Questions tagged [jews]
A nation and an ethnoreligious group, originating with the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. Jewish people live in almost every country, as a result of the diaspora.
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If there was truly 3 hours of darkness in Roman empire following the crucifixion, would we expect some sort of record to survive of this happening?
In the synoptic Gospels it is claimed that 3 hours after the crucifixion there was darkness over all the land from noon-3pm along with intense earthquakes in Judea strong enough to split rocks and ...
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Where can I learn about Jewish Zealot ideology and history?
What are some great resources where I could learn more about the Jewish Zealots of the first century? I would like to learn more about their philosophy/ideology, their motivation, their contemporary ...
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Was jealousy the cause of Ernst Winter's death?
I was on Wikipedia and I came across the Konitz Affair. I am guessing that Wikipedia took it from the Jewish Encyclopedia.com, which appears to have copied the entry from a 1925 book, 'The Jewish ...
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What can I learn from this man's uniform?
This is my Polish Great Grandfather - I'm trying to create his story by looking at his uniform. Imperial Russian Uniform? Lithuanian cross? Help!
Photo taken in Saint Petersburg, Russia
He was born ...
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In the Nuremberg Laws, What did "Approved for Citizenship" is half Jewish mean in practice?
An example: Hans Bethe was a very well-regarded physicist and a half-Jew by Nuremberg definition which further states that he is "approved for Reich citizenship": Nuremberg Citizenship Laws
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How many Jews lived in Rome in the period immediately before (and during) the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE)?
I have been researching some of the events that occurred during the Jewish-Roman wars in ancient Israel.
I have tried to find approximate population records of the Jews before and during the period of ...
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Why did Hadrian put Jupiter's statue in Beith Hamikdash?
The third Roman Jewish war happened 'because Hadrian put Jupiter's statue in Beith Hamikdash' (Temple in Jerusalem).
Why would he do so?
I've heard that originally his relationship with his Jewish ...
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Would Jewish Ukranians historically have worn vyshyvankas and integrated Slavic embroidary into their lives?
I am trying to learn about the culture of Jewish ancestors in eastern Europe and wonder what elements of Slavic culture would have been present or distinct from Jewish culture in the area. ...
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The situation in nazi Germany of a Jewish male married to an "aryan" female vs Jewish female married to an "aryan" male?
For some reason, most of what I have read deals with Jewish males who were married to "aryan" females. This might be because the other way around, the female would have converted to ...
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Why would the Gestapo help Jews to escape? [closed]
This history.com article says
Passage was a terrifying ordeal. Jews congregated in fishing towns, then hid on small boats, usually 10 to 15 at a time. They gave their children sleeping pills and ...
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How much were Jews allowed to take with them from Nazi Germany?
This Smithsonian Magazine article indicates that Jews could keep 8% of their assets (at least in some cases, and I am sure in practice there were obstacles to retaining even that), which is different ...
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Is there a basis for this tale of Eisenhower blessing & Patton's curse? [closed]
After discussion:
The "magical" part here is beside the point, I just quoted the legend. I'm insterested with the factual things, some of which might have happened. For example, it's very ...
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Was there a stated reason for the evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza strip?
In 2005 the Israeli disengagement from Gaza took place. During this process of disengagement, the Israeli settlers within the Gaza strip were taken out of the Gaza strip (by command or by force).
In ...
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Was New Hampshire's prohibition on non-Protestant officeholders enforced in the last decades of its existence?
In the context of Jewish History, it is often said that New Hampshire was the last state to remove legal disabilities on Jews in 1877 (which technically pushes the US quite far down the timeline for ...
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What was the point of the Babylonian captivity?
What was the point of the Babylonian captivity?
I could understand if a few royalty or nobility were taken hostage, but why tens of thousands? I see no suggestion that they were taken into slavery. ...
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Were there any Jewish members of the Roman Senate?
A Jewish presence in Ancient Rome has been attested to from even before the Roman conquest of Judea. It was possible for prominent individuals to acquire Roman citizenship and at least under the ...
