Ma’amar ‘al Yehude Venetsyah (Discorso circa il stato de gl’Hebrei et in particolar dimoranti nell’inclita cittá di Venetia)

Luzzatto, Simone; Dan Lattes (trans.) . Ma’amar ‘al Yehude Venetsyah (Discorso circa il stato de gl’Hebrei et in particolar dimoranti nell’inclita cittá di Venetia). Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1951. 8vo. 175pp. Red quarter cloth over brown cloth in original printed dust jacket. Hebrew translation of Simone Luzzatto’s classic Italian defense of Jews. This seventeenth century work of Jewish apologetics makes the case for Jewish tolerance on secular grounds in the sense that the presence of Jews is ultimately beneficial to the economy of the host country. Along with Menasseh Ben Israel’s similar plea for tolerance, this work stands as an important step in the evolution of Jewish-Christian relations. Jews are beginning to have to defend themselves not against the old religious prejudices, but against a secular and economcially based anti-Semitism. Text in Hebrew translated from Italian. Dj scratched and stained. Stamp from previous owner on endpapers. Overall in good condition. g. Hardcover. (35775) $50