<ITALY. This article is
arranged according to the following outline:
The Roman Pagan Era (second century B.C.E.. to 313 C.E.)
Early Middle Ages (313-c. 1100)
Later Middle Ages (1100-1300)
The Zenith (c. 1300-1500)
The Crisis (1492-1600)
Persecutions (c. 1600-c. 1800)
Freedom and Equality (1815-1938)
Holocaust Period
Relations with Israel
Musical Tradition.
[From
Maccabees to the present]
Jews have lived in Italy without interruption from the
days of the Maccabees until the present, through a period
of 21 centuries. Although they were never subjected to
general expulsion, there were frequently partial ones.
They often enjoyed good relationships with the rulers and
general population or were granted special privileges.
They remained few in number, refrained from attracting
attention, were intellectually alert, and continued
faithful to their traditions. The record of Italian Jewry
thus provides one of the most complex and fascinating
chapters in the history of the Jewish Diaspora.
The
Roman Pagan Era (second century B.C.E. to 313 C.E.).
[Traders
- political treaty with Rome in 161 B.C. - expulsion and
obsolete treaty]
Probably preceded by individual Jews who visited Italy as
traders, a Jewish embassy was dispatched to *Rome in 161
B.C.E. by *Judah Maccabee to conclude a political treaty
with the Roman senate. It was followed by others sent by
his brother *Jonathan 15 years later, by *Simeon in 139
(col. 1115)
and by *Hyreanus I in 133. In 139, either these emissaries
or the other Jews living in Rome were apparently accused
of conducting religious propaganda among the Roman
population and expelled from the city. However, the decree
soon became obsolete.
[Deportation
of Jews to Italy 63-61 B.C. - Caesar and following
emperors granting some religious rights - Jews under
Tiberius deported to Sardinia and conversion and
expulsion edict]
Jewish prisoners taken by *Pompey during his invasion of
Erez Israel, 63-61 B.C.E., were brought to Italy but most
were probably freed after a short time. *Julius Caesar,
who considered that the Jews represented a cohesive
element in the Roman world, granted them certain
exemptions to enable them to fulfill their religious
duties. These exemptions were subsequently confirmed by
most of the Roman emperors. Under *Augustus, the number of
Jews in the capital increased. In 19 C.E., during the
reign of *Tiberius, his minister Sejanus deported 4,000
Jewish youths to Sardinia to fight banditry, ostensibly to
punish the Jews for having tried to defraud a woman of the
Roman nobility. In fact, this was part of the policy to
suppress the oriental cults, and an edict was also issued
ordering the Jews to leave Italy unless they abandoned
their religious practices. Tiberius abrogated the measures
after Sejanus' execution.
[Claudius
with edict against Jews and Christs]
The growing friction between the Jews of Rome and the
rising [racist native eliminating] Christian sect led
*Claudius to rid Rome of both elements (49-50), but this
time also the decree was short-lived.
[Destruction
of Judea and Jews deported to Italy]
The Jewish struggle in Judea against the Romans ended in
70 with wholesale destruction and massacre and mass
deportations of Jewish prisoners, a large number of whom
were brought to Italy. According to later sources, 1,500
arrived in Rome alone, and 5,000 in *Apulia. There too
they attained freedom after a relatively short time, and
many remained in Italy.
[Shekel
law blocking shekel for the Temple - Jewish tax for Rome
for 2 centuries]
The emperor *Vespasian prohibited the voluntary tribute of
the *shekel that Jews in the Diaspora customarily sent to
the Temple and changed it to a "Jewish tribute", the
*Fiscus Judaicus, to be paid into the public treasury.
Under *Domitian (81-96) the exaction of this tax was
brutally enforced. It was mitigated by his successor
*Nerva, but the tax was not abolished until two centuries
later.
[Uprisings
and Bar Kokhba uprising - right for Jews to be citizen]
The Jewish uprisings against Roman rule which broke out in
Judea, Egypt, and Cyrenaica during the reigns of Trajan
and Hadrian culminated in the heroic but vain revolt of
Simeon *Bar Kokhba (132-5) are not recorded to have
affected the Jews in Italy.
*Antoninus Pius (138-61), *Caracalla (211-7), Alexander
*Severus (222-35), and probably other emperors displayed
benevolence toward Jews. Jews were included in the edict
issued by Caracalla in 212 that extended Roman citizenship
to all freemen in the empire.
