In the Middle ages, Jews were periodically expelled from  European countries and their property was confiscated. For example, Jews were expelled  from Spain more than once. The time was  in 1492 (followed in 1496-7 by expulsion from Portugal). They had been expelled from England under Edward I (1290) and France under Philip Augustus (1182), and previously from other places. Philip readmitted the Jews in 1198, carefully regulating their banking business for his benefit. In Spain, Jews were forced to convert, often on pain of death, over a very long period, and then under Ferdinand and Isabella, the "conversos" were subject to an Inquisition and forced to admit that they were secret Jews and heretics under torture. The motivations for the Inquisition were Christian piety, consolidation of the rule to the state as against noblemen who either were conversos or were supported by them, and confiscation of converso lands and wealth. Inquisitors were canonized as saints by the Roman Catholic Church as late as the 19th century. Forced Conversions - In addition to conversions effected in Spain under the the threat of expulsion or death, Jews were sometimes forced to attend periodic sermons intended to convert them. Disputations - A characteristic persecution consisting of holding a public debate between a Christian priest or church official and a Rabbi or leader of the Jewish community. The debate was meant to "prove" the correctness of the Christian faith. At the conclusion of the debate, Jews were killed or subjected to mass conversion, or Jewish books such as the Talmud were burned (see illustration at right).

Anti-Semitism - Pope Gregory orders the Talmud to be burned A.D. 1239 after a disputation. Panel - Pedro Berruguete, 15th century. Note the non-heretical book floating above the fire.

Replacement Theology - The Old Testament prophets stated that Israel were the chosen people of God who would be rescued and restored to the holy land. Church fathers devised replacement theology to reinterpret references to "Israel" as the Christians and the Christian Church. This notion was a central tenet of anti-Jewish thinking in the Middle Ages. The emperor Ferdinand of Spain believed that he was destined to bring about the restoration of "Israel" which required expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and ultimately a crusade to reconquer the holy land. Replacement theology has been revived and popularized by "anti-Zionists" such as the Reverend Sizer.

Medieval Superstitions about Jews - Some of the typical medieval superstitions about Jews included:

Jews poison the wells - This libel was supposed to be the origin of plagues and particularly the black plague.

Jews desecrate the host - Spoilage of communion wafers, which turned red from a fungus, was attributed to Jews who had dipped the wafers in the blood of slaughtered Christians.

Jews kill Christians in secret - For example, explaining the reasons for expulsion of the Jews from France, the French monk Rigord (d. 1205) related that [Philip Augustus had often heard] that the Jews who dwelt in Paris were wont every year on Easter day, or during the sacred week of our Lord's Passion, to go down secretly into underground vaults and kill a Christian as a sort of sacrifice in contempt of the Christian religion. For a long time they had persisted in this wickedness, inspired by the devil, and in Philip's father's time, many of them had been seized and burned with fire.

The blood libel - A variation of the secret killings theme, the blood libel insists that Jews kill pre-pubertal Christian boys in order to prepare the unleavened bread (Matzoth) of the Passover. It was possibly born in 1144 in England, where a Christian mob accused Jews of murdering the boy William of Norwich during Easter. This story was related in The Life and Miracles of St William of Norwich, by Thomas of Monmouth, a Norwich monk. This story, did not claim that the Jews used the blood to bake unleavened bread, but rather claimed the boy had been crucified. Nonetheless, it is often considered to be the first "blood libel." Others soon followed, including Simon of Trent and Andreas of Rinn. In one variant, the child was not killed but rather bled to death.

In Spain in 1490 or 1491 Spanish inquisitors forced Jews to confess that they had killed a Christian child, one Christopher of Toledo or Christopher of La Guardia, later made a saint of the Roman Catholic church and venerated as Santo Nino de La Guardia. No missing child was ever reported that would correspond to this child and corroborate the tale. The tale was elicited from the victims by the holy inquisitors under torture, by suggestion (for example, "Confess that on this date you did do X") it is likely that the blood libel was well known by this time.

The Talmud - The Talmud supposedly contained conspiratorial formulae, imprecations against Jesus and Mary and injunctions to cheat and discriminate against non-Jews. Therefore it would often banned or censored.

Physiognomy - In addition to characteristic large noses and stooped postures, Jews in the Middle Ages may be shown with tails and horns, similar to the devil.

Anti-Semitism of the Catholic Church

The attitude of the Catholic church regarding Jews was equivocal. In some cases, the Church intervened to grant Jews protection or to decry mass murders such as those that occurred during the Crusades.

At other times, it pursued forced conversions and promulgated various encyclicals and bulls ordering the examination of Jewish books of Law, burning of the Talmud and restriction or expulsion of the Jews. Though the origins of there atrocities were in the Middle Ages, the practices continued and were actually renewed after the end of the Middle Ages during the counter reformation.

