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The Roman political system
The Roman political system
The Roman political system
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The Jewish Community in Italy
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For centuries, there has been a Jewish community in parts of present-day Italy, dating back to the Roman Empire. In addition to religious differences, Jews were faced with political challenges as well. The Emperor was included in the pantheon of Roman tradition, which added a political obligation to religious, and thus Roman citizens were required to ?conciliate the gods.? For Jews, this requirement created many consequences.[1] According to estimates, there were five to seven million Jews in the Roman Empire during this time. The relations between the Jews and the Romans have always been complicated. For in 186 B.C. measures were taken against the Bacchanalia, but in 161 B.C., a friendly treaty was made with the Maccabees. In 139 B.C., the Jews were banished from Rome, yet Julius Caeasar gave Jews privileges, allowing them to meet on the Sabbath and settle their religious disputes privately. Despite the ambiguous treatment of the Jews, the Romans usually blamed the Jews for any disorder in the Empire.
Ancient writers, Josephus and Tacitus, discussed the Jews banishment from Rome in 19 C.E.? The Roman senate also sent 4,000 Jewish men to Sardinia to put down an uprising there. Though the harsh climate could potentially kill the men, it was but a small loss to the Roman government.[2] Modern historians assume that the Tiberius? reason for the banishment was a ?deep-seated animosity against the Jews fostered by their reputation for exclusiveness and their assumption of superior righteousness.?[3] Yet, Josephus attributed the cause to a ?worthless? Jew from Judea and three other men who persuaded Fulvia, a Roman woman, to give goods for the Jerusalem temple, but use...
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...?Narrating over the ghetto of Rome. (Jews in Italy.)? Jewish Social Studies. (Winter-Spring (2002) 1.
[16] Elizabeth Mahler Schachter. ?Perspectives of nignteenth-century Italian Jewry.? Journal of European Studies. (March 2001) 29.
[17] Gene Bernardini. ?The Origins and Development of Racial Anti-Semitism in Fascist Italy.? The Journal of Modern History. (Sept, 1977): 431-453.
[18] Shira Schoenberg. ?Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust.? Jewish Virtual Library. 26 November 2003. <http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/anti-semitism/pius.html>
[19] Barry Lank. ?Decency in Italy played role in helping nation?s Jews.? Bulletin. April 19, 1996.
[20] Gerald Schwartz. ?Assisi 2002: an encounter with history.? Canadian Jewish News. Sept. 5, 2002.
[21] Frank Bruni. ?Nearly 40 Jewish Graves are Desecrated in a Rome Cemetery.? The New York Times. July 19, 2002: A.
Throughout history, Jews have been persecuted in just about every place they have settled. Here I have provided just a small ...
7 May 2010 “Fascism in Germany and Italy.” Online Essays. 10 July 2007. 7 May 2010 “Italian Fascism.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
Maxwell, . "The Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenistic Period." A Jewish Synagogue. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar 2011. .
Poliakov, Léon. (1955) ‘The History of Anti-Semitism Vol. I: from roman times to the court Jews’ London: Routledge & Kegan Paul pp35-81
Through previously analysing examples of early Christian anti-Judaism, this chapter provides an insight into the connection between early Christian anti-Judaic attitudes and the Nazi understanding of the Jews. As Ruether contends that Christian anti-Semitism originates from the ‘left hand of Christology’, it will become apparent through analysing Nazi ideology and propaganda how early Christian anti-Judaism is repeated in the Nazi depiction of the Jews. Conversely, it is counter argued by Langmuir that Nazi anti-Semitism differed from early Christian anti-Judaism and therefore was not a continuation of anti-Judaism. He contends that despite the medieval church referring to the Jews as blind to the truth and the symbol of disbelief, medieval authorities did not condone the slaughter of the Jews. Therefore, it can be argued that there is not a direct connection between anti-Judaism and the racial anti-Semitism adopted by the Nazis. In response to Langmuir’s argument, the racial hatred for the Jews expressed by the Nazis, as with any hatred, has to have an origin and a trigger point which generates the feelings of contempt. For example, Christian contempt for Jews originates from the idea that the Jews were responsible for the death of Christ. Taking this into account, Langmuir’s argument is problematic and this chapter will reveal the repetition of early Christian anti-Judaism in Nazi propaganda. Although the Nazis interpreted the Jews from a racial discriminative standpoint, which was distinct to the early Church Fathers portrayal of the Jews, they used Christian anti-Judaic accusations and stereotypes of Jews to contribute to their portrayal of the Jewish race. This leads to the conclusion that the Nazis were influenced by the...
