Many know that Jews have been discriminated against for several thousand years. What isn’t well known or agreed on is why there has been so much discrimination against them for so long, and in so many parts of the world.
While many historians and experts have studied the reasons for such discrimination, although theories abound, no clear consensus on that question has emerged.
Prepare to be surprised if not shocked at the many and wide ranging Official Anti-Jewish Acts chronicled below and in other parts of this website.
I. Jewish Discrimination Defined
Official Anti-Jewish Acts for this work are defined as:
“Official Acts against Jews (in some cases against Jews and others), that were in effect for at least a moment in time. Such Official Acts include, but are not limited to, Official Acts issued by governments, militaries and churches, proclamations, church canons, bulls, patents, ordinances, and final court decisions (such as those on the level of a country Supreme Court).”
II. 2,763 Acts by Century
| A. Date | B. Acts | A. Date | B. Acts | ||
| 1. | 400 BC | 2 | 13. | 800 | 2 |
| 2. | 300 | 0 | 14. | 900 | 1 |
| 3. | 200 | 0 | 15. | 1000 | 4 |
| 4. | 100 | 0 | 16. | 1100 | 12 |
| 5. | 0 | 1 | 17. | 1200 | 171 |
| 6. | 100 AD | 0 | 18. | 1300 | 312 |
| 7. | 200 | 0 | 19. | 1400 | 131 |
| 8. | 300 | 24 | 20. | 1500 | 236 |
| 9. | 400 | 20 | 21. | 1600 | 230 |
| 10. | 500 | 18 | 22. | 1700 | 805 |
| 11. | 600 | 14 | 23. | 1800 | 548 |
| 12. | 700 | 1 | 24. | 1900 | 231 |
| Total | 2,763 |
III. 2,763 Acts by Geography[1]
| A. Code | B. Country or Area as of 7/1/2016 | C. Non-Nazi Acts | D. Nazi Era Acts | E. Totals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Non-Eurasian | Africa | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2. | Non-Eurasian / No longer exists | Alexandria, Achaemenid Empire (Present-day Egypt) | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 3. | Present-day Eurasian country | Arab League | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4. | Non-Eurasian | Australia[2] | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5. | Present-day Eurasian country | Austria | 530 | 2 | 532 |
| 6. | Non-Eurasian | Barbados | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7. | No longer exists | Bavaria, From Holy Roman Empire to Modern Germany | 36 | 0 | 36 |
| 8. | Present-day Eurasian country | Belarus | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9. | Present-day Eurasian country | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10. | No longer exists | Bohemia/Habsburg/Moravia | 174 | 0 | 174 |
| 11. | Non-Eurasian | Bolivia | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12. | Present-day Eurasian country | Bulgaria | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13. | Present-day Eurasian country | Croatia | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 14. | Present-day Eurasian country | Czech Republic | 130 | 0 | 130 |
| 15. | Present-day Eurasian country | Denmark | 86 | 0 | 86 |
| 16. | Non-Eurasian | Dominican Republic | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17. | Non-Eurasian | Egypt | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 18. | Present-day Eurasian country | England (Great Britain, UK) | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| 19. | Present-day Eurasian country | Estonia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20. | Present-day Eurasian country | France | 97 | 1 | 98 |
| 21. | Non-Eurasian | French Territories / French West Indies | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 22. | Present-day Eurasian country | Germany, Non-Nazi era[3] | 870 | 0 | 870 |
| 23. | Present-day Eurasian country | Germany / Nazi era | 0 | 119 | 119 |
| 24. | Present-day Eurasian country | Germany / Nazi era Occupied Countries | 0 | 40 | 40 |
| 25. | Present-day Eurasian country | Greece | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 26. | Present-day Eurasian country | Holland | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 27. | No longer exists | Holy Roman Empire | 131 | 0 | 131 |
| 28. | Present-day Eurasian country | Hungary | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 29. | Present-day Eurasian country | Iceland | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30. | Present-day Eurasian country | Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 31. | Present-day Eurasian country | Iraq | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 32. | Present-day Eurasian country | Italy | 50 | 18 | 68 |
| 33. | Non-Eurasian | Jamaica | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 34. | Non-Eurasian | Japan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 35. | Present-day Eurasian country | Latvia | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 36. | Present-day Eurasian country | Libya | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37. | Present-day Eurasian country | Lichtenstein | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 38. | Present-day Eurasian country | Lithuania | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 39. | Present-day Eurasian country | Luxembourg | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 40. | Present-day Eurasian country | Moldova | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 41. | Present-day Eurasian country | Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 42. | Present-day Eurasian country | Norway | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 43. | No longer exists | Papal States | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| 44. | Non-Eurasian | Paraguay | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 45 | Present-day Eurasian country | Philippines | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 46. | Present-day Eurasian country | Poland | 41 | 3 | 44 |
| 47. | Present-day Eurasian country | Portugal | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 48. | No longer exists | Prussia | 161 | 0 | 161 |
| 49. | No longer exists | Roman Empire | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| 50. | Present-day Eurasian country | Romania | 2 | 11 | 13 |
| 51. | Present-day Eurasian country | Russia | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| 52. | Present-day Eurasian country | Serbia | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 53. | Present-day Eurasian country | Slovakia | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 54. | Present-day Eurasian country | Spain | 31 | 0 | 31 |
| 55. | Present-day Eurasian country | Sweden | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 56. | Present-day Eurasian country | Switzerland | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 57. | Present-day Eurasian country | Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 58. | Present-day Eurasian country | Turkey | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 59. | Present-day Eurasian country | Ukraine | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 60. | Non-Eurasian | United States | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 61. | No longer exists | Vatican City | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 62. | Present-day Eurasian country | Venice | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 63. | No longer exists | Vichy France | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 64. | No longer exists | Visigothic Kingdom | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2,539 | 224 | 2,763 |
[1] A Present-day Country is a country still in existence. When a Present-Day Country is listed inside brackets in the Act with other countries (or areas no longer in existence), the first Present-day Country will usually receive credit in the chart for that Act, unless it is a large former geographical region like the Roman Empire. For Nazi-Occupied Acts – although Germany is listed first, the Act is counted in the category “Germany / Nazi era Occupied Countries.” These are the three categories for the countries or areas counted: [back to top]
– NLE = Countries and Empires that no longer exist (NLE); A Present-day country or countries will be listed to show where the NLE formerly existed.
– NEC = Non-Eurasian country/region such as the United States, Canada, Africa.
– PdE = Present-day Eurasian country/region.
[2] “There are no official acts by the Australian Government specifically against Jewish people. All of the anti-Jewish acts in Australia come from individuals and a handful of non government groups.” Peter Wertheim, Executive Director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry in an email response on 11/26/2017. [back to top]
[3] Includes, but not limited to: Archduchy of Mecklenburg-Strelit, Bohemia Electorate of Cologne, Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Duchy of Silesi, Free Imperial City of Frankfurt and Wetterau, Free Imperial City of Mainz, Free Imperial City of Oppenheim, Hanseatic League Braunschweig/Brunswick, Kingdom of Bavaria, Landgraviate of Hesse, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Prince-Bishopric of Passau, Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, Dukedom of Bavaria and County of Palatine, Swabian Imperial Cities of Esslingen, Swedish Pomerania, Wittelsbach Dynasty [back to top]