Since the promulgation of the code of Justinian, the position of the Jews in Rome had been that of an inferior race held in suspicion andexcluded from important functions of the city. They could not expect civil employment and the law declared them forever disqualified.

Throughout the Christian world ecclesiastical authority severely excluded Jews from the Christian community. In France the councils were unanimous;  Vannes 465, Agde 506, Epaone, of the diocese of Vienna 517, all forbade the marriage of Christians with Jews; the second council of Orleans likewise prohibited marriages between Christians and Jews; that of Clermont in 535 excluded Jews from the magistracy; that of Macon 581 which deprived them of collecting taxes; that of Paris 615 confirmed at Reims, which declared them disqualified for all civil employment.

The constant humiliation of the Jews was carried out in symbolic ways as well as in material injury. In the Middle Ages, when the Popes  received the homage of the delegates of the Roman-Jewish community on the day of their coronation, they traditionally answered: "Legum Probo, sed improbo gentium"("I approve of the law but I disapprove of the race.")

Later, when the Rabbis of Rome were forced to offer a magnificent copy of the Pentateuch, the Pope would  answer: "Confirmamus sed non consentimus."("We ratify but we do not consent.")

Much of this history has been deliberately repressed. Relevant documents include:

Bull Cum Nimis Absurdum - An example of European anti-Semitism in the renaissance period, this Papal decree of 1555. established the ghetto of Rome as well as re-imposing restrictions on Jewish dress and trades that had been enforced intermittently.

Hebraeorum gens solaa, Bull of Pope Pius V, issued on Feb. 26, 1569, restricted Jews in the Papal States to Rome and Ancona, temporarily reversed subsequently).

Caeca et Obdurata Hebraeorum perfidia - (Blind and obdurate is the perfidy of the Hebrews) of February 25, 1593, expelling the Jews from all Papal states and territories other than Rome, Ancona and Avignon, and in particular from Bologna and several other cities. 

Cum Hebraeorum malitia (or Quum Habraeorum malitia) of 1592 or 1593, a Bull of Pope Clement VIII, decreeing that all copies of the Talmud and Kabbalah were to be turned over to the inquisition  for burning. It was evidently soon rescinded or superseded however.

Bull Beatus Andreas - In 1755 Gregory XIV examined a request for canonization of Andreas of Rinn, a child supposedly murdered by Jews. Centuries after the end of the Middle Ages, the bull unequivocally supported the claim that Jews perform ritual murders of Christians.

Additional Bulls and background are listed here: List of Papal Bulls concerning Jews

Anti-Semitism in European Culture

Anti-Semitic stereotypes were fed by Christian beliefs and popular folklore also fed Christian anti-Semitism. Hatred of Jews became a staple of European culture that was autonomous of religion and eventually, in the twentieth century, became a scourge within the Catholic church that has been combated with only modest success by successive Popes since Vatican II. One cultural motif that repeated itself was the Judensau - a pig that was somehow connected with Judaism, along with persistent beliefs in Jewish sex perversions, lasciviousness of "Jewesses" and other pornographic themes.

The cultural motif of the Judensau was by no means limited to the Middle ages, as it appeared throughout the 19th century and was revived under Nazism. The Frankfurt  engraving below expresses two dominant themes. Its upper panel depicts the child martyr Simon of Trent, subject of a blood libel case. The lower panel shows a Judensau. The Devil is  looking on while at left, a Jewish woman is having sex with a goat, and in the foreground, two Jews are having sexual communion with a pig, while a Jewish child is suckling from the same pig. Similar themes are found both in German books and in cathedral and Protestant Church decorations and bridges in Germany.   

Modern European Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism was evident in the enlightenment writings of Voltaire and others. Edward Gibbon, who wrote the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, stated in a footnote  quoting Dio Cassus that Jews had rioted and engaged in cannibalism. Like many enlightenment figures, one of his complaints against the Christian religion was that it was derived from Judaism. Modern anti-Semitism is associated with racial theories of 19th century Germany, who insisted that Jews are a separate and inferior race. Adolf Stoecker, Wilhelm Marr,  Richard Wagner and Heinrich von Treitchke were prominent anti-Semites   This notion probably developed as a reaction to assimilation of Jews who had converted to Christianity. Popular figures such as  Mendelsohn, Heine and others who were converted Jews attracted the envy and suspicion of fellow Germans. Russia became vigorously anti-Semitic. Pogroms (anti-Jewish riots) occurred in a number of cities and towns in the 1880s. These were ignored or encouraged by authorities. The Tsarist secret police forged the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a document that claims to outline the secret plan of the Jews to conquer the world.

In France, hopes that the enlightenment had put an end to race prejudice were dashed by the Dreyfus Affair (beginning in 1894). Dreyfus, a Jew, was accused of treason against France. The affair was accompanied by a large anti-Semitic outcry, claiming that Jews are not loyal to the countries in which they live. Dreyfus was eventually exonerated thanks to Emile Zola and others.

