In the Jewish diaspora, a Jewish quarter (also known as jewry, juiverie, Judengasse, Jewynstreet, Jewtown, Juderiaorproto-ghetto)[1] is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding Christian authorities. A Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or neighborhood is "Di yiddishe gas" (Yiddish: די ייִדישע גאַס ), or "The Jewish quarter."[2] While in Ladino, they are known as maalé yahudí, meaning "The Jewish quarter".
Jewish quarters in Europe existed for a number of reasons. In some cases, Christian authorities wished to segregate Jews from the Christian population so that Christians would not be "contaminated" by them [citation needed] or so as to put psychological pressure on Jews to convert to Christianity. From the Jewish point of view, concentration of Jews within a limited area offered a level of protection from outside influences or mob violence. In many cases, residents had their own justice system.
When political authorities designated an area where Jews were required by law to live, such areas were commonly referred to as ghettos, and were usually coupled with many other disabilities and indignities. The areas chosen usually consisted of the most undesirable areas of a city.
In the English city of Norwich, the Jewish quarter was close to the castle, as a source of protection in times of local pogroms. This pattern was seen in other English towns, where Jews were under the protection of the Normans.[3]
In the 19th century, Jewish ghettos were progressively abolished, and their walls taken down, though some areas of Jewish concentration continued and continue to exist. In some cities, Jewish quarters refer to areas which historically had concentrations of Jews. For example, many maps of Spanish towns mark a "Jewish Quarter", though Spain hasn't had a significant Jewish population for over 500 years.
Over the course of World War II, Nazi Germany reestablished Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe (which they called Jewish quarters) for the purpose of segregation, persecution, terror, and exploitation of Jews, mostly in Eastern Europe. According to USHMM archives, "The Germans established at least 1,000 ghettos in German-occupied and annexed Poland and the Soviet Union alone."[4]
Prague-Josefov, which was demolished between 1893 and 1913The Warsaw Ghetto in May 1941Jewish Quarter of Třebíč, Czech RepublicThe entrance, called the "Port de la Calandre", to the Jewish Quarter in Avignon, France.Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Troyes, FranceJewish cemetery of Legnica, PolandJewish Quarter of Caltagirone, Italy
Damascus – Ḥārat al-Yahūd, a recently restored tourist destination popular among Europeans before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war where vacationers can stay in the neighborhood and beautified former homes of the completely vanished ancient Jewish community.[9]
Colonial Calle de los Judíos (Jewish quarter) in Lima, Peru, painting of 1866 by Manuel A. Fuentes and Firmin Didot, Brothers, Sons & Co. University of Chicago Library.[10]
In the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa there are a number of neighborhoods or small towns, generally in large cities or outlying communities of such, which are home to large concentrations of Jewish residents, much in the manner of old-world Jewish quarters or other ethnic enclaves, though without exclusive Jewish population.
