] your father is the devil and you choose to carry out
your father’s desires” (John 8:44).
■ “The Jews…are Satan’s synagogue” (Revelation 2:9).
■ “I will make those of Satan’s synagogue, who claim to be
Jews but are lying frauds, come and fall down at your feet”
(Revelation 3:9).

89. Christian Gospels
■ Around 3830 / 70 c.e., Christians
wrote the first gospels under Roman
rule. They very consciously shifted
blame away from the Romans to the
Jews for the death of Jesus since
Christians lived under Roman
domination.
■ The Christian gospels (a.k.a. “The New
Testament”) reinterpreted history in an
anti-Jewish tradition giving only the
Christian side of the debate.
Paul

90. 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16
“[T]he Jews, who killed the Lord
Jesus and the prophets and
drove us out, the Jews who are
heedless of God’s will and
enemies of their fellow man….All
this time they have been making
up the full measure of their guilt,
and now retribution has
overtaken the good of all.”
Paul

91. Matthew 27:24-25
Matthew
“Pilate could see that nothing
was being gained, and a riot was
starting [among the Jews]; so he
took water and washed his
hands in full view of the people
saying, ‘My hands are clean of
this man’s blood; see to that
yourselves,’ and with one voice
the people cried, ‘His blood be
on us, and on our children.’”

92. Christian Gospels
A 54th / 17th-century engraving depicts Jesus before a Jewish
mob, with the inscription “Let him be crucified!,” taken from
Matthew 27:24-25.

93. Galatians 5:1-6
Paul
“Christ set us free, to be free
men. Stand firm, then, and refuse
to be tied to the yoke of slavery
again. Mark my words: I, Paul, say
to you that if you receive
circumcision, Christ will do you no
good at all.”

94. Titus 1:14-16
Paul
“Do not give heed to Jewish fables
and commandments of merely
human origin that turn men from
the truth;…nothing is pure to the
tainted minds of disbelievers….
They [the Jews] profess to
acknowledge God, but deny him by
their actions. Their detestable
obstinacy disqualifies them for any
good work.”

95. Constantine I
4073 / 313 c.e.
Emperor Constantine I declared
Christianity as the officially sanctioned
state religion of the Roman Empire.
The Christian Testament was
canonized. Jewish oppression
increases in magnitude.

96. Edict of Milan
4073 / 313 c.e.
Under Constantine I, the Edict of
Milan was passed to officially
guarantee the Church unlimited
freedom of religion. Jews,
however, were not allowed
religious freedom. Jews were
forbidden to enter the city of
Jerusalem under penalty of
death.

97. Bishop Ambrose of Milan
lived 4100-4157 / 340-397 c.e.
Bishop Ambrose of Milan opposed
the reconstruction of a synagogue
that was burned down by Christians,
“…so that no place would exist where
God was denied.”

98. John Chrysostom
42nd century / 4th century c.e.
Court preacher to the Bishop of Antioch
“Do not let it surprise you that I have
called the Jews disastrous because
they are really disastrous and
miserable….Such unreasoning animals
are suited for slaughter, because they
are not suited for work….The synagogue
is not only a brothel and a theatre, but
also a den for robbers and a shelter for
wild beasts.”

99. Theodosian I Proclamation
4140 / 380 c.e.
Emperor Theodosius I issued a proclamation:
“It is Our will that all peoples ruled by the
administration of Our Clemency shall
practice that religion which the divine Peter
the Apostle transmitted to the
Romans….[W]e shall believe in the single
deity of the father, the Son, and the Holy
Trinity…

100. Theodosian I Proclamation
4140 / 380 c.e.
“We command that persons who follow this
rule shall embrace the name of catholic
Christians. The rest, however, whom We judge
demented and insane, shall carry the infamy
of heretical dogmas. Their meeting places will
not receive the name of churches, and they
shall be smitten first by Divine Vengeance,
and secondly by the retribution of hostility
which We shall assume in accordance with
the Divine Judgment.”

101. Theodosian Codes
4198 / 438 c.e.
Jews were forbidden to associate
with Christians. Jewish men and
Christian women were prohibited
from intermarrying. Jews were
prohibited from holding high
government positions. Jews were
expelled from the country if they
refused to be baptized as
Christians.

