Jews have also played roles that were banned by the dominant religion (as with money-lending in medieval Europe), which is not exactly the same thing as being agents of the ruling class. (Jewish money-lenders weren't all like the Fuggers; they lent to the working classes, too.) In this, they have been similar to several other ethnic minorities in different historical eras (e.g., those from the Indian subcontinent in East Africa, ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia). Like the Jews, those other groups have also been the target of ethnic/religious hatred. Jim Devine
I am not talking about money lending here; I am talking about a specific situation in Poland in which the Jews played a specific role in "managing" the serfs for the landed aristocracy. I am talking about the way the Jews have been specifically used to mask class conflict ...which might be why Marx was so conscious of the reality and mechanism of this conflict.
Joanna
