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Where did many Jewish communities move after expulsions from western Europe?
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antisemitism
Demonstrators protesting antisemitism during a silent march in Paris. The march commemorated Mireille Knoll, a Jewish woman who had survived the Holocaust and was murdered in her home on March 23, 2018, in what authorities called a hate crime.
Following the systemic persecution and expulsions of Jewish communities from western Europe during the Middle Ages, many Jews sought refuge in regions where they could find greater security and economic opportunity.
- Polish Lands: Beginning in the 13th century, many Jews fled antisemitic violence and massacres in Germany, Bohemia, Austria, and Italy to settle in Poland. They were often welcomed by rulers like Prince Bolesław V, who granted them legal protections and autonomy, and later by the nobility, who recruited them to manage estates and develop trade routes. By the 18th century, a significant portion of the global Jewish population resided within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.1
- North Africa and Portugal: Following the 1492 expulsion from Spain, many Jews departed for North Africa and Portugal, while others settled in Navarre.2
These migrations were driven by the necessity to escape state-sanctioned marginalization and violence, reflecting the broader history of displacement faced by Jewish communities in the face of persistent antisemitism.21