ABSTRACT
The rise of anti-Semitism during the second half of the nineteenth century challenged the gains that Jews had made during that century. Initially a central and western European phenomenon, anti-Semitism differed fundamentally from the earlier expression of anti-Judaism. The latter was primarily religious – the Jew as guilty of deicide and in league with Satan – with an economic component: the Jew as usurer. By contrast, anti-Semitism condemned Jews in racial and political terms. Like anti-Jewish sentiments, though, anti-Semitism appealed to a varied and broad audience. It could be tailored to win believers among the uneducated masses, but also appealed to an educated audience.