102. Christian Papacy
4198 / 438 c.e.
About this time, the Christian Papacy was established.

103. Justinian Codes
4294 / 534 c.e.
■ Emperor Justinian published his
Justinian Code with its anti-Jewish
regulations.
■ The text influenced European law
and European history.
■ Section 3 concentrated on the
Jews. It was later adopted by most
law books of European countries.
■ Jews were classified as second-
class citizens, and their religion
was declared illegitimate.

104. Pope Gregory I
4350-4364 / 590-604 c.e.
■ Pope Gregory the Great extended an ideology of Christian
persecution of Jews, which lead directly to physical attacks on
Jews.
■ He argued that Jews understood the claims of Christianity.
They knew that Jesus was the Messiah and the son of God.
But they rejected him, and continued to reject him because
their hearts were corrupt.

105. III. RELIGIOUS &
ECONOMIC ANTI-
JEWISH OPPRESSION
From around 4360 / 600 C.E.
to 5310 / 1550 C.E.

106. France, Italy, Germany
circa 4360 / 600 c.e.
■ Jews were permitted to settle in France, Italy, and Germany.
■ This was a fairly good period for Jews who lived in relative peace
and security.
■ Because of their status as “permanent aliens” and “religious
infidels,” they were forced into occupations that were devalued
and considered immoral by the Christian Church

107. Jews in Agriculture
In earlier times, Jews were part of an agricultural economy, but
they were eventually pushed out by forced expulsions,
confiscation of their land, and unfairly high taxes within primarily
Christian countries.

108. Jews in Trade Occupations
circa 4360 / 600 c.e.
Jews entered trade occupations becoming merchants and shop
keepers, peddlers, money-lenders, and tax-collectors. Some of
these were occupations needed in the developing economies
but prohibited, for example, money lenders, to Christians by the
Christian Church.

109. Jews Blamed for Economic Problems
Peasants, serfs, and the landed classes often blamed the Jews
for the problems in the feudal system. Rich landowners
scapegoated the Jews to take blame away from the rich for the
economic plight of the serfs.

110. Thomas Aquinas
b. 4985 / 1225 c.e.
■ A Dominican scholar, and early
proponent of “natural law” in which
morality is based on constraints of
human nature.
■ He believed, as was later echoed in the
High Middle Ages, that usury (the lending
of money for profit) was unjust and
therefore forbidden to Christians.

111. Jews & Money
■ A pattern emerged: Jews were
invited into a region to fill gaps
in the economy; they were then
blamed for the problems in the
economic system; they were
expelled or massacred.
■ The stereotype of Jews as
money-lovers, cheap, and
miserly was born.

112. Modern Poland
■ :
Żyd w sieni pieniadze w kieszeni
(“A Jew in the room, a coin
in the pocket”)
Purchased, 5774 / Aug.
2014, Souvenir Store,
Sanok, Poland

113. Forced Baptisms / Children Taken
4373-4388 / 613-628 c.e.
■ Jews were forcibly baptized in France and Spain.
■ Then in 4454 / 694, the Toledo Synods in Spain enacted anti-
Jewish measures. The Bishops proclaimed that at age 7,
Jewish children of both sexes were forbidden to remain living
with their parents or to maintain any contact with them.
Children were taken and raised by “reliable Christians.”

114. Muhammed
b. 4331 / 571 c.e.
■ The Prophet Mohammed was born in the city of Mecca.
■ In 4382 / 622, he formulated a version of monotheism called
Islam (meaning “submission” to God).

115. Muhammed
■ He did not tolerate unbelievers. He had all Jewish men in
Medina killed who would not convert to Islam, and he had
women and children enslaved.
■ He declared a holy war, jihad, on the Jews.

116. Quran
(Sura V, v.85)
■ In the Quran, the Islamic holy book, it states:
“Thou wilt surely find that the strongest in enmity against those
who believe are the Jews and the idolaters; and thou wilt find the
nearest in love to those who believe to be those who say, ‘We are
Christians’.”

117. Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab
4394-4404 / 634-644 c.e.
The Second Muslim Caliph (ruler), Umar ibn al-Khattab decreed
that all Jews (non-Muslims were referred to as dhimmis) had to
cut the forelocks on their heads, not to sit astride their mules,
and bind distinctive yellow girdles around their waists to
distinguish them from Muslims. If they refused, they were to be
killed.

