The dispersion of the Jewish community occurred following the Destruction of the Second Temple, with many Jews settling in different regions across Europe and the Middle East.
During this time, several Jewish communities coalesced across the Levant in approximately fifty known locations, including Jerusalem, Tiberias, Ramleh, Ashkelon and Caesarea.
One Christian priest, commenting on the behavior of the Crusaders in the Balkans, wrote:[3] "This is believed to be the hand of the Lord working against the pilgrims, who sinned in his sight with their great impurity and intercourse with prostitutes and slaughtered the wandering Jews, who admittedly were contrary to Christ, more from avarice for money than for the justice of God.
The attacks were opposed by the local bishops and widely condemned at the time as a violation of the crusades' aims, which were not directed against the Jews.
The crusades resulted in centuries of resentment on both sides and constitute a turning point in the relationship between Jews and Christians.
"[8] One modern-day source even claims the Crusaders "[circled] the screaming, flame-tortured humanity, singing 'Christ We Adore Thee!'
[citation needed] Following the siege, Jews captured from the Dome of the Rock, along with native Christians, were made to clean the city of the slain.
"[12] Numerous Jews and their holy books (including the Aleppo Codex) were held ransom by Raymond of Toulouse.
[13] The Karaite Jewish community of Ashkelon (Ascalon) reached out to their coreligionists in Alexandria to first pay for the holy books and thereafter rescued pockets of Jews over several months.
[15] As the Crusades spread and reached different towns and cities, Christians stood up and attempted to protect Jewish people.
[16] Other German cities had similar experiences, with some towns, such as Mainz, having the local burghers fight against the incoming crusaders.
Robert Chazan's God, Humanity, and History and Shlomo Eidelberg's The Jews and the Crusades, each of which gives background to the narratives and discusses their effects on European Jewry and Christianity.
William of Tyre, Fulcher of Chartres, the Venetian Treaty, the Travels of Saewulf, and John of Wurzburg's Pilgrim Guide all detail Jerusalem but have little, if anything, to say of Europe and the Jews.
Many of the secondary sources on this time period question how important the impact of the crusades was on both the Jewish and Christian communities.
Ivan G. Marcus in his article The Culture of the Early Ashkenaz argues that the Jews pulled away from the Christian community physically, mentally, and spiritually due to the sheer ferocity and shocking nature of the crusades.