Sachar 18-26, Katz 28-41, Mendes-Flohr 10-20,57-60

1. In 1657 the Dutch government gave Jewish traders the same diplomatic protection that the other Dutch citizens received which was a huge step forward for the Jews. The Jews then built a synagogue in Amsterdam that was then considered to be the biggest house of prayer, for any religion, in all of Europe. Regardless of the Jews’ success among newfound gold and silver as well as their newly structured synagogue, not all Europeans respected the Jews and what they could offer the local society and/or economy. The more threatening the Jews seemed, the more cautious Europeans were to do business with them. In fact, it was forbidden to trade with the Dutch in all of London. However, the Jews were able to prosper in France because of the King’s respect for their honesty and work ethic. The King of France was one of the few European leaders that saw the economic potential in the Jewish people. Some new jobs that Jews had begun taking on were distributing silk and satin as well as money lending and banking. Without the restraint of Poll taxes or living situations of ghettos, Jewish businesses were able to communicate and trade with other businesses outside of the Jewish community, a great improvement from past years. Court Jews emerged as wartime workers and were able to create clothing for the army. They also sought out gunpowder, grain, and fodder for the war surplus. Their efforts in the war earned many Jews titles such as Hoffaktor and Hofagent, which allowed them certain privileges and provided them with connections to European nobles and royalty.

2. One change was the arrival of “Court Jews” who were becoming fairly wealthy and had made powerful connections. These “Court Jews” were given special privileges, more so than the average Jewish worker had. However, they did not forget about the “average Jew,” they were middlemen who acted as the voice between the common Jews and European Royalty. Although the Jews’ previous self-governed neighborhoods, or ghettos, were starting to break up as more Jews integrated themselves into European society, countries began to take away the Jew's central, self-government, they began to be integrated into society, they were somewhat liberated from a closed universe of only what they knew and placed in a larger community. The Jews faced less and less anti-Semitism every day. It was because of their involvement in basic society, which also rubbed off on them as they picked up modern, non-religious, customs.

3. John Toland argued for the naturalization of the Jews in Great Britain and Ireland by saying that the Jews would add on to an increasing number of workers that were needed in defending their countries. He stated that Jews were very intelligent and would be the “brains” of several operations to take place in the future. Toland later says that Jews were a very driven and useful group of people, maybe more so than other groups, and that there work ethic was incredibly efficient.