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Did Hitler display gratitude towards Hugo Gutmann?
It is well-known that many high-ranking Nazis tried to protect some Jews. The idea was that, yes, generally speaking, 'the Jews were a menace to Germany', but even for party comrades there often was '...
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Why was Basel, Switzerland chosen for the First Zionist Congress? [closed]
Why was Basel, Switzerland chosen for the First and other later Zionist Congresses to be held in?
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Are there any sources supporting the claim that Jews were less affected by epidemics?
There is a common thread that Jews historically suffered less from epidemics because of Jewish ritual requirements of cleanliness.
E.g., Wikipedia - Perceived Jewish immunity has 3 weakly supporting ...
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Were there Jewish diplomats in Nazi Germany?
It is pretty well known that Nazis discouraged US companies from having local representatives who were Jews. I imagine it did not happen all at once and the way foreign Jews were treated was quite ...
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Why was anti-semitism such a central issue in German politics? [duplicate]
Provided that the Jewish population was not more than 0,76% why the presence of Jews was considered such an important problem in German politics and culture from the middle of the 19th century till ...
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Do Columbus' letters reveal that he was a Marrano? [closed]
In this popular CNN article, the author raises many arguments to prove that Columbus was a Marrano (hidden Jew), I found none to be very compelling besides for the following one:
At the top left-...
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What was Pope Innocent VIII's reaction to the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews in 1492?
What was the reaction of the Pope of the Catholic Church to the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews of Spain on March 31, 1492?
Did Pope Innocent VIII (d. July 25, 1492) condemn publicly Spain's decree? ...
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What is the earliest example of Aryanization in Germany?
In the book by Martin Goldsmith Alex's Wake which describes the experiences of his family in Germany and the Nazi Germany, he tells (on page 46) of the forced sale of his grandfather's house for a ...
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Were Jews cut off from the Babylonian Geonim?
This is the view that I'm familiar with about the decline of the Geonim:
The Mesopotamian Gaon reached the height of its prestige in the 10th
century- with Saadia Gaon (d. 945), but the ...
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Why was the "Cave of the Patriarchs" forbidden to Jews?
I just found out a tweet of Ben Shapiro stating the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron was closed to Jews for 700 years. I searched and didn't find any name but this article mentions that
In the ...
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What did the Jews during the First Jewish-Roman War know about other anti-Roman revolts?
The first Jewish-Roman War started in 66 CE. When I read about it, it sounds so futile: you have a group of zealots (literally and figuratively) revolting against a professional army from the period's ...
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Why were the doors of ghettos locked at night?
I've heard that some hundreds of years ago, in many places, the Jews were forced to live in ghettos and that the doors to the ghetto were locked at night. (See, for example, https://widerimage....
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Is there any historical evidence of a significant population of middle eastern people in iron age Northern Germany/Southern Scandinavia?
In at least two of John McWhorter's works, he argues that the Germanic language group was heavily affected by a significant group of people speaking a Semitic language. The works are the book "Our ...
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What are the text and subtext of this 1949 Soviet cartoon?
Over on Wikipedia, we find this cover from the March 1949 issue of Soviet satire mag Krokodil:
The person who uploaded it to Wikipedia captioned it "Antisemitic caricature of rootless cosmopolitan." ...
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What would the Arch of Titus have looked like painted?
The Arch of Titus is a famous attraction in Rome, built by the Roman Emperor Domitian in 82 CE, in honor of the great military conquest of his older brother, Titus. Perhaps the most famous part of ...
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Did the Soviet Union hand over thousands of Jews to the Nazis in the spirit of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact?
The most recent episode of the Italian documentary TV series Ulisse - Il piacere della scoperta (Ulysses - The pleasure of discovery) covered the deportation of Jews from Italy, and at some point it ...
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Was Ezra Pound a descendent of Jews?
I've tried to search the internet for poet's Ezra Pound genealogy, but I only find extreme-right sites...
