This major exhibition explores the role of money in Jewish life and its vexed place in relations between Jews and non-Jews, from the time of Jesus to the 21st century. It examines the origins of some of the longest running and deeply entrenched antisemitic stereotypes: the theological roots of the association of Jews with money; the myths and reality of the medieval Jewish moneylender; and the place of Jews – real and imagined – in commerce, capitalism and finance up to the present day. A book accompanies the exhibition.
This cutting-edge exhibition, and accompany book, explore how blood, in its regulation and its representation, has been interpreted and traded as a symbol between Jews and non-Jews through the centuries, with a particular focus on the real and symbolic links between Christian and Jews. The exhibition draws together religious, historical and medical artefacts, as well as literature, art, film and cultural ephemera.
The founding principle of the Institute is that the study of antisemitism is vital to understanding racialization, racism and religious intolerance.