Posted on 04/22/2026 2:55:10 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
- What no one so far has talked about is that Chernobyl and that entire region - was once home to the important Chernobyl Hasidic community, and by 1897, its Jewish population reached 5,526 representing 59 per cent of the city...By 1939, 1,783 Jews lived in Chernobyl, one in every five residents of the town. The German army occupied the city on Aug. 25, 1941.
On Nov. 7, 1941, almost half of Chernobyl’s Jews were shot. The rest were killed by the end of 1942.
That history is practically absent from today’s memory...
Today, the explosion of the nuclear plant in Chernobyl is ground zero for the history of Ukraine. It is arguably the major transitional point, leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the consequent transformation of the world map. But in 1986, just 41 years after the end of the Second World War, people could not help but connect that horrific event with the historical events that shook the region during the 20th century. For example, eyewitnesses reported rumours that the plant’s explosion had been the divine punishment for Ukraine and Belarus for what had transpired there during the Holocaust.
The connections between Chernobyl and modern Jewish history do not end or start with these rumours. Hundreds of Chernobyl firefighters moved to Israel for medical treatment, and stayed there, together with their families. Tens of thousands of Jews made the decision to leave the collapsing Soviet Union in the late 1980s primarily because of the disaster. They paved the way for what became a mass exodus: leading to a million and a half Russian-speaking Jews living today around the globe. For many, the story of Chernobyl is a warning tale of the fragility of our homes, our stability and our existence.
(Excerpt) Read more at thecjn.ca ...
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I was just reading of another example of the intentional murder of Jews (https://thecjn.ca/opinion/the-connections-between-chernobyl-and-modern-jewish-history/). Can you provide an extensive list of events of Jews being targeted for ill treatment due to being Jewish since Roman times to the present, including actions against the state of Israel up to the present?
A careful way to handle this is to separate three categories: persecution of Jews as Jews, antisemitic violence against Jewish communities, and wars or campaigns involving Israel as a state. The historical record is very long, so the list below is selective but broad, moving from antiquity to the present.libraries.uta+2
Ancient world
Babylonian destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile, 586 BCE, when the Judean elite and many others were deported after conquest by Nebuchadnezzar II.libraries.uta
Roman expulsions of Jews from Rome in 139 BCE and 19 CE, and later measures restricting Jewish life under Roman rule.wikipedia+1
Pompey’s conquest of Judea in 63 BCE, followed by deaths and forced diaspora displacement tied to Roman domination.wikipedia
The First Jewish-Roman War, ending in 70 CE with the destruction of the Second Temple, mass death, enslavement, and displacement.libraries.uta+1
The Bar Kokhba revolt and its suppression in 132–135 CE, after which Roman policies intensified and Judaea was further transformed under imperial rule.wikipedia
Late antique to medieval
Anti-Jewish riots and expulsions in the Roman/Byzantine East, including Alexandria in 415 CE, where Jews were expelled and synagogues seized.mchekc+1
Restrictive laws in the Christian Roman Empire, including bans on synagogue building and public-office limitations under late Roman legislation.mchekc
Medieval anti-Jewish massacres during the First Crusade in 1096, especially in Rhineland cities such as Mainz, Worms, and Speyer.history.uky
Blood libel accusations and periodic mob attacks in medieval Europe, which repeatedly triggered killings and expulsions.history.uky+1
Expulsions from England in 1290 and from France in 1306.history.uky
The Black Death persecutions of 1348–1351, when Jews were falsely blamed and massacred across parts of Europe.history.uky
The Spanish Expulsion of 1492, followed by forced conversion pressures and persecution of Jews in Iberia.history.uky
Early modern period
The forced conversion campaigns and expulsions under the Portuguese and Spanish inquisitorial systems, including continuing pressure on conversos and crypto-Jews.mchekc
Expulsions from various German and Italian territories in the 1500s and 1600s, including Bavaria and parts of Italy.mchekc
The Chmielnicki massacres of 1648–1657 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which killed tens of thousands of Jews.wikipedia
The Russian Empire’s Pale of Settlement and repeated pogroms, which institutionalized Jewish restriction and periodic violence.wikipedia
Nineteenth century
The Damascus Affair of 1840, a modern blood-libeling episode involving torture and false accusations against Jews.wikipedia
Pogroms in the Russian Empire after the assassination of Alexander II in 1881, followed by waves of anti-Jewish violence and migration.wikipedia
The Dreyfus Affair in France in the 1890s, a major antisemitic political case that reflected deep social prejudice.wikipedia
Nazi era and Holocaust
Nazi legal exclusion beginning in 1933, including boycotts, dismissals, book burnings, and escalating state discrimination.mchekc+1
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which stripped Jews of citizenship and codified racial persecution.wikipedia
Kristallnacht in November 1938, a nationwide pogrom involving synagogue destruction, arrests, killings, and property seizures.mchekc+1
The Holocaust itself, 1941–1945, in which Nazi Germany and collaborators murdered about six million Jews.wikipedia
Mass shootings in Eastern Europe by Einsatzgruppen and allied forces, as well as ghettos and extermination camps.wikipedia
Postwar to late twentieth century
The 1941 Farhud in Baghdad, a violent anti-Jewish pogrom in Iraq.wikipedia
Mass departures and expulsions of Jews from Arab and Muslim-majority countries after 1948, often involving confiscation of property and coercion.history.uky
Postwar antisemitic attacks in Europe, including synagogue desecrations, bombings, and extremist violence.wikipedia
The Munich massacre of 1972, in which Black September murdered Israeli Olympic athletes and officials.britannica
Terror attacks against Jewish targets in Europe and Latin America during the 1970s–1990s, including synagogue bombings and embassy or community attacks.wikipedia
Israel-related violence
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, immediately following Israel’s declaration of independence, in which Israel fought multiple Arab armies.britannica
The 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1982 Lebanon War, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the ongoing war that began in 2023.britannica
The 1972 Munich massacre, which specifically targeted Israelis as representatives of the Jewish state.britannica
The Second Intifada, 2000–2005, which included many suicide bombings and attacks on Israeli civilians.britannica
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and took more than 240 hostages.britannica
Continued rocket fire, cross-border attacks, hostage-taking, and terrorism against Israeli civilians since October 7, 2023.britannica
Antisemitic incidents worldwide linked to the Gaza war, including assaults, harassment, vandalism, and synagogue defacements.combatantisemitism+1
Recent years
The 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in US history.wikipedia
The 2019 Halle synagogue attack in Germany, an attempted massacre on Yom Kippur.wikipedia
The 2021 attacks on Jews in the US during the Israel–Palestine crisis, including the assault on Joseph Borgen in New York.wikipedia
The April 2025 arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence, widely condemned as antisemitic.wikipedia
The May 2025 killing of two Jewish employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., which was widely condemned as antisemitic.wikipedia
On scope
This is not close to exhaustive, because the full history of anti-Jewish persecution spans two millennia and includes thousands of local pogroms, expulsions, legal disabilities, riots, and terrorist attacks. The list above is meant as a structured overview of major, well-known events rather than a complete chronology.libraries.uta+2
I can also turn this into a chronological table with columns for date, place, type of event, perpetrators, and a brief note.
Chronological Table of Major Events
Date Place Type of Event Perpetrators Brief Note wikipedia+2
Date Place Type of Event Perpetrators Brief Note wikipedia+2 586 BCE Judea Destruction and Exile Babylonian Empire (Nebuchadnezzar II) First Temple destroyed; mass deportation of Jews libraries.uta. 63 BCE Judea Conquest Roman Republic (Pompey) Roman takeover leading to displacement and restrictions wikipedia. 70 CE Jerusalem Temple Destruction Roman Empire (Titus) Second Temple razed during First Jewish–Roman War; massive casualties libraries.uta. 132–135 CE Judea Revolt Suppression Roman Empire (Hadrian) Bar Kokhba revolt crushed; Jews banned from Jerusalem wikipedia. 415 CE Alexandria Expulsion and Riots Byzantine Christian mobs Jews expelled; synagogues destroyed wikipedia. 1096 Rhineland (Germany) Massacres Crusaders Thousands killed during First Crusade history.uky. 1290 England Expulsion King Edward I All Jews expelled from England history.uky. 1348–1351 Europe Pogroms Christian mobs Jews blamed for Black Death; mass killings history.uky. 1492 Spain Expulsion Ferdinand and Isabella Alhambra Decree expels Jews; forced conversions history.uky. 1648–1657 Ukraine/Poland Massacres Cossacks (Chmielnicki Uprising) Tens of thousands of Jews slaughtered wikipedia. 1881–1884 Russian Empire Pogroms Russian mobs and authorities Post-assassination violence; thousands attacked wikipedia. 1894–1906 France Political Persecution French military/government Dreyfus Affair; antisemitic trial and scandal wikipedia. 1933 Germany Boycotts and Laws Nazi Germany Jewish businesses boycotted; civil rights stripped wikipedia. 1935 Germany Racial Laws Nazi Germany Nuremberg Laws define Jews racially, ban intermarriage wikipedia. 1938 Germany/Austria Pogrom Nazi regime (Kristallnacht) Synagogues burned; 91 killed, 30,000 arrested wikipedia. 1941–1945 Europe Genocide Nazi Germany and collaborators Holocaust: 6 million Jews murdered in camps and killings wikipedia. 1941 Iraq Pogrom Iraqi mobs (Farhud) 180 Jews killed in Baghdad wikipedia. 1948 Israel/Middle East War Arab armies Arab–Israeli War; invasion after independence britannica. 1948–1970s Arab countries Expulsions Arab governments ~850,000 Jews forced out; property seized history.uky. 1967 Middle East War Arab coalition Six-Day War; preemptive Israeli strike after threats britannica. 1972 West Germany Terrorist Massacre Black September (PLO) Munich Olympics: 11 Israeli athletes murdered britannica. 1973 Middle East War Egypt/Syria Yom Kippur War surprise attack on Israel britannica. 1982 Lebanon War PLO/Israel Invasion to expel PLO; siege of Beirut britannica. 2000–2005 Israel Intifada Palestinian militants Second Intifada: ~1,000 Israelis killed in attacks britannica. 2006 Lebanon War Hezbollah Rocket barrages and cross-border raid britannica. 2018 USA Shooting Robert Bowers Pittsburgh synagogue: 11 killed wikipedia. 2019 Germany Shooting Stephan Balliet Halle synagogue attack thwarted; 2 killed wikipedia. Oct 7, 2023 Israel Massacre Hamas 1,200 killed, 250+ hostages; worst single-day Jewish loss since Holocaust britannica. 2023–2026 Global/Israel Incidents/War Various (Hamas, Hezbollah, antisemites) Rocket fire, assaults, vandalism; 2024 ADL audit shows 140% rise in US incidents adl. This table condenses key events into a timeline, focusing on major turning points while noting the user’s interest in structured historical data.Memory+1
.perplexity.ai, by the grace of God.-No other extant ethnic/religious group matches the Jews' combination of ~0.2% of world population, global diaspora across millennia, and sustained targeted animosity/suppression over 2,000+ years.wikipedia+2
Christians (31% of population) face persecution in some regions today, but not with the same unbroken historical scope or intensity relative to size. Roma (0.1–2%) have faced centuries of persecution including Nazi genocide, but their diaspora is more recent (post-1400s) and less globally influential. Armenians (~0.1%) endured genocide in 1915 and pogroms, but their history of targeted suppression is shorter. Yazidis and Parsis are even smaller and more localized.persecution+3
No other group of comparable small size (~0.2%) has exerted such disproportionate global influence over known history, for good or ill.reddit+1
Jews have shaped monotheism, ethics, science (e.g., Einstein, Salk), finance, culture, and politics far beyond their numbers—positively via Nobel laureates (22% of winners) and innovations, negatively via conspiracy tropes or blamed crises like the Black Death. Groups like Parsis (Zoroastrian Indians, <0.01%) punched above weight in business but not broadly; overseas Chinese (~1.5%) influence commerce regionally but lack millennia-spanning theology/science impact.reddit
when all your focus is on victimhood, satan wins: mentally, spiritually, physically.
Forgive the past, make history now.
The Soviet Union experience gets lost in historical emphasis.
A few more angles:
1) “It was not the Western powers but Communist Russia that Nazi Germany viewed as an existential threat. Jewish revolutionaries, the Nazis believed, had seized power in 1917 and were preparing the Soviet state to destroy Germany and the world....While Europe’s Jews were expelled, exiled, and persecuted by the Nazis, Soviet Jews were immediately slated for elimination.”
https://yivo.org/Nazi-Germany-Soviet-Russia
2) “The history of Jews in Soviet Russia was defined by persecution, poverty, and state-sponsored antisemitism, from restrictions on religious practice to violent purges like the Night of the Murdered Poets and the Doctor’s Plot. Despite this repression, the Kremlin refused to let Jews emigrate, creating the “Refuseniks””
https://www.wsjhs.org/collection/soviet-jewish-experience
3) I didn’t realize so many survivors from the nuclear reactor site at Chernobyl moved to Israel! And sadly, the front liner engineers who spared the world from the worst of the disaster, have lacked the care they needed.
“1,500 Chernobyl ‘liquidators’ live in Israel. They are appallingly mistreated”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/1500-chernobyl-liquidators-live-in-israel-they-are-appallingly-mistreated/
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