European Jewry

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Jews had been the historical and current agents of the hated leaders of the past; therefore, at the beginning of the 19th century, as these leaders were brought down, the hatred spread to the Jews. The author points out that, even today in Europe, there is a modern movement that uses some of the same old ideas of inferiority to deem Jews less than others, regardless of their level assimilation or secularization and regardless of the length of time in which they have lived within their chosen communities. The paper relates that there were internal conflicts, which challenged the Jewish culture, as Western Jews attempted to separate themselves from the Eastern Jews, basing their rejection on the anti-Semitics of the culture at large.

From the Paper:

"Yet, things were often as fluid as the generational movement of the Jewish people during their famed diaspora. Up to this point, it was clear in both regions (east and west) that the level of tolerance for the ethnic and religious differences of the Jews was under considerable analysis by the majority cultures. Just as these regions were gaining personal independence for themselves, the Jews were losing rights and privileges and suffering the effects of renewed anti-Semitic values by these cultures. Europe was in a sense returning to much earlier days but, in this case, it was traveling toward legislative and legal sanctions that infringed on the rights and movements of the Jews."

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