The Pope decreed the the Jews of Rome should be confined to a ghetto as a happy solution between exclusion and expulsion. You see, the presence of Jews was beneficial to Venice in that they were moneylenders. This particular service was very favorable to the social and economic interests of the city. So instead of simply throwing the Jews out or letting them be full citizens, the Venetian government confined them to the ghetto and reaped the benefits of the service that the moneylenders offered. The ghettos gave Jews a safe space--but let us not forget that “separate but equal” is still a deeply unfair and prejudiced model to follow.
3.) What is “raison d’état” and what impact did it have upon the lives of Jews in Italy?
“Raison d’état” means “interest of the state”. In Venice, the presence of Jews was a topic to be discussed in terms of the best interest of the state. There was a great fear that the Jews posed a threat to Christians in Venice. Resentment for the Jews and prejudice against them was also very popular, but their presence was in the best “interest of the state” because they gave to the poor with interest. Basically, the Jews were being used for their resources but were not respected as a people. Of course, though many people only wanted the Jews around if it benefitted them, there were still those in Italy who wanted the Jews out regardless of the benefits their presence brought about. Most of this opposition was religiously-charged; many believed that God would get angry that the Jews were allowed to stay in Venice, and they would be punished.
There were a number of reasons why the pope wished for the jews of Italy to be confined to a ghetto. To begin with by isolating jews to only a certain area of the city it contained where jews could live and any influence they might have on Christian neighbors. There was a fear on the part of the Church that if jews were allowed to live close to people with power within the city they could influence these individuals. When we consider how jews who immigrated to the Ottoman Empire were able to become close friends with many influential Muslims such a fear is understandable. By isolating them to one area it ensured that they would not have the means to reach out to other members of the community. At the same time ghettos were meant to prevent jews from displaying their wealth to the rest of the city. As moneylenders jews could become wealthy through good investment. If they were allowed they might move into the wealthy affluent areas of the city. At the same time confining jews to their ghetto also made their removal from the city easy to accomplish, should the need arrive.
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