Defending the Jews: The Truth about Israel (Part 1 of 2) (The Truth About Anti-Semitism in Medieval Europe and the Knights Templar)

Defending the Jews: The Truth about Israel

(Part 1 of 2)

(Click here to read part 2.)

For thousands of years Israel was recognized as an important nation in the Middle East. During different periods of Israel’s history, kings and rulers gave her tribute and gifts. She was accepted as being a legitimate country and was envied by her neighbors. During the days of King Solomon, Israel had vast stores of gold and silver and precious stones: wealth that today would exceed the wealth of billionaires. This was ancient Israel’s golden age. But it didn’t last.

When Israel turned away from their God and served the idols of the nations around them, they became wicked and burned their children in the fires of Moloch, the Caananite god of child-sacrifice.

God brought them warning, by the mouth of prophets, time and time again, but they did not listen. Finally, God allowed the Assyrians to capture the northern kingdom of Israel, leaving the southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. The Jews in Judah and Benjamin did not learn from their northern brothers and continued in a period of idolatry (which was broken up by periods of returning back to God).

Again, God in His mercy sent prophets to warn the people and to turn them back to Him, but the people (for the most part) did not listen. And, eventually God allowed Babylon to take the Jews into captivity. After a period of 70 years, just as God had promised, He returned the Jews back to their land.

Some time went by and then Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah who God promised to be the Savior of the Jews and of the Gentiles (see Genesis 3:15, Psalm 22, and Isaiah 53). The self-righteous, arrogant Pharisees and Sadducees rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah, even after all the miracles He did, and had Him crucified on a Roman cross. But, other Jews believed in Jesus Christ and they spread the Gospel message of salvation to the world, starting at Jerusalem. (Paul the Apostle was a Jew, as were all the 12 disciples of Jesus.)

In 70 A.D. Titus, a Roman general, besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, and Jews were scattered into many countries. In their new countries, they gathered together in communities and preserved their culture as best they could.

Jews in Europe

(Jews wearing yellow badges in Medieval Europe.)

During their whole existence in Europe and elsewhere, the Jews were despised by their Gentile neighbors. Sir Walter Scott, author of Ivanhoe, gives the reader a taste of the hatred and loathing Europeans felt toward Jews during the middle ages.

Scott writes (Ivanhoe, Chapter IV, pg. 1.):

Oswald, returning, whispered into the ear of his master, "It is a Jew, who calls himself Isaac of York; is it fit I should marshall him into the hall?"

"Let Gurth do thine office, Oswald," said Wamba with his usual effrontery; "the swineherd will be a fit usher to the Jew."

"St Mary," said the Abbot, crossing himself, "an unbelieving Jew, and admitted into this presence!"

"A dog Jew," echoed the Templar, "to approach a defender of the Holy Sepulchre?"

"By my faith," said Wamba, "it would seem the Templars love the Jews' inheritance [the land of Israel] better than they do their company."

[…]

"Hush," said Cedric, "for here he comes."

Introduced with little ceremony, and advancing with fear and hesitation, and many a bow of deep humility, a tall thin old man, […] approached the lower end of the board. His features, […], would have been considered as handsome, […][but] during those dark ages, was alike detested by the credulous and prejudiced vulgar, and persecuted by the greedy and rapacious nobility [….]

[…]

[…] Cedric himself coldly nodded in answer to the Jew's repeated salutations, and signed to him to take place at the lower end of the table, where, however, no one offered to make room for him. […] and the very heathen Saracens, as Isaac drew near them, curled up their whiskers with indignation, and laid their hands on their poniards [daggers], as if ready to [kill him] [….]

Jews have been vilified and mistreated for thousands of years and it is nothing they have earned. Many people today detest them for simply being Jewish. But, this attitude is nothing new. It has been around for a long time. During the middle ages Jews, who were sometimes vilified as “Christ-killers”, were denied the right to own land. Because the Catholic Church did not permit their members to lend money, Jews were allowed to do the lending (a) (see Works Cited in part 2). They also were allowed to serve kings as tax collectors, and sadly many people despised them (a).

The Knights Templar and the First Crusade