118. Melah & Distinctive Badges
4567 / 807 c.e.
■ Muslim rulers introduced the concept of forcing Jews into
separate living spaces called (melah) and wearing distinctive
yellow badges first introduced by Umayyad Caliph Umar II.
■ This continued under the rule of Caliph Al-Mutawakkil (4607-
4621 / 847-861 c.e.), and remained in force for centuries.
■ A document from 4881 / 1121 describes a decree issued in
Baghdad:
“Two yellow badges [are to be displayed], one on the headgear and
one on the neck. Furthermore, each Jew must hang round his neck
a piece of lead with the word Dhimmi on it. He also has to wear a
belt round his waist. The women have to wear one red and one
black shoe and have a small bell on their necks or shoes.”

119. Almoravid Dynasty Killings
4797 / 1037 c.e.
The Islamic Almoravid Dynasty killed 6 thousand Jews in the
Moroccan city of Fez.

120. Almoravid Dynasty Massacre
4797 / 1037 c.e.
In Granada, Spain, a Muslim mob rushed the royal palace in
Muslim-ruled al-Andalus, and slaughtered approximately 5
thousand Jewish residents.

121. The First Crusade
4855 / 1095 c.e.
Pope Urban II ( the “father of the Crusades”) summoned the First
Crusade in Clermont, France to, as he termed it, “liberate”
Jerusalem from the Muslims.

122. The First Crusade
4855 / 1095 c.e.
Pope Urban II argued:
“Let us first avenge ourselves on them [the Jews] and
exterminate them from among the nations so that the name of
Israel will no longer be remembered, or let them adopt our faith.”

123. The First Crusade
Summer 4856 / 1096 c.e.
As the Crusade began, Crusaders murdered several thousand
Jews in the lands along the Rhine River, and plundered their
homes.

124. The First Crusade
Summer 4856 / 1096 c.e.
■ As the Crusaders stated: “Because why should we go off to
attack the unbelievers in the Holy Land and leave the
unbelievers in our midst untouched?”
■ Crusaders accused Jews of being treacherous auxiliaries of
the Muslims.

125. The First Crusade
Summer 4856 / 1096 c.e.
Crusaders viciously slaughtered Jews in Northern France, the
Rhine Valley, and Bohemia.

126. The First Crusade
4859 / 1099 c.e.
Upon reaching Jerusalem,
Crusaders burned the synagogue on
the Temple Mount to the ground
with Jews inside. One Crusader, an
eyewitness to the event wrote:
“Men rode in blood up to their
knees and bridal reins. It was a just
and splendid judgment by God that
this place would be filled with the
blood of the unbelievers.”

127. The Crusades
The savagery of the Christian Crusades covered a span of over
350 years, in which Crusaders killed tens of thousands of
Muslims and Jews..

128. Jewish Obstinacy
Christians depicted the obstinacy of the Jews by refusing to
take the Christian Gospels, the ultimate and “advanced”
religious teachings, as their own.

129. Depiction of “Church” & “Synagogue”
■ Two statues on the Strasbourg Cathedral, 5010 / 1250 c.e.
■ Positive Christian view of the Church on the left: eyes open
looking outward.
■ Negative view of the Synagogue on the right: blindfolded,
face downward, holding a broken staff.

130. Depiction of “Church” & “Synagogue”
■ Two windows in St. John’s Church, Werben, Germany,
5174 / 1414 c.e.
■ Positive Christian view of the Church on the left:
eyes open looking outward.
■ Negative view of the Synagogue on the right:
blindfolded, face downward, holding a broken staff.

131. Continuing Historical Theme:
Jews as Agents of the Devil

132. Theme of
The “Judensau”
■ An anti-Jewish motif printed in medieval texts & carved into a
number of churches in Central Europe
■ Depiction of Jews sexually entwined with a pig, sucking the
sow’s utter, and eating & drinking its excrement.

133. The “Judensau”
Jewish woman giving birth to two pigs.
Johann Fischart, Strasbourg, 5334 / 1574

134. The Hyena
■ During the Middle Ages
■ The Hyena (an animal
with a supposed
“homosexual nature”
who continually changed
sexes)
■ A common reference to
both those engaging in
sexuality with their own
sex, and to Jews.
49th / 12th Century

135. The Hyena
Picture Caption:
The hyena “is an unclean
animal...sometimes male and
sometimes female,” and “the children
of Israel are thought to be similar to
this animal, since they first
worshipped their Lord and then,
abandoning themselves to pleasure and
lust, venerated idols and now pursue
avarice...”