A person with the name Ezra seems to have some relationship to Jewish culture/religion. ...
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What was John Buchan's position on Jewish immigration?
Canada was very restrictive about Jewish immigration in the late 1930's. John Buchan was governor general of Canada at that time. What was his position on Jewish immigration into Canada at that time?...
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Was there Nazi Collaboration at an Institutional level in Poland?
Following recent legal regulations in Poland prohibiting any association of Polish culpability with the Holocaust and concentration camps, the question that arises is whether there was any Polish ...
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Who did Nachmanides marry?
I would like to know who Nachmanides married. What was her name and how old was he when he married her? I asked everyone I knew and googled it a thousand times but I could not find an answer. Thanks!
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What is known about the people of Khazaria?
We know that the ruling elite and many other people of the Khazars have converted to Rabbinic Judaism. What happened to these people after the fall of the Khazar state? Why did they disappear?
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Is Josephus account of destruction of Temple considered reliable?
I'm currently finishing up "The Jewish War" by Josephus. Josephus describes the lengths that Romans went to preserve the temple. On the one hand, I know Romans had rather a synthetic approach to ...
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What defined a Jew in the context of WW2? [closed]
What made a Jew?
It's a complex question, primarily because borders in Central and Eastern Europe were moving back and forth in the 150 years preceding WW2, mostly because Poland was annexed for over ...
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What do we currently know about the ethnic origins of Jews? [closed]
Putting aside the Old Testament, which details a story (perhaps true) of the origins of peoples including Jews, what has anthropology and genetics revealed so far about the origins of Jews?
When did ...
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Did Henry VIII's conversion from Catholicism set the stage for the readmission of Jews to England? [closed]
I realize that 150 years passed between this conversion and Jews being invited back to England but I wonder if, as in Spain, it would not have happened for many years even after that? I also realize ...
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Who is the great Epstein?
In a very interesting document written by an American woman in 1939, she mentions a number of times "such great Jews as Einstein, Epstein, Freud."
Well - who is this great Epstein? Unlike the other ...
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Participation of Jewish Red Army Soldiers in Rape/Atrocities in Germany?
I recall reading but not where I read it that soldiers of Jewish extraction or actual Jews tended to avoid the excesses of the Red Army once German civilians were encountered. Is there any evidence of ...
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Why did Jews have the support of the merchants in the push for Emancipation in England?
This is somewhat counter-intuitive -- often one reads of Jews being seen as competition or resented for their role as money lenders even though in fact the latter is also counter-intuitive since being ...
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What did the Nazis do with proselytes to Judaism?
The Nazis categorised people on racial grounds. If someone had sufficient Jewish ancestry, they were dead. Unlike, say, Stalin's purges, it didn't matter what their opinions were: if you totally ...
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Nazis and Khazar Theory of Ashkenazi Jews [closed]
I understand that the Nazis made official exceptions for Karaite Jews although in practice this was not always followed and in fact they were not completely "exonerated" in Nazi "racial theory." My ...
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Are the ancestors of Saudi royal family Jewish? [closed]
I have seen this narrative repeated time after time that Saudi royal family are Jews. An example of such claim. Searching for the internet pretty much returns the same narrative expressed in different ...
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What was the strategic importance of Judea?
I'm interested in ancient Judea, from the dissolution of the monarchy to the beginning of John Hyrcanus. It was a small wedge to the west of the Dead Sea. What was the strategic significance of this ...
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Jewish Money Lenders in England: What happened to Money Lendings after Expulsion?
When the Jews left England in 1290 by edict of Edward 1, who took over the role of Jews? My understanding is that the primary economic function was loaning money against future sales of farm produce --...
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Why is the Arch of Titus not considered to be anti-Semitic?
The Roman emperor Titus ran havoc in Jerusalem in the First Jewish-Roman War, when not only resident Jews but also a lot of pilgrims from Egypt and Babylon were trapped in a chaotic siege (Flavius ...
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