On This Day in Jewish History: September 17th, 1394

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#onthisday, 1394, King Charles VI of France issued an order expelling all Jews from France.

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Previously, French Jews had to deal with burning of Torahs, Talmuds, as well additional taxes and economic restrictions on Jews.

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Jews were blamed for the Black Plague in France and had been expelled numerous times, both on local and a national scales.

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During the 13th and 14th centuries, many cities decided to temporarily expel their Jews and France itself expelled them in 1306.

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In 1315, they were invited back but had to pay to be allowed in. Jews were also not allowed to discuss Judaism publicly and had to wear a distinctive badge to show everyone that they were Jews.

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Suddenly, in 1394 King Charles VI decided that he wanted to expel the Jews again. They were given a short period of time to sell their possessions before being escorted out of the country.

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Unlike with previous expulsions, this one was not temporary, rather it lasted centuries.

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There was no Jewish population in France until the 1700’s when many Jews, fleeing discrimination from Eastern Europe returned to France.

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The conditions of Jewish life in France improved after the French Revolution and during the period of Enlightenment.

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Jews were given full citizenship and rights, but they still faced outright discrimination and unabashed antisemitism – culminating in the Dreyfus Affair of the late 19th, early 20th centuries.

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During the Holocaust, most French Jews escaped but about 75,000 ended up in concentration camps.

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Today, antisemitism in France has grown considerably and at an alarming rate – becoming the community of Diaspora Jews with highest rate of emigration to Israel in the last 10 years.

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Text Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-charles-vi-of-france-orders-all-jews-expelled

https://fromrome.info/2020/03/01/on-the-expulsion-of-jews-from-western-catholic-monarchies-part-ii/

Image Source: https://fromrome.info/2020/03/01/on-the-expulsion-of-jews-from-western-catholic-monarchies-part-ii/

✍: @rebeccaroth01

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