Compare and contrast the treatment Jews in Europe in the Middle Ages with the treatment of Jews in the Ottoman Empire.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Jews in Europe faced significant difficulty because of their status as outsiders in what was predominantly a Christian empire, regardless of geopolitical entity. Jews were required to wear clothing that identified them as Jews and live in specific neighborhoods; they were prohibited from holding public office and restricted to certain professions. Attacks on Jews became more frequent after the twelfth-century charges of blood libel erroneously accused them of sacrificing Christian children for blood at Passover. These accusations increased as well after the plague, when Jews were accused of poisoning the water wells to bring about the plague. They were frequently expelled from entire countries, including England, France, and Spain, resulting in a European Diaspora with divisions into Sephardim and Ashkenazim. In the East, under the Ottoman Empire, they had to pay a tax for being non-Muslims, but Jews had better professional opportunities, with Sultan Mehmed II encouraging immigration especially for Jewish doctors, merchants, and bankers. In the East, the Jews could prosper and retain their religion (even with the taxation, Muslims recognized Jews as well as Christians as People of the Book) in an empire that was ethnically diverse and heterogeneous. They could live in peace, prosper, and even become part of the wealthy and powerful, an opportunity not likely in western Europe.