Bard, Mitchell G. “Ferdinand & Isabella.” Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.
Tent, James F. In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Nazi Persecution of Jewish-Christian Germans. Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2003.
...f society. The second point of view held that Jews were inherently bad and can never be salvaged despite any and all efforts made by Christians to assimilate them. These Christians felt that there was absolutely no possibility of Jews having and holding productive positions in society. All the aforementioned occurrences lead to the transformation of traditional Jewish communities, and paved the way for Jewish existence, as it is known today. It is apparent, even through the examination of recent history that there are reoccurring themes in Jewish history. The most profound and obvious theme is the question of whether Jews can be productive members of their country and at the same time remain loyal to their religion. This question was an issue that once again emerged in Nazi Germany, undoubtedly, and unfortunately, it is not the last time that question will be asked.
The smaller of the two works is Trent 1475: Stories of A Ritual Murder Trial. It tells the story of a small Jewish community accused of ritual blood sacrifice in Trent, Italy. This book creates a micro history that tells a much larger story of politics and society interacting with culture. Using the documentation of the trial, called the Yeshiva Manuscript, literature of the period, letters and contemporary literature, Hsia illustrates how the persecution of the Jews in 1475 has impacted and still impacts attitudes toward Jewish people. The most important source, the Yeshiva manuscript was put together by people after the trial, using the trial r...
Mussolini’s population policy was a clear effort to exercise his authoritarian control over the people of Italy, regulating the most personal and private details of their lives. In his bid for complete control, he used new laws, propaganda, and sometimes brutal tactics in order for his wishes to be recognized. It is during the 1920’s to the 1940’s that totalitarian control over the state escalated into full dictatorships, with the wills of the people being manipulated into a set of beliefs that would promote the fascist state and “doctrines.”
Because the opinions and activities of the police helped control public reaction, Leo Frank was almost immediately the victim of public clamor. The fact that he was Jewish generated both public and legal controversy. Press spread unstoppable rumors of Frank being a...
The story unfolds with the increasing limitations on the rights of Jewish people in Italy. Mussolini 's racial laws are beginning to take force on the rights of the Jewish people. Prohibitions such as no servants, no library
In the closing years of the 1st century, Roman authorities executed a sufficient number of Christians. In general, the provincial governors had wide discretionary powers of jurisdiction, but knowledge of Nero’s actions may have set a precedent in regards to the handling of Christians and may have also encouraged local enemies of Christians to try to persuade a governor to accept their accusations and proceed against the accused on the assumption that they were guilty of conduct detrimental to the interest of the Roman State.
The Christian alienation of Judaism can be traced back to 1150 with the first documented accusation of a Jewish ritual murder (Smith 91). These tales of Jews killing Christians in ritual like manners quickly began to make there way into Christian folklore far before they sprouted in Germany and Prussia. According to Helmut Walser Smith in his book The Butchers Tale, he believes that, “these tales, and tales like them about other groups, provided a firm foundation for a newly constructed persecuting society” (Smith 93). Smith believes this alienation and persecution started during t...
Not all Jewish communities continued on their faith with YHWH. Before the exile, many communities began to scatter all over the Middle East, Egypt and Babylon; however, the exile...