136. The “Blood Libel”
■ 4904 / 1144 c.e., the beginning of the so-called “Blood Libel,”
in England.
■ Christians accused Jews of sleighing William of Norwich, a
Christian male child, to use his blood in the making of their
sacred Jewish matzos.

137. The “Blood Libel”
Jews were accused in 5235 / 1475 c.e. of killing Simon of
Trent, the son of a tanner in Northern Italy, for his blood.

138. The “Blood Libel”
Christians killed Jews for
allegedly murdering Simon
of Trent

139. The “Blood Libel”
■ Christians accused Jews of killing
Christian youth for the contrived
reasons that Christian youth’s
blood was virginal and innocent,
■ And it was the most potent
medication to heal:
■ Jew’s hemorrhoids,
■ Relieve pain during circumcision,
■ Increase Jew’s fertility,
■ Cure the “stink of the Jews”

140. Jewish Male Menstruation
■ Also, stories spread within some Christian communities that
because Jewish males undergo circumcision, they are,
therefore “feminized” males, and when they reach puberty,
they menstruate like women.
■ Jewish men and women, therefore, need the blood of
Christian children to replenish their bodies of the blood lost
during menstruation.

141. The “Blood Libel”
Christians also accused Jews
of slaughtering Christian male
children because they wanted
to symbolically re-crucify
Jesus.

142. Continuing Theme:
Forced Circumcision (“Recruitment”)
■ Jews also were accused
of inflicting circumcision
on Christian infants
■ To involuntary convert
them to Judaism
(“recruitment”).
■ Jews were accused of
“blood libel” into the 58th /
21st century c.e.

143. Continuing Theme:
Youth Abuse & Molestation
■ Anti-Jewish German children’s
book, 5698 / 1938 c.e.
■ Der Giftpilz
(The Poison Mushroom)
■ By Stürmer Verlag
■ Jewish man depicted as a child
molester luring children with
candy

144. White Supremacist Website:
https://firstlightforum.wordpress.com/2012/12/
“Free ranging Jewish pedophiles defile
thousands of innocent white children.”

145. Continuing Historical Cycle
Conversion,
Expulsion,
Extermination

146. Sijilmasa, North Africa
4906 / 1146 c.e.
Muslims conquered Sijilmasa and presented Jews the choice between
conversion or death. 150 Jews preferred death.

147. Jews Expelled from France
4942 / 1182 c.e.
King Philip Augustus (Philip II) drove Jews out of France.

148. Jews Exterminated, York England
4950 / 1190 c.e.
A besieging mob massacred the entire Jewish population of York,
England as they congregated at Clifford’s Tower Castle.

149. Distinctive Jewish Clothing
4944-4958 / 1184-1198 c.e.
■ In some Muslim-controlled areas, Jews are forced to wear distinctive
clothing to keep track of them:
■ Dark blue cloths with sleeves down to their feet, and a hat in the
shape of a saddle (the origin of the distinctive “Jewish Hat, which
appears later in the Middle Ages in Europe).

150. Distinctive Jewish Clothing
In Germany in the Middle Ages, Jews were forced to wear a pointed hat to
distinguish them from Christians.

151. Isolating Jews
4960s / 1200s c.e.
■ Pope Innocent III enacted laws to isolate Jews from Christians.
■ Jews were seen as challenging Church power because by not
converting, they symbolized the idea of religious freedom.

152. Isolating Jews
4960s / 1200s c.e.
The Church confined Jews in designated areas within the towns and
countryside. Innocent III argued that he needed to isolate Jews from
Christians since Jews had corrupted and reversed the “natural
order” with their unscrupulous use of money and power, and that
the “free Christian” had become the servant of a Jewish master.

153. Fourth Lateran Council
4975 / 1215 c.e.
■ The Fourth Council of the Lateran was called by Pope
Innocent III with the papal bull Vineam domini Sabaoth of
4963 / 1213, April 19
■ The Council met at Rome's Lateran Palace beginning 4975
/ 1215, November 11.

154. Fourth Lateran Council
4975 / 1215 c.e.
■ The Fourth Lateran Council ordered Jews to wear
distinctive yellow badges.
■ The Council chose yellow because it symbolized
“racial disgrace.”

155. Fourth Lateran Council
4975 / 1215 c.e.
■ The Pope and Bishops forced Jews to wear what they
referred to as a “Jew Badge” on their clothing to identify
them as Jews.
■ They ordered that Jewish clothing must be different from
Christian clothing so that Christians would avoid having any
sexual relations with Jews out of ignorance.
■ Jews could escape these humiliating regulations only by
converting to Christianity.

