Jew

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

History of ancient Jerusalem and its people

A look into the Hanukkah celebration

German invasion of Poland: Start of World War II

How Hitler systematically discriminated against Jews

Read Next

Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)

All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

Tisha be-Av (English Ninth of Av). The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Spain being petitioned for mercy. A prelate holds a cross in front of them in warning. Jewish, Spanish Inquisition

Timeline of the Spanish Inquisition

Discover

Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece

Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents

Odissi Indian classical female dancer on white background. (Indian dancer; classical dancer; Indian dance)

6 Classical Dances of India

Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. Amid the action, two Black figures pick cherries in the background, a reference to Washington' slaveholding past and a reminder of of what often gets left out in historical mythmaking.

Did George Washington Really Say, “I Can’t Tell a Lie”?

Title: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, December 14, 1825: repression of the troop mutiny - watercolor by Carl Ivanovitch Kollman, 1825 depicts Decembrist uprising clashing with cavalry, with spectators watching. (new style December 26, 1825) Europe. Saint

8 of the Largest Empires in History

The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

Sailboat against a beautiful landscape

Which Waters Do You Pass Through When You “Sail the Seven Seas”?

Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)

6 Important Mughal Emperors

Jew: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Bodies released by Hamas include some of the oldest and youngest hostages • Feb. 20, 2025, 10:04 PM ET (AP)

Who are the hostages freed by Hamas as part of the ceasefire in Gaza? • Feb. 15, 2025, 4:20 AM ET (AP)

Australian hospital examines patient records after nurse claims to have killed Israelis • Feb. 12, 2025, 7:34 PM ET (AP)

Trump's Gaza plan shocks the world but finds support in Israel • Feb. 6, 2025, 8:34 PM ET (AP)

Why conservative American evangelicals are among Israel's strongest supporters • Feb. 5, 2025, 5:34 PM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	Yehudi • Yĕhūdhī

Did You Know?

Contrary to popular opinions, the newspaper, TV, and movie industries are all dominated by non-Jewish owners, producers, and editors. Jewish members of the media are also not a monolith, and they often disagree with each other politically and personally.
Blood libel, which dates back to medieval Europe, is the anti-Semitic practice of falsely accusing Jews of killing Christian children and then using the blood to make matzah.
Despite conspiracy theories to the contrary, there is not a special tax on kosher foods that goes back to rabbis or anyone else.
Despite overwhelming physical evidence and testimony that Jews were targeted and that six million Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust, about a fifth of Americans believe that the Holocaust may not have happened.

Photos and Videos

History of ancient Jerusalem and its people

A look into the Hanukkah celebration

German invasion of Poland: Start of World War II

How Hitler systematically discriminated against Jews

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

Judaism anti-Semitism Jewish partisan The Holocaust: Facts and Figures Hebrew Israelite Gentile ancient Italic people Rechabite Dobuni Australian Aboriginal peoples African Americans Kizilbash Indigenous American peoples Germanic peoples Hmong Berber

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Martin Buber

Martin Buber

German religious philosopher

Philip IV

Philip IV

king of France

Christopher Columbus

Isabella I

queen of Spain

David Ben-Gurion

David Ben-Gurion

prime minister of Israel

Hermann Göring

Hermann Göring

German minister

Ferdinand and Isabella

Ferdinand II

king of Spain

Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann

Israeli president and scientist

Franz Rosenzweig

German philosopher

The first prime minister of Israel

Golda Meir

prime minister of Israel

Menachem Begin

Menachem Begin

prime minister of Israel

Moshe Dayan.

Moshe Dayan

Israeli statesman

Yitzhak Shamir

Yitzḥak Shamir

prime minister of Israel

Abū Niḍāl

Palestinian leader

Vladimir Jabotinsky

Zionist leader

Ben-Zvi, 1953

Itzhak Ben-Zvi

president of Israel

Frick, Wilhelm

Wilhelm Frick

German politician

Levi Eshkol

Levi Eshkol

prime minister of Israel

Crémieux, lithograph by L.-E. Coedès

Adolphe Crémieux

French politician

Frank, Hans

Hans Frank

German politician and jurist

Louis Darquier de Pellepoix

French politician