Elsewhere in Europe and North American exclusion of Jews and denigration of Jews according to standard stereotypes was considered acceptable in polite society. Novelists such as Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed Jewish characters who were shifty gangsters or loud, pushy and gauche. Somerset Maugham wrote a diary as a young man that is filled with imaginative descriptions of dishonest and seedy looking Jewish men and lascivious "Jewesses." Strangely, in Britain these sentiments coexisted with growing sentiment for restoration of the Jews (see Daniel Deronda ). In the USA, the industrialist Henry Ford published the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion in his Dearborn Independent newspaper, and kindled the myth that they were true. Father Coughlin, the popular Captain Charles Lindbergh and  others agitated against Jews and in favor of Nazi Germany in the period prior to WW II.

Common European social restrictions on Jews included forcing them to live in special areas (Pale of Settlement in Russia or ghettos before the late19th century), special taxes on Jews, censorship or banning of Jewish law books, quotas on entrance to university allowing only a limited number of Jews ("numerous clausus"), barring from employment in government positions or universities, barring of Jews from social clubs and associations and banning Jews from residence in "exclusive" neighborhoods.

Communism was officially non-racist, but in fact, persecution of the Jews as "rootless cosmopolitans" or "Zionists" was initiated during several periods under Stalin, and reincarnated as "anti-Zionism" under his successors.

European anti-Semitism seemed to have culminated in the Nazi Holocaust. The Nazis attempted to kill the Jewish population of Europe, and managed to kill about 6 million of them.

After WW II, the horror of the Holocaust produced a revulsion against anti-Semitism in polite society in Europe, except for the USSR, but it seems to be slowly returning, either directly or under the guise of thinly veiled "anti-Zionism.

Modern Anti-Semitism Surveys

A 2008 survey found that anti-Semitic attitudes persist in Europe: 

Substantial numbers of people in seven European countries agreed with these statements:

• Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country.
• Jews have too much power in the business world.
• Jews have too much power in international financial markets.
• Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.

In some countries there were were clear majorities who agree with anti-Semitic beliefs. For example, for the question, "Jews have too much power in the business world:"

Austria – 36%, down from 37% in 2007
France –  33%, up from 28% in 2007
Germany – 21%, unchanged from 2007
Hungary – 67%, up from 60% in 2007
Poland – 55%, up from 49% in 2007
Spain – 56%, up from 53% in 2007
The United Kingdom – 15%, down from 22% in 2007

Arab/Muslim anti-Semitism

Considering the treatment of Jews in European countries, the experience of Jews under Islamic rule was relatively benign, , giving rise to the idea that Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in perfect harmony. That is far from the truth, but it is true of the best of times and the best rulers in Islam, such as the Ottoman Sultans who invited Jews to settle in Turkey after they had been expelled by Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions, or to settle in communities such as Tiberias and Safed in the holy land.

The status of Jews under Islam, was variable, depending on the time and place. The Quran has mixed injunctions about Jews and Christians, variously praising them as people of the book and damning them as hypocrites because they didn't follow Muhammad. Early in his career, Muhammad attacked and destroyed the Jewish town of Khaybar, and the cry "Khaybar, Khaybar" became the rallying cry of Muslim anti-Jewish riots. In all cases, Jews, like Christians were formally considered to be protected second class citizens in Muslim countries. Only Muslims could fight in wars, and therefore Jews and Christians could not receive land grants in conquered countries as knights, which was a major source of wealth and social status. Jews and Christians paid a special tax and usually had to wear special clothing. Jews were confined to a "Mellah" (ghetto) in certain places. In many countries such as Morocco and Yemen, it was customary for little children to throw rocks at Jews and curse them. At times Jews were forced to convert to Islam or be expelled as under the Al-Mohad dynasty in Morocco, beginning in 1146.

Jews were generally despised as wily but weak people with no courage. For example, following the revolution of the Young Turks in Ottoman Turkey, Jews could serve in the army. A Turkish joke related that at great length it was possible to recruit and train a Jewish unit. They were then sent to the front. They returned quickly however, because they had been scared by a gang of bandits that they met on the road. A Muslim hadith (legend associated with the Qur'an)  relates that the end of days, Muslims will kill all the Jews, who will try to hide in trees. Only one sort of tree will agree to hide them however. This hadith is repeated in the charter of the Hamas organization, but it is of venerable origin.

In modern times, beginning in the 19th century, Muslim and Arab countries adopted European anti-Semitic themes such as the blood libel (an incident occurred in Damascus in 1840) and later, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, publication of Mein Kampf and other trappings of European Christian anti-Semitism such as Holocaust denial. Cartoons in Arab and Muslim journals regularly show Jews as having the characteristic "traits" of anti-Semitic portrayals such as bent posture, beady eyes and hooked noses.

