Facing the Cross

The events that occurred when the Crusader armies marched on Jerusalem in the spring and summer of 1096 AD were deeply etched in the collective memory of the Jewish people. They created in this memory an early template and prototype for the disasters that occurred later. Contemporaries and even more so those who came after them, including historians, gave the events of those days a wealth of meanings and interpretations.

Did these decrees constitute a turning point in the history of European Jewry? Did they herald a new era, in which the status of the Jews would change fundamentally compared to previous periods? How reliable are the Hebrew chronicles that describe the Jewish response to the persecutions? Should the chronicles be treated as historical literature? Whatever our judgments regarding the historical reality of 1096, the implications of the decrees on the lives of the Jews in Central and Western Europe were undoubtedly comprehensive and far-reaching. The decrees left their mark on the consciousness, on their leaders, and on all aspects of the lives of the Jews of the region and beyond.

The articles presented in the collection were written by the best experts in the field, they cover a wide range and discuss all the important aspects of the decrees of the gods - in reality and in consciousness, in images and hallucinations, of Jews and Christians.