Amsterdam Jewish Community - Research Paper Example

They were fearful of disclosing their identity and survived by pretending to be Spanish traders or business men. They kept their religion as a secret. A lot of Jews accredit a Rabbi named Menasseh ben Israel, as the one responsible for re-admitting them into the country. He was based in Amsterdam and is valued very much in the Jewish community. There were different motives behind this re-acceptance of Jews back in England and cannot be attributed solely to Cornwell’s generosity. One reason was that if a proper Jewish community could be established in London it would be very beneficial for Amsterdam with respect to trade purposes.

Jews had strong ties with East and West Indies and if they could be settled in Amsterdam, trade through this Jewish community could flourish. Amsterdam could be established as a commercial hub then. According to religious beliefs, most Christians believed that it was important for all Jews to be converted into Christianity before Christ comes back to rule this world. For this reason, many Jews were accepted back into England. There was a belief among numerous Christians that Christ would descend to this Earth in 1656 only.

Jews all around the world revere the contributions of Menasseh ben Israel. He was the sole figure for celebration in 1906 on the 250th anniversary of this grand event. Menasseh ben Israel was born in Lisbon in 1604. . He published a pamphlet in 1651, which grabbed the attention of Cromwell. In this pamphlet, he appealed to Cromwell to allow Jews back in their country; England (Jewish Heritage Online Magazine). Menasseh ben Israel paid a visit to London along with his delegation and family members in 1655.

He met personally with Cromwell and presented to him a petition for allowing Jews to re-enter into England. Cromwell, Menasseh ben Israel along with a committee of the council of State had a meeting in London to discuss the issue of re-entry of Jews. It was decided that a conference should be arranged in order to discuss this issue further. The petition that was presented to Cromwell demanded rights regarding the citizenship, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. It also requested to allow Jews to enter into trade alliances and that all regulations and policies and regulations against Jews should be uplifted.

Plus, there should be separate burial grounds granted to the Jews (Jewish Heritage Online Magazine). The conference remained indecisive for a long time. The committee kept meeting at frequent intervals but a strict decision regarding the issue could not be reached. However, one thing was clearly evident. It was clear that British people had developed a greater tolerance level and acceptability for the Jews. Therefore, Cromwell allowed all Jews to practice their religion privately just like they had done in the past.

After some time a synagogue and a burial ground was made for the Jews. This progress was very important for strengthening the relations between Jews and the Britishers. For this reason, Jews celebrate anniversaries accordingly (Menasseh Ben Israel’s Apology for the Jews). The pamphlet that was submitted to Cromwell in the form of the petition