A more extensive treatment of the historical position of Jews in Arab countries, including source readings, is given in Jews in Arab lands: Introduction and readings,

See also: Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism, Arab Anti-semitism 1997, Arab Anti-semitism 1998, Arab Anti-semitism 1999, Arab Anti-semitism 2001, Arab Anti-semitism 2002, Arab Anti-semitism 2003. Arab Anti-semitism 2004, Arab Anti-semitism 2005, Arab Anti-semitism 2006, Arab Anti-semitism 2007, Arab Anti-semitism 2008 Anti-Zionist Quotes . Mahathir Muhammad  Speech 2003 , Racism in Saudi Texts, Jews and Muslims in Post-Israel Middle East - Azzam Tamimi, The Problem of Muslim Anti-Semitism - Irfan Khawaja

Anti-Semitic Jews - Apostate Jews and some others have often made a career of adopting and disseminating anti-Semitic opinions, libels on the Talmud and "revelations" about supposed secret and obnoxious Jewish customs. As there are anti-American Americans and Christians who denounced Christianity, there is no logical reason why there should not be anti-Semitic Jews. The mere fact that they are or were Jews lends a false authority to their claims. In some cases, the person in question is not really Jewish.

Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism - Anti-Zionism is opposition to the existence of the state of Israel or the idea of reconstituting a Jewish homeland. It is not necessarily anti-Semitic, but it usually is so, especially when the complaints against Israel and "Zionists" include controlling the government of the United States, conspiring to take over the world, starting world wars etc. (see above for characteristics of anti-Semitic Web sites). Anti-Zionism is usually based on the premise that Jews are inferior or different from any other group of people, and therefore do not have the right to declare themselves a nation or people. See article by John L. Strawson for a discussion of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism).

Anti-Zionist Web sites - "Anti-Zionist" Web sites such as abbc.com, ziopedia, radio-islam, serendipity and rense.com regularly feature articles about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion or Hitler's Mein Kampf, libels against the Talmud and Holocaust denial. Other sites, such as Stormfront, feature the same materials without the protective guise of "anti-Zionism"

Detailed Timeline: Time-Line: Anti-Semitism

Source: Table - Adapted from "Anti-Semitism", Keter Publishing House,
Jerusalem, 1974, ISBN 0 7065-1327 4 Modifications and additions copyright by Ami Isseroff and http://www.Zionism-israel.com.

Ami Isseroff

Updated April 15, 2009

Synonyms and alternate spellings: Antisemitism, Jew hate, Judeo-Phobia

Further Information: Jew Judeophobia or 'Antisemitism - a History  Arab and Muslim Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism - A Study  Jews & Jewish Religion Jew  Antisemitism  
 

External Sources:
Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism

Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia Today

Anti-Semitism Research Resources

Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism

What is anti-Semitism?

Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism

In Dutch: Geschiedenis Joden en antisemitisme in Europa en de Arabische wereld

Hebrew/Arabic pronunciation and transliteration conventions:

'H - ('het) a guttural sound made deep in the throat. To Western ears it may sound like the "ch" in loch. In Arabic there are several letters that have similar sounds. Examples: 'hanukah, 'hamas, 'haredi. Formerly, this sound was often represented by ch, especially in German transliterations of Hebrew. Thus, 'hanukah is often rendered as Chanuka for example.

ch - (chaf) a sound like "ch" in loch or the Russian Kh as in Khruschev or German Ach, made by putting the tongue against the roof of the mouth. In Hebrew, a chaf can never occur at the beginning of a word. At the beginning of a word, it has a dot in it and is pronounced "Kaf."

u - usually between oo as in spoon and u as in put.

a- sounded like a in arm

ah- used to represent an a sound made by the letter hey at the end of a word. It is the same sound as a. Haganah and Hagana are alternative acceptable transliterations.

'a-notation used for Hebrew and Arabic ayin, a guttural ah sound.

o - close to the French o as in homme.

th - (taf without a dot) - Th was formerly used to transliterate the Hebrew taf sound for taf without a dot. However in modern Hebrew there is no detectable difference in standard pronunciation of taf with or without a dot, and therefore Histadruth and Histadrut, Rehovoth and Rehovot are all acceptable.

q- (quf) - In transliteration of Hebrew and Arabic, it is best to consistently use the letter q for the quf, to avoid confusion with similar sounding words that might be spelled with a kaf, which should be transliterated as K. Thus, Hatiqva is preferable to Hatikva for example.

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This work and individual entries are copyright © 2005-2006 by Ami Isseroff and Zionism and Israel Information Center and may not reproduced in any form without permission unless explicitly noted otherwise. Individual entries may be cited with credit to The Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Zionism and Israel

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