Jump to content

Jews: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m rv; a Page # not always is a verifiable link. In this case, the number suggest that the Holocaust victims where much less than what's reported. Let's be real careful.
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
im a big gay faggot
The word '''''Jew''''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''יהודי''') is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish [[culture]] or [[ethnicity]]; and often a combination of these attributes. This article discusses the term as describing an [[ethnic group]]; for a consideration of Jewish religion, please refer to [[Judaism]].

{{Jew}}
Most Jews regard themselves as a people, members of a [[nation]], descended from the ancient [[Israelite]]s and those who joined their religion at various times and places. The Hebrew name ''Yehudi'' (plural ''Yehudim'') came into being when the [[Kingdom of Israel]] was split between the northern [[Kingdom of Israel]] and the southern [[Kingdom of Judah]]. The term originally referred to the people of the southern kingdom, although the term ''Bnei Yisrael'' (Israelites) was still used for both groups. After the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom leaving the southern kingdom as the only Israelite state, the word ''Yehudim'' gradually came to refer to people of the Jewish faith as a whole rather, than those specifically from Judah. The English word ''Jew'', is ultimately derived from ''Yehudi'' (see [[Jew#Etymology|Etymology]]). In modern usage, Jews include both those Jews actively practicing Judaism, and those Jews who, while not practicing Judaism as a religion, still identify themselves as Jews by virtue of their family's Jewish heritage and their own cultural identification.

''Usage note: The word "Jew" is a noun. Its use as an adjective (e.g. "Jew lawyer") is widely considered offensive; "Jewish" is strongly preferred. Its use as a verb (e.g. "to jew someone") is also considered offensive. Some sources, such as the [[American Heritage Dictionary]], suggest that phrases like "Jewish person" may be offensive if pointedly used to avoid the word "Jew".''

==Etymology==
:''Main article: [[Etymology of the word Jew]]''

There are different views as to the origin of the [[English language]] word ''Jew''. The most common view is that the [[Middle English]] word ''Jew'' is from the [[Old French]] ''giu'', earlier ''juieu'', from the Latin ''iudeus'' from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''Ioudaios'' (Ιουδαίος). The Latin simply means ''Judaean'', from the land of ''[[Judea|Judaea]]''. The Hebrew for Jew, יהודי , is pronounced ye-hoo-DEE. The Hebrew letter [[Yud]] (or Yod), י, used as a 'y' in the Hebrew language (as in the word ye-hoo-DEE), becomes a 'j' in languages using the Latin-based alphabet when the Yud is used as a consonant rather than as a vowel. Therefore, a rough transliteration of יהודי in English would be ''Jew''.

==Who is a Jew?==
:''Main article: [[Who is a Jew?]]''

[[Judaism]] shares some of the characteristics of a [[nation]], an [[ethnicity]], a [[religion]], and a [[culture]], making the definition of who is a Jew vary slightly depending on whether a religious or national approach to identity is used. For discussions of the religious views on who is a Jew and how these views differ from each other, please see [[Who is a Jew?]]. Generally, in modern secular usage, Jews include three groups: people who practice Judaism and have a Jewish ethnic background (sometimes including those who do not have strictly matrilineal descent), people without Jewish parents who have converted to Judaism; and those Jews who, while not practicing Judaism as a religion, still identify themselves as Jewish by virtue of their family's Jewish descent and their own cultural and historical identification with the Jewish people.

==Jewish culture==
:''Main articles: [[Secular Jewish culture]], [[Judaism]]''

[[Judaism]] guides its adherents in both practice and belief, and has been called not only a religion, but also a "way of life," which has made drawing a clear distinction between Judaism, Jewish culture, and Jewish nationality rather difficult. In many times and places, such as in the ancient [[Hellenic]] world, in [[Europe]] before and after the [[The_Age_of_Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] (see [[Haskalah]]), and in contemporary United States and Israel, cultural phenomena have developed that are in some sense characteristically Jewish without being at all specifically religious. Some factors in this come from within Judaism, others from the interaction of Jews with others around them, others from the inner social and cultural dynamics of the community, as opposed to religion itself.

==Ethnic divisions==
:''Main article: [[Jewish ethnic divisions]]''

The most commonly used terms to describe ethnic divisions among Jews presently are: ''[[Ashkenazi]]'' (meaning "[[Germany|German]]" in Hebrew, denoting the Central European base of Jewry); and ''[[Sephardi]]'' (meaning "[[Spain|Spanish]]" or "[[Iberia|Iberia]]" in Hebrew, denoting their Spanish, Portuguese and [[North Africa]]n location). They refer to both religious and ethnic divisions.

Other Jewish ethnic groups include [[Mizrahi Jew]]s (a term overlapping ''Sephardi'', but emphasizing North African and Middle Eastern rather than Spanish history, and including the [[Maghrebim]]); [[Teimanim]] ([[Yemen]]ite and [[Oman]]i Jews); and such smaller groups as the [[Gruzim]] and [[Juhurim]] from the [[Caucasus]], the [[Bene Israel]], [[Bnei Menashe]], [[Cochin Jews|Cochin]] and [[Telugu Jews|Telugu]] [[Jews in India|Jews of India]], the [[Romaniotes]] of [[Greece]], the [[Italkim]] (Bené Roma) of [[Italy]], various [[African Jew]]s (most notably the [[Beta Israel]] or [[Ethiopia]]n Jews), the [[Bukharan Jews]] of Central Asia, and the [[Persian Jews]] of Iran.