[2nd
to 4th century: Diaspora - anti Jewish laws - racist
Christian communities]
From the end of the second century until the beginning of
the fourth, the Jewish settlements in the Diaspora,
although proselytizing intensely, did not encounter
opposition from the Romans, though *Septimius Severus in
204 prohibited conversion to Judaism. The Christian
communities, however, which expanded rapidly and proved
intransigent, were severely dealt with. The fact that the
Jews in Italy were of petty bourgeois or even servile
origin, and that they were not infrequently suspected of
opposing Roman policy abroad, prevented individual Jews
from attaining prominence in economic or social life.
[Figures
and data about Jewish developments in Italy: painters,
actors, poets, communities with synagogues - adherents
and hostile Roman intellectuals]
It has been estimated that there were 50,000 Jews in Italy
during the first century of the empire, of whom over half
were concentrated in or around Rome. In the capital, they
engaged in humble occupations and lived in the proletarian
sections. Cultural standards were not high, although there
were painters, actors, and poets. The communities centered
on the synagogues, or which 12 are known to have existed
in Rome, although not contemporaneously. The ruins of one
have been discovered in *Ostia. Their knowledge of Hebrew
was rudimentary. The religious convictions and customs of
the Jews aroused a certain interest among some sectors of
(col. 1116)
the Roman population and sometimes attracted adherents.
This picture emerges from the numerous inscriptions found
in the Jewish *catacombs rather than from the evidence
provided by the generally hostile Roman intellectuals.
[Port
towns and towns in inner Italy - writers - Talmud
academy]
Outside Rome the position was substantially similar, as
may be deduced from tombstone inscriptions. Initially,
Jews settled in the ports: Ostia, Porto, Pozzuoli,
Pompeii, *Taranto, and *Otranto. They subsequently spread
inland, although it is impossible to state the relative
numbers. In the first three centuries of the empire Jews
were found in Campania: *Naples, *Capua, and *Salerno; in
Basilicata (col. 1117)
Apulia, and *Calabria; *Bari, Otranto, Taranto, *Venosa,
and *Reggio; and in *Sicily: *Syracuse, *Catania, and
*Agrigento. In northern Italy, the presence of Jews has
been traced in Civitavecchia, *Ferrara, *Brescia, *Milan,
Pola, and *Aquileia. Their occupations may be inferred but
are attested only in a few cases. No significant evidence
concerning Jewish scholarly and literary activities has
been preserved. *Caecilius of Calacte, an orator and
literary critic who wrote in Greek during the Augustan
period, was highly esteemed although none of his works is
extant. *Josephus composed his major historical works at
the imperial court (col. 1118)
in Rome. It is also known that there was a Talmudic
academy in Rome which attained distinction in the second
century under the guidance of the "tanna" *Mattiah b.
Heresh.
Early
Middle Ages (313-c. 1100).
[Persecution
for forced conversion from 4th century on by racist
"Church Fathers" - restrictions step by step]
The official acceptance by the Roman Empire of
Christianity as a religion and its subsequent expansion
marked for the Jews the transition from an era of
tolerance to one of subjection. The Christians did not aim
at the complete suppression of Judaism, with which they
acknowledged affinity in certain common origins and
religious convictions. They therefore desired the physical
preservation of the Jews, but only in the role of spectral
witnesses of ancient truths, with limited possibilities of
existence. For this reason, from the fourth century onward
the *Church Fathers increased their efforts to secure new
laws that would restrain the Jews in their religious
practices, limit their political rights, and curb them
both socially and economically; at the same time, they
exerted pressure on them individually to leave their
religion.
*Constantine the Great prohibited conversion to Judaism
and debarred Jews from owning Christian slaves.
Constantius (337-61) extended the prohibition to the
ownership of pagan slaves and prohibited marriages between
Jews and Christian women, imposing the death penalty for
such cases. Church dignitaries sallied forth to the public
squares to preach against the Jews and incite the populace
to destroy their places of worship.