156. Host Desecration
■ 4975 / 1215 c.e., Pope
Innocent III proclaimed the
Host as the actual body of
Jesus.
■ During this time, Christians
accuse Jews of Host
desecration.

157. Myth of Jewish Host Desecration
■ Christian clergy originated the myth that Jews stole Hosts
from churches, and pierced them with knives and awls to
re-crucify the body of Jesus.
■ This myth served to legitimize the persecution of Jews.

158. Myth of Jewish Host Desecration
An entire family depicted being burned at the stake for alleged
Host desecration.

159. Talmuds Confiscated, Burned
Pope Gregory IX ordered all copies of
the Jewish holy book, the Talmud,
confiscated, 4999 / 1239 c.e.
Pope John XXII ordered all
copies of the Talmud burned on
the eve of Jewish Passover,
5082 / 1322 c.e.

160. Talmuds Confiscated, Burned
In France, the Dominicans and Franciscans carried out Pope
Gregory IX’s order on the first Christian Sabbath of Lent by
raiding synagogues and removing all Jewish books.

161. Talmuds Confiscated, Burned
Pope Julius III ordered all copies of
the Talmud taken & burned as an
auto da fé, 5313 / 1553 c.e.
Pope Paul IV ordered copies of
the Talmud burned in
5319 / 1559 c.e.

162. Talmuds Confiscated, Burned
Jews themselves were almost always attacked following the
confiscation and burning of their sacred texts.
Pope Pius IV ordered the remaining 20,000 copies of the
Talmud taken & burned in 5319 / 1559 c.e., and he banished
all Jews from his territory in 5329 / 1569 c.e.

163. Heinrich Heine
5557-5616/ 1797-1856 c.e.
The German poet Heinrich Heine wrote nearly 500 years later:
“Where books are burned, eventually people are also burned.”

164. Jews Expelled from England
5050 /1290 c.e.
■ King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England, which
remained in force until 5417 / 1657 c.e.
■ Oliver Cromwell allowed Jews to return to England in 5417 / 1657 in
exchange for large payments.
King Edward I Oliver Cromwell

165. Bubonic Plague
5108-5114 / 1348-1354 c.e.
■ Connected with the myth that Jews were baby killers , Jews were
unjustly blamed for bringing on the Bubonic Plague by poisoning
drinking wells, which killed nearly one-third of the entire European
population into Asia.
■ Rather, ticks spread the disease by rats.

166. Jews Murdered
5108-5114 / 1348-1354 c.e.
Christians killed Jews in retaliation throughout Europe. In 5109 / 1349
c.e. alone, Christians set 210 Jewish communities ablaze killing every
occupant.

167. Jews Forced Conversion, Spain
5151 / 1391 c.e.
In Spain, Jews were forced to convert to Christianity and be Baptized, or
be killed. Baptized Jews were then called “Marranos” (meaning “swine”),
and suspected of secretly remaining true to their Jewish faith.

168. Limpieza de Sangre
5151 / 1391 c.e.
■ Spanish Christian theologians devised
the doctrine of Limpieza de Sangre
(“purity of the blood”) whereby
Baptized Jews remained Jewish in the
view of the Church, and therefore, a
danger to society.
■ Baptized Jews were forbidden to
practice medicine, surgery, or
pharmacy because it was thought that
Jews were always ready to murder
Christians.

169. Jews Banished from France
4942 / 1182, & 5160 / 1400 c.e.
■ Jews were banished from France, and throughout Europe,
they were still prevented from joining most professions,
■ Except as royal moneylenders and tax collectors, since the
Church still forbade Christians from practicing usury.

170. Jews Expelled from Europe

171. Laws of Valladolid
5172 / 1412 c.e.
■ Bishop Pablo de Santa Maria in
Spain introduced the Laws of
Valladolid, where he decreed
that Jewish districts were to be
enclosed and placed under
strict control.
■ Jews had to wear badges, and
Jewish doctors were not allowed
to treat Christians.

172. Spanish Inquisition
beginning: 5238 / 1478 c.e.
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of
the Inquisition (Tribunal del
Santo Oficio de la Inquisición),
was established by Catholic
Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon
and Isabella I of Castile.