==Population==
:''Main article: [[Jewish population]]''

Prior to [[World War II]] the world population of Jews was approximately 18 million. [[The Holocaust]] reduced this number to approximately 12 million. Today, there are an estimated 13 million {{ref|jppistudy}} to 14.6 million{{ref|jewsbycountrypage}} Jews worldwide in over 134 countries.

===Significant geographic populations===
:''Main article: [[Jews by country]]''
Please note that these populations represent low-end estimates of the worldwide Jewish population. Higher estimates place the worldwide Jewish population at over 14.5 million.

{|border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border: 2px solid gainsboro"
!bgcolor="whitesmoke" style="text-align: left; width: 11em"|Country or Region
!bgcolor="whitesmoke" style="text-align: left" colspan="2"|Jewish population
|-
|[[United States]]
|style="text-align: right"|5,671,000
|(est.) {{ref_label|jppistudy|1|a}}
|-
|[[Israel]]
|style="text-align: right"|5,200,000
|(est.) {{ref|centralstatistics}}
|-
|[[Europe]]
|style="text-align: right"|2,000,000
|(fewer than)
|-
|style="text-indent: 2em"|[[France]]
|style="text-align: right"|600,000
|(est.) {{ref_label|jppistudy|1|b}}
|-
|style="text-indent: 2em"|[[Russian Federation|Russia]], et al.†
|style="text-align: right"|400,000
|(some estimates much higher) {{ref|1993russiancensus}}
|-
|style="text-indent: 2em"|[[United Kingdom]]
|style="text-align: right"|267,000
|(2001 census)
|-
|style="text-indent: 2em"|[[Germany]]
|style="text-align: right"|100,000
|(2004 est.) or 60,000 (est.) {{ref_label|jppistudy|1|c}}
|-
|style="text-indent: 2em"|[[Italy]]
|style="text-align: right"|30,000
|(Jewish communities est.)
|-
|style="text-indent: 2em"|[[Lithuania]]
|style="text-align: right"|4,007
|(census 2001)
|-
|[[Canada]]
|style="text-align: right"|371,000
|(est.) {{ref_label|jppistudy|1|d}}
|-
|[[Argentina]]
|style="text-align: right"|250,000
|(est.) {{ref|jewishvirtuallibrary}}
|-
|[[Brazil]]
|style="text-align: right"|130,000
|(est.) {{ref_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|a}}
|-
|[[South Africa]]
|style="text-align: right"|106,000
|(est.) {{ref_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|c}}
|-
|[[Australia]]
|style="text-align: right"|100,000
|(est.) {{ref_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|b}}
|-
|[[Asia]] (excl. Israel)
|style="text-align: right"|50,000
|(est.)
|-
|style="text-indent: 2em"|[[Iran]]
|style="text-align: right"|11,000
|(est.) {{ref_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|e}}
|-
|[[Mexico]]
|style="text-align: right"|40,700
|(est.) {{ref_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|d}}
|-
|bgcolor="aliceblue"|'''Total'''
|bgcolor="aliceblue"|'''13,900,000'''
|bgcolor="aliceblue"|'''(est.)'''
|}

<small>&dagger; = This includes the [[Russian Federation]], all former [[Eastern Bloc]] nations, and any other nations that have formed within the areas controlled by the former [[Soviet Union]].</small>

===State of Israel===
:''Main article: [[Israel]]''
[[Image: Declaration of State of Israel 1948.jpg|left|frame|[[David Ben Gurion]] (First Prime Minister of Israel) publicly pronouncing the [[Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948]] (Shown standing between the two banners)]]

[[Israel]], the Jewish nation-state, is the only country in which Jews make up a majority of the citizens, although the United States has a larger number of Jews. It was established as an independent [[democratic]] state on [[May 14]], [[1948]]. Of the 120 members in its parliament, the [[Knesset]], 9 members are Israeli [[Arabs]] and 2 are Israeli [[Druses]]. At the time of its independence, approximately 600,000 Jews lived in Israel. Since then, the country's Jewish population has increased by about one million over each decade as more immigrants arrived and more Israelis were born, resulting in one of the most significant global Jewish population shifts in over 2,000 years.

All the [[Arab Israeli Wars]] have not slowed Israel's growth. Israel opened its doors to the [[the Holocaust|Holocaust]] survivors. It has absorbed a majority of the [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic]] and [[Mizrahi Jew]]s from the [[Islam|Islamic]] countries. It has taken in hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former [[Soviet Union|USSR]], and has airlifted tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews{{ref|www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.856}}to Israel. In the past decade nearly a million immigrants came to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Many Jews who emigrated to Israel have moved elsewhere, known as [[yerida]] ("descent" [from the Holy Land]), due to its economic problems or due to disillusionment with political conditions and the continuing [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]]

===Diaspora (outside of Israel)===
:''Main article: [[Jewish diaspora]]''
The waves of immigration to the United States at the turn of the 19th century, massacre of European Jewry during [[the Holocaust]], and the foundation of the state of Israel (and subsequent [[Jewish exodus from Arab lands]]) all resulted in substantial shifts in the population centers of world Jewry during the 20th century.
[[Image:Happynewyearcard.jpg|thumb|225px|In this [[Rosh Hashana]] greeting card from the early 1900s, Russian Jews, packs in hand, gaze at the American relatives beckoning them to the United States. Over two million Jews would flee the [[pogroms]] of the [[Russian Empire]] to the safety of the US from 1881-1924.]]