In 315 Sylvester, bishop of Rome, is said to have
sponsored a public debate directed against the Jews; in
388 Philaster, bishop of Brescia, encouraged the populace
of Rome to set fire to a synagogue, and *Ambrose, bishop
of Milan, praised the population of Aquileia for doing the
same, expressing his sorrow that the synagogue in Milan
had not been similarly treated. The emperor *Theodosius II
prohibited the construction of new synagogues, permitting
only those in danger of collapse to be restored but not
enlarged. In addition, he debarred Jews from practicing
law or entering state employment. The legal codes that
bear the names of Theodosius (438) and later of *Justinian
(529-34) established a new status for the Jews as inferior
citizens. They were obliged to carry out numerous special
duties and were excluded from public offices and from
several professions.
The disintegration of the western Roman Empire, the weak
and remote influence of the eastern one, and the lack of
forceful Church leaders, led to continuous changes in the
situation of the Jews in Italy, if not always evidenced by
the sources. Much depended also on which of the invaders
succeeded in gaining the upper hand in the various parts
of Italy. King Theodoric the Ostrogoth proved benevolently
disposed toward the Jews and between 507 and 519
intervened on their behalf against their opponents in
Milan, *Genoa, Rome, and *Ravenna.
[Migration
Period with new persecutions of the Jews]
The Jews actively sided with the Goths when Naples was
besieged by the Byzantine general Belisarius in 536. As a
result they were persecuted by the [racist Christian]
Byzantines when a few decades later they conquered Italy.
Among the popes of this period, only *Gregory I (590-604)
is significant for Jewish history. He afforded the Jews
protection in Rome, Terracina, Naples, Palermo, Ravenna,
and elsewhere against vexations at the hands of local
bishops, missing that although he desired the conversion
of the Jews, he was opposed to attaining this by violence.
The missionary fervor of the eastern emperors was felt in
their Italian possessions, especially in the south. The
Jews in *Oria, Bari, *Brindisi, Taranto, and Otranto
suffered from discriminatory legislation and campaigns of
forcible conversion under the emperors *Basil I in 873-4
and *Romanus I Lecapenus in 932 6.
About the same period, the population in the south
suffered from raids by roving Arab bands from North
Africa. In Sicily, the (col. 1119)
Saracenic conquest (827-1061) brought more stability and
proved beneficial to the Jews of the island.
Toward the end of the 11th century, there were a few Jews
living in northern Italy, mostly in *Verona, *Pavia, and
*Lucca, a considerable nucleus in Rome, and numerous
groups in the south of the country and in Sicily, totaling
a considerable number.
Although the course of the political events affecting the
Jews in these seven centuries is almost completely
unknown, the Venosa tombstone inscriptions, particularly
from the fourth and fifth centuries, and the chronicle of
*Ahimaaz of Oria, which relates events from the ninth
century on, throw some light on the Jews in some centers
in the south. The Jewish occupations are hardly mentioned,
although it is known that there were Jewish artisans and
merchants, and, especially in the south, dyers and silk
weavers, Jews not only owned houses in the towns but also
engaged in farming. Something more is now known about the
state of Jewish culture, especially around the tenth
century. Tombstone inscriptions were by now composed in
Hebrew and not in Latin or Greek as previously. There were
Talmudic academies in Rome and Lucca (connected with the
*Kalonymus family) and in the south, in Venosa, Bari,
Otranto, Oria, and later in *Siponto. A legend telling of
four rabbis from Bari, who after being taken prisoners at
sea in 972 were set free and later established rabbinical
schools in Mediterranean cities (see *Four Captives),
would seem to show that Jewish scholarship in Apulia had
gained a reputation beyond Italy. The scholars whose names
are preserved may be taken to represent the schools or
literary circles which had formed around them.
Of special importance were the liturgical poet *Shephatiah
b. Amittai of Oria (ninth century), the astronomer and
physician Shabbetai *Donnolo (tenth century), who composed
the "Arukh". The "Sefer *Josippon", a Hebrew work based on
Josephus' "Jewish Wars", was probably written by an
Italian Jew in mid-tenth century.
Later
Middle Ages (1100-1300).
Italy in the 13th century shows no change in the
distribution of the Jewish population, which remained
mainly concentrated in the south of the peninsula. Reports
of a considerable Jewish settlement in *Venice are
difficult to verify. there were a few dozen Jewish
families resident in Pisa and Lucca, and isolated families
elsewhere. Only in Rome there were as many as 200
families. The Jews were prosperous and led an active
intellectual life. They lived on good terms with their
[racist] Christian neighbors,including those of highest
rank. It is of no great importance that a Roman Jewish
family which had adopted Christianity, the *Pierleoni
family, produced an anti-pope, *Anacletus II (1130-38),
but it is highly significant that Jehiel *Anav, a nephew
of Nathan b. Jehiel, supervised the finances of Pope
*Alexander III (1159-81). However, the spirit
predominating in the city of Rome must not be confused
with that of the Church, which now renewed its efforts to
assert its authority.