173. Spanish Inquisition
beginning: 5238 / 1478 c.e.
Thomas de Torquemada
Grand Inquisitor
Spanish Inquisition

174. Spanish Inquisition
beginning: 5238 / 1478 c.e.
The Church saw the
Marranos as a problem,
and burned many to
death in what the Church
justified as an auto da fé.

175. Auto da Fé
beginning: 5238 / 1478 c.e.
The auto da fé (in Medieval Spanish, “act of faith”) represented
the ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates
during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions.

176. Spanish Inquisition
5252 / 1492 c.e.
King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella drove the last Jews from
Spain and Portugal since Jews
were no longer needed for the
economic roles they once filled.

177. Spanish Inquisition
5252 / 1492 c.e.
■ Jews were expelled from
Spain 5252 / 1492, July 31
when the Alhambra Decree
took effect.
■ 150,000 Jews were forced
out of Spain.

178. Christopher Columbus
5252 / 1492 c.e.
■ Christopher Columbus departed from the port of Palos
rather than the port of Cadiz, which was filled with ships
evacuating Jews from Spain.
■ Much of the funding for his voyage was money the Spanish
monarchy confiscated from the Jews.

179. Mexican Inquisition
5350 / 1590 c.e.
■ In Spanish-controlled Mexico, historians have found 61
volumes of manuscript records in Inquisition trials.
■ One trial involved Miguel Hernandez de Almeida on the
charge of “Judaising Heresy” in 5350 / 1590 c.e.

180. “Heresy”
■ As a side note: the term “heresy” is taken from the Greek
αἵρεσις, εως, ἡ (hairesis) meaning “choice.” It was used in
the early Roman Christian Church as a crime against the
empire, and a “heretic,” was a person who opposed
established beliefs or customs.

181. Mexican Inquisition
5361 / 1601 c.e.
■ And Mariana de Carabejal, who was accused and convicted
of “Judaising Heresy,” and burned in an auto da fé.
■ Historians have located more than 9,000 trials of
“Judaising Heresy” brought against so-called “Marranos”
between 5260-5460 / 1500-1700.
■ Many of the accused were found guilty and burned in an
auto da fé.

182. Protestant Reformation
circa 53rd century / 16th century c.e.
■ The Protestant Reformation resulted in a schism in
Christianity.
■ Catholic and Protestant leaders, however, agreed on one
issue: the Jews.

183. Martin Luther
5243-5306 / 1483-1546 c.e.
■ In 5286 / 1526, Protestant
reformer Martin Luther
published a book called,
On the Jews and Their Lies.
■ Some have referred to this as
“the first work of modern anti-
Semitism.”
■ In the book, Luther
recommended…

184. Martin Luther
5243-5306 / 1483-1546 c.e.
“First, their synagogues
should be set on fire.” Jewish
prayer books should be
destroyed and rabbis
forbidden to preach. The
homes of Jews should likewise
be “smashed and destroyed”
and their residents “put under
one roof or in a stable like
gypsies, to teach them they
are not master in our land.”

185. Martin Luther
5243-5306 / 1483-1546 c.e.
These “poisonous envenomed
worms should be drafted into
forced labor. The young and
strong Jews and Jewesses
should be given the flail, the
ax, the hoe, the spade, the
distaff, and the spindle and let
them earn their bread by the
sweat of their noses.” As a
last resort, they should simply
be kicked out “for all time.”

186. Desiderius Erasmus
5226-5296 / 1466-1536 c.e.
■ Dutch Catholic Priest, teacher,
“humanist,” theologian.
■ He believed that Baptized Jews
were even more dangerous than
those who were not because
they were an invisible enemy in
the Christian world.
■ To Erasmus: Once a Jew, always
a Jew.

187. Desiderius Erasmus
5226-5296 / 1466-1536 c.e.
“The devil, the eternal enemy of the
Christian religion, could not have wished for
a better instrument than such an angel of
Satan’s who destroys the most important
and the best of our religion everywhere,
namely its visible unity, under the pretense
that he is defending the Christian
religion….Once accepted in this society,
[the Baptized Jew] infects the whole world
with his poison.”
From a letter from Erasmus to the
Christian baptized Jew Johannes Pfefferkorn

188. The Wandering Jew
■ Throughout Europe, Christians expelled
Jews from country to country.
■ The legend of the “Wandering Jew”
continued into the Middle Ages: the Jew
forever without a country, the alien
searching for a home.
■ The legend began with a Jewish
shoemaker, Ahasuerus, who was
supposedly cursed by G*d because he
ridiculed Jesus during his martyrdom
and had refused to let him rest at his
door.
Depiction of Ahasuerus
in a German engraving

189. The Ghetto
■ In many European countries, Christian leaders often forced Jews to
reside in designated, often overcrowded areas.
■ Bishops often prohibited Jews from living among Christians. These
areas would come to be called “Ghettos.”

