The History Of Antisemitism In Europe

The history of antisemitism in Europe Student Name Institutional Affiliation The history of antisemitism in Europe Introduction Antisemitism refers to a specific hatred directed towards the Jewish people. Antisemitism has existed since ancient Greece, but it intensified during the Middle Ages in Europe. This paper will focus on the history of antisemitism in Europe. In particular, the paper will demonstrate how antisemitism developed in Europe with religious characteristics and then later transformed and took an ethnic angle. Further, the paper will review the various manifestations of antisemitism in Europe include prejudices, anti-Semitic laws, and pogroms. The role of the Catholic Church in propagating anti-Semitic ideas by purporting that Jews are rejects will be examined. Lastly, the paper will demonstrate the character of antisemitism in the 19th Century and early 20th Century. Evolution of anti-Semitism in Europe During the Middle Ages, commerce in Europe grew at a high rate. In the process, some Jews gained prominence in trade, banking, and moneylending since early Christianity did not allow moneylending for interest (Botticini & Eckstein, 2011). Furthermore, Jews were not allowed to own land which caused them to engage in other economic activities especially trade and banking. In these areas that Jews were permitted to participate in the larger society, they thrived. This caused economic resentment towards the Jewish people from the rest of the population. As a result of the resentment, Jews were expelled from several European countries like France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain during the 14th and 15th centuries. In Spain persecution culminated in 1492 with the forced expulsion of the country’s large and long-established Jewish population (Restaino, 2018). On the Jews who had converted to Christianity were allowed to stay in the country. Those who were suspected to be practicing Judaism faced persecution. In much of Medieval Europe, Jews were denied citizenship and civil liberties, including the freedom to practice Judaism. It was until the late 1700s and 1800s that Jews started receiving citizenship and gaining rights in much of Western Europe. The idea that Jews were evil gained prominence in the 16th Century during the Protestant Reformation. In his earlier life, Martin Luther expressed positive feelings towards the Jews. He even went ahead to advocate for the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into German. However, he later became disappointed in how the Jews rejected Jesus. Martin Luther was furious about how the church could allow the Jews to live freely, yet they engaged in defamation, murder, and blaspheming. The end of the Middle Ages did make things better for the Jews. The Catholic Reformation brought about the segregation of Jews in the countries that subscribed to the Roman Catholic (Moltmann & Lösel, 2017). Through the system of ghettoized segregation, Jews were forced to live in deplorable conditions. In the 18th Century, the situation did not improve much with the Enlightenment. While Enlightenment champions worked to debunk what they saw as superstitions of the Christian faith, this did not do much in facilitating the acceptance of the Jewish people (Domínguez, 2017). Instead, these thinkers...