Currently, the largest Jewish community in the world is located in the United States, with around 5.6 million Jews. Elsewhere in the Americas, there are also large Jewish populations in Canada and Argentina, and smaller populations in [[Brazil]], [[Mexico]] , [[Uruguay]], [[Venezuela]], [[Chile]], and several other countries (see [[History of the Jews in Latin America]]).

Western Europe's largest Jewish community can be found in France, home to 600,000 Jews, the majority of whom are immigrants or refugees from North African Arab countries such as [[Algeria]], [[Morocco]], and [[Tunisia]] (or their descendants). There are over 265,000 Jews in the [[United Kingdom]]. In [[East Europe|Eastern Europe]], there are anywhere from 500,000 to over two million Jews living in [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], [[Hungary]], [[Belarus]] and the other areas once dominated by the [[Soviet Union]], but exact figures are difficult to establish. The fastest-growing Jewish community in the world, outside of Israel, is the one in [[Germany]], especially in [[Berlin]], its capital. Tens of thousands of Jews from the former [[Eastern Bloc]] have settled in Germany since the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]].

The Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East were home to around 900,000 Jews in 1945. Systematic persecution after the founding of Israel caused almost all of these Jews to flee to Israel, North America, and Europe in the 1950s. Today, around 8,000 Jews remain in Arab nations. [[Iran]] is home to around 25,000 Jews, down from a population of 100,000 Jews before the 1979 revolution. After the revolution some of the Iranian Jews emigrated to Israel or Europe but most of them emigrated (with their non-Jewish Iranian compatriots) to the [[United States]] (especially [[Los Angeles]]).

Outside of Europe, Asia and the Americas, significant Jewish populations exist in [[Australia]] and [[South Africa]].

===Population changes: Assimilation===
Since at least the time of the ancient Greeks, a proportion of Jews have assimilated into the wider non-Jewish society around them, by either choice or force, ceasing to practice Judaism and losing their Jewish identity. Some Jewish communities, for example the [[Kaifeng Jews]] of China, have disappeared entirely, but assimilation has remained relatively low over much of the past millenium, as Jews were often not allowed to integrate with the wider communities in which they lived. The advent of the Jewish Enlightenment (see [[Haskalah]]) of the 1700s and the subsequent emancipation of the Jewish populations of Europe and America in the 1800s, changed the situation, allowing Jews to increasingly participate in, and become part of, secular society. The result has been a growing trend of assimilation, as Jews marry non-Jewish spouses and stop participating in the Jewish community. Rates of [[interreligious marriage]] vary widely: In the United States they are just under 50%{{ref|www.ujc.org.857}}, in the United Kingdom around 50%, and in Australia and Mexico as low as 10%{{ref|www.worldjewishcongress.org.858}}{{ref|www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.859}}, and in France they may be as high as 75%. In the United States, only about a third of children from intermarriages affiliate themselves with Jewish practice. Additionally, since non-religious Jews generally tend to marry later and have fewer children than the general population, the Jewish community in many countries is aging. The result is that most countries in the [[Diaspora]] have steady or slightly declining Jewish populations as Jews continue to assimilate into the countries in which they live.

===Population changes: Wars against the Jews===
[[Image:FirstCrusade.jpg|thumb|180px|Right|German Jews (identifiable by the [[Judenhut]]s that they were required to wear) were killed by the tens of thousands during the [[First Crusade]]. French Bible illustration from 1250.]]
Throughout history, many rulers, empires and nations have oppressed their Jewish populations, or sought to eliminate them entirely. Methods employed have ranged from expulsion to outright genocide; within nations, often the threat of these extreme methods was sufficient to silence dissent. Some examples in the [[history of anti-Semitism]] are: the [[Great Jewish Revolt]] against the [[Roman Empire]]; the [[First Crusade]] which resulted in the massacre of Jews; the [[Spanish Inquisition]] led by [[Torquamada]] and the ''[[Auto de fe]]'' against the [[Marrano]] Jews; the [[Bohdan Chmielnicki]] [[Cossack]] massacres in [[Ukraine]]; the [[Pogrom]]s backed by the Russian [[Tsars]]; as well as expulsions from Spain, England, France, Germany, and other countries in which the Jews had settled. The persecution culminated in [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[final solution|Final Solution]] which led to [[the Holocaust]], and the slaughter of approximately 6 million Jews from 1939 to 1945.

===Population changes: Growth===
Israel is the only country with a consistently growing Jewish population due to natural population increase, though the Jewish populations of other countries in Europe and North America have recently increased due to immigration. In the Diaspora, in almost every country the Jewish population in general is either declining or steady, but [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Haredi]] Jewish communities, whose members often shun [[birth control]] for religious reasons, have experienced rapid population growth, with rates near 4% per year for Haredi Jews in Israel, and similar rates in other countries.

Orthodox and Conservative Judaism discourage proselytization to non-Jews, but many Jewish groups have tried to reach out to the assimilated Jewish communities of the Diaspora in order to increase the number of Jews. Additionally, while in principle Reform Judaism favors seeking new members for the faith, this position has not translated into active proselytism, instead taking the form of an effort to reach out to non-Jewish spouses of intermarried couples. There is also a trend of Orthodox movements pursuing secular Jews in order to give them a stronger Jewish identity so there is less chance of intermarriage. As a result of the efforts by these and other Jewish groups over the past twenty-five years, there has been a trend of secular Jews becoming more religiously observant, known as the ''[[Baal Teshuva]]'' movement, though the demographic implications of the trend are unknown. Additionally, there is also a growing movement of [[Jews by Choice]] by [[gentiles]] who make the decision to head in the direction of becoming Jews.

==Jewish languages==
:''Main article: [[Jewish languages]]''

[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] is the [[liturgical language]] of Judaism (termed ''lashon ha-kodesh'', "the holy tongue"), and is the language of the State of Israel. It was revived by [[Eliezer ben Yehuda|Ben Yehuda]], who arrived in Palestine in 1881 at a time when no one spoke the Hebrew language. Diaspora Jews (outside of Israel) today speak the local languages of their respective countries. [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] is the historic language of many [[Ashkenazi]] Jews, and [[Ladino language|Ladino]] of many [[Sephardi]]c Jews.

==History of the Jews==
:''Main articles: [[Jewish history]], [[Timeline of Jewish history]]''
:''See also: [[Schisms among the Jews|Historical Schisms among the Jews]]''

===Jews and migrations===
[[Image:1614jews.jpg|thumb|200px|Right|Etching of the expulsion of the Jews from Frankfurt on August 23, 1614. The text says: "1380 persons old and young were counted at the exit of the gate"]]
Throughout Jewish history, Jews have repeatedly been directly or indirectly expelled from both their original homeland, and the areas in which they have resided. This experience as both [[immigrate|immigrants]] and [[Emigration|emigrants]] (see: [[Jewish refugees]]) have shaped Jewish identity and religious practice in many ways. An incomplete list of such migrations includes:

*The patriarch [[Abraham]] was a migrant to the land of [[Canaan]] from [[Ur|Ur]] of the [[Chaldea|Chaldees]].
*The [[Children of Israel]] experienced the [[Exodus]] (meaning "departure" or "going forth" in Greek) from [[ancient Egypt]], as recorded in the [[Book of Exodus]].
*The [[Kingdom of Israel]] was sent into permanent exile and scattered all over the world by [[Assyria]].
*The [[Kingdom of Judah]] was exiled first by [[Babylon]]ia and then by [[Roman Empire|Rome]].
*The 2,000 year dispersion of the [[Jewish diaspora]] beginning under the [[Roman Empire]], as Jews were spread throughout the Roman world and, driven from land to land, and settled wherever they could live freely enough to practice their religion. Over the course of the diaspora the center of Jewish life moved from [[History of the Jews in Iraq|Babylonia]] to [[Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain|Spain]] to [[History of the Jews in Poland|Poland]] to [[Jewish American|United States]] and to [[Israel]].
*Many expulsions during the Middle Ages and Enlightenment in Europe, including: [[1290]], 16,000 Jews were expelled from [[England]]; in [[1396]], 100,000 from [[France]]; in [[1421]] thousands were expelled from [[Austria]]. Many of these Jews settled in [[Eastern Europe]], especially [[Poland]].
*Following the [[Spanish Inquisition]] in 1492, the Spanish population of around 200,000 [[Sephardi]]c Jews were expelled by the Spanish crown and Catholic church, followed by expulsions in 1493 in Sicily (37,000 Jews) and Portugal in 1496. The expelled Jews fled mainly to the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[North Africa]], others migrating to [[South Europe|Southern Europe]] and the [[Middle East]].
*During the 19th century, [[France]]'s policies of equal citizenship regardless of religion led to the immigration of Jews (especially from Eastern and Central Europe), which was encouraged by [[Napoleon Bonaparte]].
*The arrival of millions of Jews in the [[New World]], including immigration of over 1,000,000 Eastern European Jews to the United States from 1890-1925, see [[History of the Jews in the United States]].
*The [[Pogroms]] in Eastern Europe, the rise of modern [[Anti-Semitism]], [[the Holocaust]] and the rise of [[Arab nationalism]] all served to fuel the movements and migrations of huge segments of Jewry from land to land and continent to continent, until they have now arrived back in large numbers at their original historical homeland in Israel.
*The [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution of Iran]], forced many [[Persian Jews|Iranian Jews]] to flee Iran. Most found refuge in the US (particularly Los Angeles, CA) and Israel. Smaller communities of Persian Jews exist in Canada and Western Europe.

===Kingdoms of Israel and Judah===
:''See related article [[History of ancient Israel and Judah]]''.

Jews descend mostly from the ancient [[Israelites]] (also known as [[Hebrews]]), who settled in the [[Land of Israel]]. The Israelites traced their common lineage to the [[Bible|biblical]] patriarch [[Abraham]] through [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]]. A [[monarchy|kingdom]] was established under [[Saul the King|Saul]] and continued under [[King David]] and [[Solomon]]. King David conquered [[Jerusalem]] (first a [[Canaanite]], then a [[Jebusite]] town) and made it his capital. After Solomon's reign the nation split into two kingdoms, the [[Kingdom of Israel]] (in the north) and the [[Kingdom of Judah]] (in the south). The [[Kingdom of Israel]] was conquered by the [[Assyria]]n ruler [[Shalmaneser V]] in the [[8th century BC]] and spread all over the Assyrian empire, where they were assimilated into other cultures and become known as the [[Ten Lost Tribes]]. The [[Kingdom of Judah]] continued as an independent state until it was conquered by a Babylonian army in the early [[6th century BC]], destroying the [[First Temple]] that was at the centre of Jewish worship. The Judean elite was exiled to Babylonia, but later at least a part of them returned to their homeland after the subsequent conquest of Babylonia by the Persians seventy years later, a period known as the [[Babylonian Captivity]]. A new [[Second Temple]] was constructed, and old religious practices were resumed.

===Persian, Greek, and Roman rule===
:''See related article [[Jewish-Roman wars]]''.

The [[Seleucid]] Kingdom, which arose after the Persians were defeated by [[Alexander the Great]], sought to introduce Greek culture into the Persian world. When the Seleucid king [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]], supported by [[Hellenism|Hellenized]] Jews (those who had adopted Greek culture), attempted to convert the Jewish Temple to a temple of [[Zeus]], the non-Hellenized Jews revolted under the leadership of the [[Maccabees]] and rededicated the Temple to the Jewish God (hence the origins of ''[[Hanukkah]]'') and created an independent Jewish kingdom known as the [[Hasmonaean Kingdom]] which lasted from [[165 BC|165 BCE]] to [[63 BC|63 BCE]], when the kingdom came under influence of the [[Roman Empire]]. During the early part of Roman rule, the Hasmonaeans remained in power, until the family was annihilated by [[Herod the Great]]. Herod came from a wealthy [[Edom|Idumean]] family and became a very successful client-king under the Romans. He significantly expanded the Temple in Jerusalem.

Upon his death in [[4 BC|4 BCE]] the Romans directly ruled Judea and there were frequent changes of policies by conflicting and empire-building [[Caesar (title)|Caesars]], generals, governors, and consuls who often acted cruelly or to maximize their own wealth and power. Rome's attitudes swung from tolerance to hostility against its Jewish subjects, who had since moved throughout the Empire. The Romans, worshipping a [[Roman religion|large pantheon]], could not readily accommodate the exclusive [[monotheism]] of Judaism, and the religious Jews could not accept Roman [[polytheism]]. After a famine and riots in [[66|66 CE]], the Judeans began to revolt against their Roman rulers. The revolt was smashed by the [[Roman emperor|Roman emperors]] [[Vespasian]] and [[Titus Flavius]]. In Rome the [[Arch of Titus]] still stands, showing enslaved Judeans and a ''[[menorah]]'' being brought to Rome. It is customary for Jews not to walk through this arch.

[[Image:Sack of jerusalem.JPG|thumb|The [[Arch of Titus]] depicts enslaved Judeans and objects from the Temple being brought to Rome.]]

The Romans all but destroyed [[Jerusalem]]; only a single "[[Western Wall]]" of the [[Second Temple]] remained. After the end of this first revolt, the Judeans continued to live in their land in significant numbers, and were allowed to practice their religion. In the second century the Roman Emperor [[Hadrian]] began to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city while restricting some Jewish practices. Angry at this affront, the Judeans again revolted led by [[Bar Kokhba's revolt|Simon Bar Kokhba]]. [[Hadrian]] responded with overwhelming force, putting down the revolution and killing as many as half a million Jews. After the Roman Legions prevailed in [[135]], Jews were not allowed to enter the city of Jerusalem and most Jewish worship was forbidden by Rome. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews, Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, and instead was rebuilt around rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities. No new books were added to the Jewish Bible after the Roman period, instead major efforts went into interpreting and developing the [[Halakhah]], or oral law, and writing down these traditions in the [[Talmud]], the key work on the interepretation of Jewish law, written during the first to fifth centuries CE.

===Beginning of the Diaspora===
''See main article: [[Jewish diaspora]]''

Though Jews had settled outside of Israel since the time of the Babylonians, the results of the Roman response to the Jewish revolt shifted the center of Jewish life from its ancient home to the diaspora. While some Jews remained in Judea, renamed Palestine by the Romans, some Jews were sold into [[slavery]], while others became citizens of other parts of the [[Roman Empire]]. This is the traditional explanation to the [[Jewish diaspora]], almost universally accepted by past and present rabbinical or Talmudical scholars, who believe that Jews are almost exclusively biological descendants of the Judean exiles, a belief backed up at least partially by DNA evidence. Some secular historians speculate that a majority of the Jews in Antiquity were most likely descendants of converts in the cities of the Graeco-Roman world, especially in Alexandria and Asia Minor. They were only affected by the diaspora in its spiritual sense and by the sense of loss and homelessness which became a cornerstone of the Jewish creed, much supported by persecutions in various parts of the world. Any such policy of conversion, which spread the Jewish religion throughout Hellenistic civilization, seems to have ended with the wars against the Romans and the following reconstruction of Jewish values for the post-Temple era.

During the first few hundred years of the Diaspora, the most important Jewish communities were in [[History of the Jews in Iraq|Babylonia]], where the Talmud was written, and where relatively tolerant regimes allowed the Jews freedom. The situation was worse in the Byzantine Empire which treated the Jews much more harshly, refusing to allow them to hold office or build places of worship. The conquest of much of the Byzantine Empire and Babylonia by Islamic armies generally improved the life of the Jews, though they were still considered second-class citizens. In response to these Islamic conquests, the [[First Crusade]] of 1096 attempted to reconquer Jerusalem, resulting in the destruction of many of the remaining Jewish communities in the area.

===Middle Ages: Europe===
:''Main article: [[Jews in the Middle Ages]]''
[[Image:Spanishhaggadah.jpg|thumb|150px|Image of a [[cantor]] reading the [[Passover]] story in [[Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain|Moorish Spain]], from a 14th century Spanish [[Haggadah]].]]
Jews settled in [[Europe]] during the time of the Roman Empire, but the rise of the [[Catholic]] Church, resulted in frequent expulsions and persecutions. The Crusades routinely attacked Jewish communities, and increasingly harsh laws restricted them from most economic activity and land ownership, leaving open only moneylending and a few other trades. Jews were subject to explusions from England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire throughout the Middle Ages, with most of the population moving to Eastern Europe and especially Poland, [[History of the Jews in Poland|which was uniquely tolerant of the Jews through the 1700s]]. The final mass expulsion of the Jews, and the largest, occurred after the Christian conquest of Spain in 1492 (see [[History of the Jews in Spain]]). Even after the end of the expulsions in the 17th century, individual conditions varied from country to country and time to time, but, as rule, Jews in Western Europe generally were forced, by decree or by informal pressure, to live in highly segregated [[ghettos]] and [[shtetls]].

===Middle Ages: Islamic Europe and North Africa===
:''Main article: [[Islam and Judaism]]''

During the Middle Ages, Jews in Islamic lands generally had more rights than under Christian rule, with a [[Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain|Golden Age of coexistence in Islamic Spain]] from about 900 to 1200, when Spain became the center of the richest, most populous, and most influential Jewish community of the time. The rise of more radical Muslim regimes, such as that of the [[Almohades]] ended this period by the thirteenth century, and Jews were soon [[Alhambra decree|expelled from Spain]]. Many of these Jews found refuge in the [[History of the Jews in Turkey|Ottoman Empire]], which remained tolerant of its Jewish population for much of its history.

===Enlightenment and emancipation===
:''Main article: [[Haskalah]]''

During the [[Age of Enlightenment]], significant changes occurred within the Jewish community. The [[Haskalah]] movement paralleled the wider Enlightenment, as Jews began in the 1700s to campaign for emancipation from restrictive laws and integration into the wider European society. Secular and scientific education was added to the traditional religious instruction received by students, and interest in a national Jewish identity, including a revival in the study of Jewish history and Hebrew, started to grow.
[[Image:Napoleonandjews.jpg|thumb|150px|Napoleon [[Jewish Emancipation|emancipating]] the Jews, represented by the woman with the [[menorah]], and 1804 French print.]]
The Haskalah movement influenced the birth of all the modern Jewish denominations, and planted the seeds of [[Zionism]]. At the same time, it contributed to encouraging cultural assimilation into the countries in which Jews resided. At around the same time another movement was born, one preaching almost the opposite of Haskalah, [[Hasidic Judaism]]. Hasidic Judiasm began in the 1700s by Israel ben Eliezer, the [[Baal Shem Tov]], and quickly gained a following with its exuberant, mystical approach to religion. These two movements, and the traditional orthodox approach to Judaism from which they spring, formed the basis for the modern divisions within Jewish observance.

At the same time, the outside world was changing. France was the first country to [[Jewish Emancipation|emancipate]] its Jewish population in 1796, granting them equal rights under the law. [[Napoleon]] further spread emancipation, inviting Jews to leave the [[Ghetto#Jewish ghettos in Europe|Jewish ghettos in Europe]] and seek refuge in the newly created tolerant political regimes (see [[Napoleon and the Jews]]). By the mid-19th century, almost all Western European countries had [[Jewish Emancipation|emancipated]] their Jewish populations, with the notable exception of the [[Papal States]], but persecution continued in Eastern Europe, including massive [[pogroms]] at the end of the 19th century throughout the [[Pale of Settlement]]. The persistance of anti-semitism, both violently in the east and socially in the west, led to a number of [[Jewish political movements]], culminating in [[Zionism]].

===Zionism and Immigration===
[[Image:ac.zionistposter.jpg|thumb|150px|Hungarian and Romanian poster promoting Zionism, 1930s]]
Many of the newly secular Jews who had embraced Haskalah found themselves deeply troubled by the continuing virulent anti-semitism of the late 1800s, especially the massive pogroms of the 1880s in Russia and the [[Dreyfus Affair]], which occurred in [[France]] in [[1894]], a country many Jews had previously thought of as particularly accepting. Many Jews in Eastern Europe embraced [[socialism]] as a potential escape from persecution, but another group, the Zionists, led by [[Theodor Herzl]], viewed the only solution as the creation of a Jewish state. Initially, religious Jews opposed [[Zionism]], as did many secular Jews, who saw integration or other social movements as more promising. The chain of events between 1881 and 1945, however, beginning with waves of anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia and the Russian-controlled areas of Poland, and culminating in the Holocaust, converted the great majority of surviving Jews to the belief that a Jewish homeland was an urgent necessity, particularly given the large population of disenfranchised Jewish refugees after World War II.

In addition to responding politically, during the late 19th century, Jews began to flee the persecutions of Eastern Europe in large numbers, mostly by heading to the United States, but also to Canada and Western Europe. By 1924, almost two million Jews had emigrated to the US alone, creating a large community in a nation relatively free of the persecutions of rising European [[anti-Semitism]] (see [[History of the Jews in the United States]]).

===The Holocaust===
:''Main article: [[Holocaust]]''
This anti-Semitism reached its most destructive form in the policies of [[Nazi]] Germany, which made the destruction of the Jews a priority, culminating in the killing of approximately six million Jews during [[the Holocaust]] from 1941 to 1945. Originally, the Nazis used death squads, the [[Einsatzgruppen]], to conduct massive open-air killings of Jews in territory they conquered. By 1942, the Nazi leadership decided to implement the [[Final Solution]], the genocide of all of the Jews of Europe, and increase the pace of the Holocaust by establishing [[extermination camps]] specifically to kill Jews. Millions of Jews who had been confined to diseased and massively overcrowded [[Ghettos]] were transported to these [[extermination camps|"Death-camps"]] where they were either gassed or shot. Many Jews tried to escape Europe before or during [[Holocaust]], but were unable to find refuge, giving new urgency to the Zionist goal of establishing a Jewish homeland.
[[Image:Immigrationtoisrael.gif|right|thumb|200px|Immigration immediately after the establishment of Israel.]]

===Israel===
In 1948, the Jewish state of [[Israel]] was founded, creating the first Jewish nation since the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. After a series of wars with neighboring Arab countries, almost all of the 900,000 Jews previously living in North Africa and the Middle East fled to the Jewish state, joining an increasing number of immigrants from post-War Europe. By the end of the 20th century, Jewish population centers had shifted dramatically, with the United States and Israel being the centers of Jewish secular and religious life.

==Persecution==
:''Main article: [[Persecution of Jews]]''
:''Related articles: [[Anti-Semitism]], [[History of anti-Semitism]], [[Modern anti-Semitism]]''

==Jewish leadership==
:''Main article: [[Jewish leadership]]''

There is no single governing body for the Jewish community, nor a single authority with responsibility for religious doctrine. Instead, a variety of secular and religious institutions at the local, national, and international levels lead various parts of the Jewish community on a variety of issues.

==Famous Jews==
:''Main articles: [[List of Jews]], [[List of Jews by country]]''

Jews have made contributions in a broad range of human endeavors, including the sciences, art, politics, etc.

==See also==
A full guide to topics related to the Jews is available from the [[template:Jew|guide at the top of this page]]. Additional topics of interest include:

* [[Judaism]], for information on the Jewish religion
* Europe
** [[History of the Jews in Poland]]
** [[History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union]]
** [[History of the Jews in France]]
** [[History of the Jews in Germany]]
** [[History of the Jews in England]]
** [[History of the Jews in Italy]]
** [[History of the Jews in Spain]]
** [[History of the Jews in Ireland]]
** [[History of the Jews in Hungary]]
*America
** [[History of the Jews in the United States]] and [[Jewish American]]
** [[History of the Jews in Latin America]]
*Western Asia and North Africa
** [[History of the Jews in Turkey]]
** [[History of the Jews in Tunisia]]
** [[History of the Jews in Algeria]]
** [[History of the Jews in Morocco]]
** [[History of the Jews in Egypt]]

==External links==
===Maps===
*[http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/0415236614/resources/indi.asp Map collection] related to Jewish history and culture from Routledge Publishing

===Photos===
*[http://www.ZionOzeri.com Zion Ozeri Photography] - photos of many Jewish communities worldwide (requires [[Macromedia Flash]] player)

===General===
*[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761567959/Jews.html#s1 Encarta Encyclopedia entry on Jews]
*[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org Jewish Virtual Library] - collection of many articles on many topics, including Jewish history
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia]
*[http://www.jta.org Jewish Telegraphic Agency] - news bureau reporting on contemporary Jewish news and issues
*[http://www.book-lover.com/legendsofthejews/ Legends of the Jews] - online text of classic work by Louis Ginzberg

===Major Jewish secular organizations===
*[http://www.adl.org/adl.asp Anti-Defamation League]
*[http://www.bnaibrith.org B'nai B'rith International]
*[http://www.ajc.org American Jewish Committee]
*[http://www.ujc.org United Jewish Communities: The Federations of North America]
*[http://www.ajcongress.org American Jewish Congress]
*[http://www.science.co.il/JSO.asp Jewish Student Organizations]

