United States History Student Edition

Beginning around the 1100s C.E., European Jews faced new waves of anti-Semitism. Some Jewish communities were segregated into ghettos . In places like England, France, Portugal, Spain, and central Europe, rulers forced Jews to leave the areas they ruled. In some places, the Jewish community was massacred. During the Black Death in the 1350s C.E., Christians in some communities accused Jews of causing the plague by poisoning their water and food. These rumors and accusations led to attacks on Jewish communities in several areas of Europe that included the murders of large numbers of Jewish people. In 1492 Spanish monarchs ordered all Jews to convert to Catholicism or leave the country, as part of the Spanish Inquisition. The center of the Jewish community shifted from Western Europe to the Ottoman Empire and then Poland and Russia. Between 1881 and 1917, Jews in Russia faced a series of pogroms , or mob attacks tolerated by authorities.

In 63 B.C.E., Roman forces conquered Judah and called it Judaea ( joo•DEE•uh). After a series of rebellions and revolts, the Romans imposed stricter controls and did not allow Jews to live in or even visit Jerusalem. The Romans renamed Judaea and called it Palestine. This name referred to the Philistines, whom the Israelites had conquered centuries before. The Romans allowed Judaism to be practiced throughout the empire. However, in Judaea, Romans ruled the Jews harshly. Jews regrouped with the help of their rabbis (RA•byz), or religious leaders. The Jewish people no longer had a temple or priests. Instead, the synagogues and rabbis gained importance. The rabbis taught and explained the Torah. They provided moral guidance—accepted notions of right and wrong— to the people. In the Roman era, as Christianity spread so too did Judaism. A rivalry between Judaism and Christianity developed. In ancient times, early Christians blamed Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus, despite the fact that the crucifixion was ordered and carried out by the Romans. Also, Jews were sometimes accused of killing Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals. This belief was called the Blood Libel . This became a common accusation aimed at Jewish people, and a common justification for anti-Semitism . As Christianity spread throughout the Roman world, so did anti-Semitism. The Jewish Community in Europe By the 900s C.E., Jewish communities were established throughout Europe, including in France, Germany, and Spain. Jews were tolerated under Christianity and Islam but were subject to periodic restrictions and persecution . During the Middle Ages, Christians blamed Jews for misfortunes, such as diseases and economic hard times. Jews nonetheless succeeded in producing a vibrant culture, including commentaries on the Hebrew Bible, legal codes, poetry, and works of philosophy. rabbis religious leaders expert in Jewish law Libel a false accusation anti-Semitism discrimination against Jewish people as a religious, ethnic, or racial group persecution injuring or torturing those who differ in religion

7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Identifying Cause and Effect What is anti-Semitism?

Artist Pierart dou Tielt, who lived in what is now Belgium, made this illustration of the burning of a group of Jewish people for a history written in the 1300s C.E.

ghettos quarters of cities where Jews were required to live Black Death a severe pandemic that occurred in Asia and Europe in the 1300s C.E. pogroms an organized massacre of helpless people

The Picture Art Collection/Alamy Stock Photo

A7

Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust