Intimate Strangers: A History of Jews and Catholics in the City of Rome

Archaeologist Brandfon (religious studies, Coll. of Charleston) traces the history of the often fraught relationship between Jews and Catholics in Rome, the European city where Jews have had the longest continuous presence. Beginning before there were Catholics anywhere, in the 1st century BCE, and continuing into the 21st century, the book details the connections and divisions between the two communities. Brief and intimate characterizations of Roman emperors, medieval popes, and European political figures are mixed in with descriptions of legal and religious interactions. Brandfon follows the development of the Church’s antisemitism and dives deep into the conflicting historical treatments of Pope Pius XII’s actions during the Holocaust, while crediting numerous Italian Catholics with saving their Jewish neighbors during the Nazi occupation of Rome. The author also points out the ambiguity of modern popes embracing Judaism as “the older brother” of Catholicism by reminding the reader of the roles played by older brothers in the Bible.