Jews in the Middle Ages

Paper Summary:

The paper relates how throughout their long history, the Jewish people have often been the object of persecution and prejudice. The paper looks at how Cohen's book, "Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages", maintains that during the Middle Ages, Jews living in the Arab world were more tolerated and less persecuted than those living in the Christian world. The paper shows how Cohen proves his thesis with historical research and solid arguments, discussing his historical findings. The paper discusses the significance of this work in the field of Jewish studies.

From the Paper:

"The author begins by "debunking" several myths on both sides of the debate, so he can level the playing field. He indicates there were misunderstanding and misinterpretations on both sides of the debate, and that Jews and Arabs have both helped perpetuate some of these misinterpretations. He then begins to compare life in the Christian world opposed to that in the Islamic world, and begin to sort out the information regarding Jews in both worlds. For example, he notes that in the Christian world in the Middle Ages, most Jews lived under the mantle of serfdom that decreed who they worked for, where they lived, while Jews in the Arab world did not serve and serfs, and could choose to live wherever they wanted (Cohen 46). Thus, Jews in the Arab world had better living arrangements, and were better off in that regard."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cohen, Mark R. Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.
• Cohen, Mark R. "Biography." Princeton.edu. 2004. 13 April 2007.<http://www.princeton.edu/~nes/faculty_cohen.html>
• Shatzmiller, Joseph. "Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages" Canadian Journal of History, Aug 1996. <http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3686/is_199608/ai_n8736598>

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