In this period the Jews of Italy were trapped between two
conflicting attitudes manifested by the Church. One is
expressed in the *bull first issued by Pope *Calixtus II
(1119-24), beginning "Sicut Judaeis", which afforded the
Jews protection from assaults against their persons,
property, or religious practices, and from conversionist
pressures, which was confirmed repeatedly by succeeding
popes. The other aspect, manifestly hostile, was
enunciated by the Third *Lateran Council (1179) which
forbade Jews to employ [racist] Christian servants, and by
the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), convened by Pope
*Innocent III, which made efforts to have the Jews placed
in a position of perpetual serfdom and meanwhile
introduced the regulation compelling Jews to wear a
distinguishing *badge on their garments. About (col. 1120)
[Inquisition
and persecutions and expulsions by racist criminal Jesus
Church since 1200]
20 years later the Inquisition began to preoccupy itself
with the Jews, who were submitted to the mercies of the
*Dominican friars. The rabid campaign against the Talmud
initiated in France in 1240 was in due course extended to
Italy. The practice of compelling Jews to attend
conversionist *sermons began in Lombardy in 1278. Jewish
life was still centered, however, in southern Italy and in
Sicily. According to *Benjamin of Tudela, in the late 12th
century there were not fewer than 1,500 Jews in Palermo
and about the same number all told in Apulia and the
Campania. These reached the height of their prosperity
under Frederick II (1212-50), who extended his personal
protection to the Jews and secured them the monopoly of
the silk weaving and dyeing industries and foreign
commerce. He also supported them against the fiscal claims
of the bishops, and took a personal interest in promoting
Jewish culture.
When in 1265 sovereignty of the area passed to the Angevin
rulers, the Jews in the south came under the direct
influence of the Holy See on which the new dynasty was
largely dependent. Under Charles II a *blood libel was
raised against the Jews of *Trani and developed into a
violent crusade to convert all the Jews in the south, then
numbering probably between 12,000 and 15,000. The campaign
lasted until 1294; by then about half the Jewish
population had been forced to abjure their faith, entire
communities had been annihilated, and many of the
synagogues, of which there were four in Trani alone, were
converted into churches. Most of the Jews who did not
submit fled, while others continued to observe their faith
in secret.
Jewish intellectual activity in Italy during this period
is represented by several scholars, who interested
themselves in various fields without predominating in any.
In general, their works on philosophy, ethics, philology,
and Kabbalah reflect the influences of contemporary
Spanish Jewish literature. There were noteworthy Talmudic
academies in Rome and southern Italy, in particular at
Bari and Otranto. Prominent among the scholars in Rome
toward the end of the 12th and during the 13th century,
were *Menahem b. Solomon b. Isaac, a biblical exegete who
also probably arranged the liturgy according to the
"Roman" or Italian rite; the philosopher and biblical
scholar *Zerahiah b. Shealtiel (Hen); and several members
of the Anav family (Benjamin and Zedekiah b. Abraham,
Jehiel b. Jekuthiel, Benjamin b. Judah), who extended
their activities to almost every field of Jewish learning.
Outside Rome, there were the philosopher *Hillel b. Samuel
of Verona, *Isaac b. Melchizedek of Siponto, commentator
on the Mishnah, and the halakhis *Isaiah b. Mali of Trani
(the Elder). Several of these at the same time practiced
medicine, wrote liturgical poetry, and translated from
Latin and Arabic into Hebrew or vice versa. Members of the
ha-Meati family, following in the footsteps of the founder
of the family Nathan b. Eliezer, distinguished themselves
as translators, as also did Jacob *Anatoli of Naples,
*Faraj b. Solomon of Agrigento, and *Ahitub b. Isaac of
Palermo. In their task of spreading knowledge they
received support from the Hohenstaufen and Angevin courts
at Naples. *Judeo-Italian began to be spoken by the Jews
of southern and central Italy in the early Middle Ages
then by all Italian Jewry, toward the 14th-16th centuries.
(col. 1121).