190. Gietto
5276 / 1516 c.e.
The term “ghetto” was most likely derived from the Italian word “gietto,”
which the artillery foundry was called in a district in Venice, Italy dating
back to 5276 / 1516 c.e. where Jews were forced to live.

191. Attacking the Ghettos
Often, Jews were attacked in ghettos and driven out by local Christian
residents and the military.

192. Rome Ghetto
5315 / 1555 c.e.
Pope Paul IV decreed that the Jewish district of only 2 ½ acres become a
virtual prison. He had the gates of this walled-off district bolted between
sunrise and sunset.

193. Rome Ghetto
5315 / 1555 c.e.
■ Once they ventured outside the ghetto, Jews were required to wear a
badge for identification.
■ Jews of Rome lived under these deplorable conditions until 5608 /
1848.

194. IV. RELIGIOUS,
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL,
& “RACIAL” ANTI-
JEWISH OPPRESSION
From around 5310 / 1550 C.E. to
The Present

195. Jews Readmitted
5310-5460 / 1550-1700 c.e.
Some countries allowed Jews to return, including England, Holland,
France, and Russia.

196. New Amsterdam
5414 / 1654 c.e.
A few Jews began sailing for North American, and in particular, for New
Amsterdam (present-day New York City).

197. Eastern Europe
5408-5415 / 1648-1655 c.e.
After previously being expelled from Western Europe, many
Jews went to Eastern European counties such as Austria and
Poland.

198. Eastern Europe
5408-5415 / 1648-1655 c.e.
■ In Eastern Europe, Jews fulfilled many of the same roles as
they had earlier in Western Europe.
■ They again were viewed as hated tax collectors, and as the
oppressor.
■ In actuality, however, they were once again placed in the
“buffer” position between the serfs and the nobility.

199. Massacre
5374 / 1614 (22 August) c.e.
An angry mob killed and looted Jews in Frankfort, Germany.

200. Massacre
between 5408 and 5415 / 1648-1655 c.e.
Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks and serfs murdered over 100,000 Jews
in pogroms. These pogroms continued into 57th-58th / 20th c.e. centuries.

201. Catherine II
reigned 5522-5556 / 1762-1796 c.e.
Under the rule of Catherine II (“The Great”), by incorporating portions of
Poland, Russia became the country with the world’s largest Jewish
population.

202. Pale of Settlement
■ The largest European ghetto
was in Imperial Russia where
the majority of Russian Jews
were forced to live between
5595 and 5677 / 1835 and
1917.
■ Called “The Pale of
Settlement,” it extended from
the Crimea to the Baltic Sea.

203. ■ In the middle of the 56th century /
dawn of the 18th century C.E., the
so-called “Age of Enlightenment.”
■ The American & French Revolutions
were both based on the belief that
individuals have certain
unalienable rights, including life,
liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

204. The Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen
5549 / 1789 c.e.
■ In France, the National Assembly approved “The
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,”
replacing traditional loyalty to the king with loyalty to
country as the citizen’s primary responsibility.
■ Liberty “to do anything that does not injure others.”
■ Abolished punishments for crimes:
“…created by superstition, feudalism, the tax system, and
despotism.”
■ Eliminated death penalty from French sexuality laws.
■ Two years later, the French Revolutionary Constituent
Assembly removed homosexuality from its list of punishable
offenses.

205. The Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen
5549 / 1789 c.e.
■ Arguments for and against Jewish emancipation were made in
the National Assembly.
■ Those in favor of emancipation asserted that if the perception
of Jews ceased in the public imagination, Jews would, in all
likelihood, want to abandon their Jewish customs and religious
observations and assimilate.
■ Opponents argued that Jews could never become loyal
citizens.

206. Voltaire
55th- / 18th-century c.e.
■ French philosopher, Voltaire (given name François-Marie Arouet),
advocated for equal rights and freedom of religion.
■ However, like most prominent philosophers of the time, Voltaire
argued that Judaism is incompatible with the principles of human
reason and progress.

