Persecution of Jewish Physicians 1161

The persecution of Jewish physicians and their colleagues is a recurring theme in medical history. For example, in 1161, 86 Jews were burned alive as punishment for an alleged plot by Jewish doctors to poison the citizens of Bohemia in Central Europe. Around 1348, many Jews were massacred for allegedly causing the Black Death (plague) in Europe, despite the fact that many Jews also died of the plague. In 1610, according to the medical faculty of the University of Vienna, Jewish laws compelled Jewish doctors to kill Christians by poisoning them. The German theologian and father of Protestantism, Martin Luther, wrote: “If they (the Jews) could kill us all, they would gladly do so. They do it often, especially those who pretend to be doctors." Luther also called on people to "burn their synagogues."

Several popes in medieval Europe prohibited Christians from seeking help from Jewish doctors, and later, in the 17th century, clergymen in Württemberg declared, "It was better to die with Jesus than to be treated by a Jewish doctor who had received help from the devil". In 1938, Germany revoked the licenses of Jewish doctors. The resulting shortage of physicians forced Germany to shorten medical training by two years.

In the years before World War II, the United States limited the numbers of Jewish medical students and doctors in its medical schools. To assess whether an applicant was Jewish, administrators examined student names and asked about religious beliefs on medical school applications. In 1940, the dean of Cornell University's medical school limited the number of Jews allowed into each class, and applications from Jewish candidates at Yale School of Medicine were marked with the letter H for Hebrew. In 1945, the director of Columbia University's Neurological Institute was told to fire all the Jews in his department or resign. He resigned.

Even today, Jewish healthcare professionals sometimes face bizarre accusations. In 1988, a Chicago deputy mayor accused Jews of injecting African Americans with the AIDS virus, and in 1997, a leading Palestinian representative claimed that Israelis were injecting Palestinian children with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).

Description of the article image: A drawing by the German physician, historian, and cartographer Hartmann Schedel (1440–1514) showing Jews being burned alive during the Black Death.

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Martin Luther (1483–1546)

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