“Mendelssohn was keenly aware of the difference between the respect he received and the disdain shown to other Jews. In a letter to a Benedictine monk, he expressed his frustration: “Throughout this so-called tolerant land I feel hemmed in; my… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“Men are born, and always continue, free and equal in respect of their rights. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, France, 1789” — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“As accusations spread, so did the false belief that Jews routinely engaged in the practice of ritual murder. An accusation made repeatedly tends to… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“Still, by the end of the thirteenth century, most European Jews were forced to wear badges or distinguishing clothing. The aim was to humiliate… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“Mendelssohn’s books on philosophy and literature were hailed throughout Europe. He was described as “exceptional”—an “un-Jewish Jew,” one of a kind, a genius.” — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“135 years later, in 586 BCE, the Babylonians conquered Judea, the southern kingdom. They destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and forced thousands of Jews… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“In Arab nations, many people opposed Zionism because they believed that the UN had no right to establish a Jewish state on what they… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“After the Black Death in the mid-1300s, the persecution of Jews intensified, and many Jews in Europe moved farther east. Some left because life… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“Many Jews in the Byzantine Empire welcomed the Persians. Some saw their arrival as an opportunity to win independence or even just a little… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“In 1255, a five-year-old boy was found dead in a well in Lincoln, England. Many historians today believe that young Hugh accidentally fell into… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“The Greeks and Egyptians in Alexandria understood Flaccus’s announcement to mean that they could now treat Jews as they pleased. After all, people without… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“For hundreds of years, Christians had been trying to convert the Jews, and now, for the first time, they had real success. Suddenly thousands… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“With each new rumor, each new accusation, the way Christians thought about Jews became more and more distorted. Jews were increasingly seen as a… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
“The “age of enlightenment” ended some of the isolation, discrimination, and humiliation Jews had experienced in earlier times in Europe. Jews now had more… — Phyllis Goldstein Copy Share Image