207. Voltaire
55th- / 18th-century c.e.
“The Jews are nothing more than an ignorant, barbarian
people, who combine the foulest greed with a terrible
superstition and an uncompromising hatred of all the peoples
who tolerate them and at whose cost they even enrich
themselves….[T]he Jews are cowardly and lecherous, greedy,
and miserly.” (Voltaire, 1733)

208. Voltaire
55th- / 18th-century c.e.
And when comparing black people with European-heritage
people:
“The Negro race is a species of men different from ours as the
breed of spaniels is from that of greyhounds. The mucous
membrane, or network, which Nature has spread between the
muscles and the skin, is white in us and black or copper-
colored in them.” (Voltaire, 1733)

209. Napoléon Bonaparte
5551 / 1791 c.e.
After considering the issue for two year, Napoléon granted
Jews French citizenship and religious freedom. He also gave
them their basic rights in countries later occupied by France.

210. Jewish Rights Repealed
5575 / 1815 c.e.
■ Following France’s withdrawal from other countries, leaders
annulled Jewish rights.
■ Delegates to The Congress of Vienna in 5575 / 1815, who
met after Napoléon’s military defeat, repealed rights
granted to Jews.

211. Anti-Jewish Riots
Following the French withdrawal from counties it formerly
occupied, anti-Jewish incidents increased, and residents, like
those again in Frankfurt, Germany in 5579 / 1819 c.e., rioted
against the Jews.

212. Anti-Jewish Propaganda
Throughout Europe, negative representations of Jews
continued. This picture titled “Jewish Greed” circulated
throughout England.
“Jewish Greed”

213. Anti-Jewish Propaganda
And the theme in anti-Jewish stereotyping and imagery was
represented in this drawing from 5560 / 1800 c.e. depicting
the lecherous Jewish man titled:
“Solomon Amusing Himself with Two Attractive Christian Girls”

214. Continuing
Anti-Jewish Propaganda

215. Russian Conscription
5581 / 1821 c.e.
Russian authorities formulated anti-Jewish military
conscription laws in which Jewish male children ages 13-18
were conscripted for 25 years of military service. Once a
Jewish youth was taken, he rarely if ever saw his parents
again.

216. Karl Marx
5578-5643 / 1818-1883 c.e.
■ Change was in the air in Russia.
Early Socialist thinkers, like Karl
Marx, were writing of the oppression
of the workers, and they called for
revolution to break out of their
chains.
■ Many of these writers, though, were
vehemently anti-Jewish.
■ Though Marx was the grandson of a
Jewish rabbi and parents who were
Christian converts, he wrote against
Jews:

217. Karl Marx
5578-5643 / 1818-1883 c.e.
“What is the worldly cult of the Jew?
Huckstering. What is his worldly God?
Money….Money is the universal and
self-sufficient value of all things. It has,
therefore, deprived the whole world,
both the human world and nature, of
their own proper value.”
Karl Marx, “On the Jewish Question,”
5604 / 1844 c.e.

218. U.S. House of Representatives
5630s / 1870s
In the U.S. House of Representatives, lawmakers attempted to pass a
constitutional amendment acknowledging the supremacy of Christianity.
Though the proposed amendment was eventually killed, it was a reaction
against perceived Jewish social and economic gains up to that time.

219. U.S. Sunday Anti-Work Laws
■ The legislature of the state of Pennsylvania passed a law in 5554 /
April, 22, 1794 (Sec. I):
“If any person shall do or perform any worldly employment or business
whatsoever on the Lord’s day, commonly called Sunday, works of
necessity and charity only excepted, or shall use or practice any unlawful
game, hunting, shooting, sport or diversion whatsoever, on the same day,
and be convicted thereof, every such person so offending, shall, for every
such offence, forfeit and pay four dollars.”

220. U.S. Sunday Anti-Work Laws
■ A Jewish man, Abraham Wolff, was charged with violating
the law by working at his pencil making trade on a Sunday.
■ In the court case, The Commonwealth vs. Wolff (3 S. & R.
48.), Wolff admitted to the charge, but used the defense
that Sunday was not his Sabbath.
■ He lost the case, and had to pay a fine.
■ The decision was confirmed on appeal to the Pennsylvania
State Supreme Court, which declared the 5554 / 1794
Pennsylvania law to be constitutional.

221. CONVERSION, EXPULSION,
EXTERMINATION
End of Part 1.