===Global Jewish communities===
*[http://www.haruth.com/JewsoftheWorld.html Jewish Communities of the World] - large list of Jewish communities in many countries
*[http://www.ujc.org/ir_category_listing.html?nt=0&id=200 List of international Jewish organizations]
*[http://uk-org-bod.supplehost.org/bod/index.jsp Board of Deputies of British Jews]
*[http://www.cjc.ca Canadian Jewish Congress] - Jewish advocacy organisation representing Canadian Jewry
*[http://www.fjc.ru/default.asp Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (Russia)]
*[http://www.col.fr/ Communaute Online: France]
*[http://www.haruth.com/JewsArgentina.html Jewish Argentina]
*[http://www.mindspring.com/~jaypsand/index.htm African Jews] - also contains information about various small Jewish communities elsewhere
*[http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/Jews.html Chinese Jews] - history of Jews in China

===Zionist institutions===
*[http://www.wzo.org.il/en/default.asp World Zionist Organization]
*[http://www.zoa.org Zionist Organization of America]
*[http://www.hadassah.org Hadassah] - Women's Zionist Organization, also operates a number of prominent hospitals
*[http://www.habonimdror.org Habonim Dror] - Union of Progressive Zionists

===Israeli institutions===
*[http://www.jafi.org.il The Jewish Agency]
*[http://www.yad-vashem.org.il Yad VaShem] - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
*[http://www.imj.org.il Israel Museum]

===Lists of notable Jews===
*[http://www.science.co.il/Nobel.asp Jewish Nobel Prize Laureates]
*[http://www.jinfo.org Prominent Jewish Scientific and Cultural Figures]

===Religious Links===
''For more links about Judaism and Jewish religious organizations please see: [[Judaism#External links|Links in the Judaism article]]

* Orthodox: [http://ou.org The Orthodox Union]
* Conservative: [http://www.uscj.org United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]
* Karaite: [http://www.karaite-korner.org The Karaite Korner]
* Reform: [http://urj.org/ Union for Reform Judaism]
* Reconstructionist: [http://www.jrf.org Jewish Reconstructionist Federation]

==Notes==

# {{note|jppistudy}}{{note_label|jppistudy|1|a}}{{note_label|jppistudy|1|b}}{{note_label|jppistudy|1|c}}{{note_label|jppistudy|1|d}} Data based on a study by ''Jewish People Policy Institute'' (JPPI). See ''[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer&cid=1088046787193&p=1008596975996 Jewish people near zero growth]'' by Tovah Lazaroff, [[Jerusalem Post]], June 24, 2004.
# {{note|jewsbycountrypage}} See, for example [[Jews by country]] page for higher estimates.
# {{note|centralstatistics}} Data based on a study by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. See ''[http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=836883&fid=942 Israel&#8217;s population is 6.8 million]'' by Zeev Klein, ''Globes online'' September 13, 2004. Includes (about 370,000) Israeli citizens living in the West Bank and Gaza.
# {{note|1993russiancensus}} 1993 Russian census. Some estimates are much higher, the US State Department Religious Freedom Report [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35480.htm] estimates the number of Jews in Russia alone at 600,000 to 1 million.
# {{note|jewishvirtuallibrary}}{{note_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|a}}{{note_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|b}}{{note_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|c}}{{note_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|d}}{{note_label|jewishvirtuallibrary|2|e}} [http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html Jewish Virtual Library], [http://www.jewfaq.org/populatn.htm JewFAQ]
# {{note|www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.856}} {{Web reference_simple | title= airlifted tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews | URL=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ejhist.html#operation1/ | date= July 7 | year= 2005 }}
# {{note|www.ujc.org.857}} {{Web reference_simple | title=NJPS: Intermarriage: Defining and Calculating Intermarriage | URL=http://www.ujc.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=83910 | date= July 7 | year= 2005 }}
# {{note|www.worldjewishcongress.org.858}} {{Web reference_simple | title=World Jewish Congress Online | URL=http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/communities/world/asia-oceania/australia.cfm | date= July 7 | year= 2005 }}
# {{note|www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.859}} {{Web reference_simple | title=The Virtual Jewish History Tour - Mexico | URL=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Mexico.html | date= July 7 | year= 2005 }}
[[Category:Jews| ]]

[[af:Jood]]
[[bg:&#1045;&#1074;&#1088;&#1077;&#1080;]]
[[bs:Jevreji]]
[[ca:Jueu]]
[[cs:&#381;id]]
[[cy:Iddew]]
[[da:Jøde]]
[[de:Juden]]
[[es:Judío]]
[[et:Juudid]]
[[eo:Judoj]]
[[fi:Juutalaiset]]
[[fr:Juif]]
[[it:Ebrei]]
[[ko:&#50976;&#45824;&#51064;]]
[[id:Yahudi]]
[[he:&#1497;&#1492;&#1493;&#1491;&#1497;&#1501;]]
[[mk:&#1045;&#1074;&#1088;&#1077;&#1080;]]
[[nl:Joden]]
[[ja:&#12518;&#12480;&#12516;&#20154;]]
[[no:Jøder]]
[[pl:&#379;ydzi (naród)]]
[[ro:Evrei]]
[[ru:Евреи]]
[[simple:Jew]]
[[sl:Judje]]
[[sv:Judar]]
[[tl:Hudiyo]]
[[th:&#3618;&#3636;&#3623;]]
[[tr:Musevi]]
[[uk:&#1030;&#1091;&#1076;&#1077;&#1111;]]
[[zh:&#29494;&#22826;&#20154;]]

Revision as of 18:32, 8 October 2005

im a big gay faggot

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jews&oldid=25074764"