Historical persecution by Jews

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There have been incidents of persecution committed by the Jewish people throughout history.

1 The Hasmonean Dynasty
2 Jewish persecution of early Christians
3 Notes
4 References

[edit] The Hasmonean Dynasty

During the early Hasmonean period (particularly during the reign of John Hyrcanus), the Idumeans or Edomites were conquered by Judea. Their temples were destroyed and the population, by and large, was forced to convert to Judaism or leave the country. ^[1] ^[2] The Itureans were similarly treated by Aristobulus I. ^[2] The Hellenized residents of Jaffa, Gazara, the Akra and parts of the Decapolis were exiled without the chance of conversion. ^[1]

[edit] Jewish persecution of early Christians

Jewish persecution of the followers of Jesus started only when Christianity started spreading among Gentiles and when the Jews realized the separation between themselves and Christians. ^[3] ^[4] Paul E. Davies states that the violent persecuting zeal displayed by some Jews sharpened the criticisms of the Jews in the Gospels as they were written. ^[4]

G. George Fox argues that the hostile utterances of rabbis were towards those Christians who didn't support Bar Kochba and was due to anti-Jewish feelings which were caused by Gentile converts to Christianity. This however is controversial as only certain segments of the community ever accepted Bar Kokhba as the Messiah, while many Rabbis scorned such a proposition. He also argues that the persecution accusations and stories of early Christians matrydom are exaggerated by the Church. ^[5] He states that it is unhistorical to assume that the matrydom of Stephan indicated a widespread persecution of Christians: At that time such an event wasn't uncommon. Thousands of Jews were killed by Romans and it wasn't something new or novel. ^[5] Thus the persecution hardly started before 70 A.D. and when it started by Bar Cochba, it wasn't only theological but also because of disloyality of Christians in the war.^[5]

[edit] Notes

^ ^a ^b The Cambridge History of Judaism, p.326
^ ^a ^b Himmelfarb (2006), p.73
^ G. George Fox, p.83
^ ^a ^b Davies, p.74
^ ^a ^b ^c

[edit] References

Cohen, Mark (1995). Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01082-X.
Cohen, Shaye. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah.
Daves, William David - Finkelstein, Louis (1999). The Cambridge History of Judaism, Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0521219299
Cohen, Mark (2006). A Kingdom of Priests: Ancestry and Merit in Ancient Judaism. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812239504.
Peters, Francis Edward (2003). The Monotheists: The Peoples of God. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691114609.
Fox, G. George (1945). "Early Jewish Attitudes toward Jesus, Christians, and Christianity". Journal of Bible and Religion.
Davies, Paul E. (1945). "Early Christian Attitudes toward Judaism and the Jews". Journal of Bible and Religion.
Granskou, David M. - Richardson, Peter (1986), Anti-Judaism in Early Christianity, Wilfrid Laurier University Press.ISBN 0691114609