Editing Voltaire (section)

=== Judaism ===
According to Orthodox rabbi [[Joseph Telushkin]], the most significant Enlightenment hostility against Judaism was found in Voltaire;<ref name="Why?">[[Dennis Prager|Prager, D]]; [[Joseph Telushkin|Telushkin, J]]. ''Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism''. New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], 1983, pp. 128–89.</ref> 30 of the 118 articles in his ''[[Dictionnaire philosophique]]'' dealt with Jews or Judaism, describing them in consistently negative ways.<ref>[[Léon Poliakov|Poliakov, L]]. ''The History of Anti-Semitism: From Voltaire to Wagner''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1975 (translated). pp. 88–89.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Voltaire |first=François-Marie |url=https://archive.org/details/essaisurlesmurs04voltgoog |title=Essai sur les Moeurs |publisher=Garnery |year=1827}} See also: {{cite book|last=Voltaire|first=François-Marie|title=Dictionnaire Philosophique|year=1789|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionnairephi11voltgoog}}</ref> For example, in Voltaire's ''A Philosophical Dictionary'', he wrote of Jews: "In short, we find in them only an ignorant and barbarous people, who have long united the most sordid avarice with the most detestable superstition and the most invincible hatred for every people by whom they are tolerated and enriched."<ref name=":1">Voltaire. 1843. ''A Philosophical Dictionary'', p. 94</ref> Telushkin states that Voltaire did not limit his attack to aspects of Judaism that Christianity used as a foundation, repeatedly making it clear that he despised Jews.<ref name="Why?" />

On the other hand, [[Peter Gay]], a contemporary authority on the Enlightenment,<ref name="Why?" /> points to Voltaire's remarks (for instance, that the Jews were more tolerant than the Christians) in the ''Traité sur la tolérance'' and surmises that "Voltaire struck at the Jews to strike at Christianity". Whatever anti-semitism Voltaire may have felt, Gay suggests, derived from negative personal experience.<ref>[[Peter Gay|Gay, P]]. ''The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment''. Alfred Knopf, 1964, pp. 103–05.</ref>

[[Arthur Hertzberg]], a [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative Rabbi]], claims that Gay's second suggestion is untenable, as Voltaire himself denied its validity when he remarked that he had "forgotten about much larger bankruptcies through Christians".{{clarify|date=June 2016}}<ref>[[Arthur Hertzberg|Hertzberg, A]]. ''The French Enlightenment and the Jews''. Columbia University, 1968, p. 284.</ref> However, Bertram Schwarzbach's far more detailed studies of Voltaire's dealings with Jewish people throughout his life concluded that he was anti-biblical, not anti-semitic. His remarks on the Jews and their "superstitions" were essentially no different from his remarks on Christians.<ref>(Schwarzbach, Bertram), "Voltaire et les juifs: bilan et plaidoyer", Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century (SVEC) 358, Oxford</ref>

Voltaire said of the Jews that they "have surpassed all nations in impertinent fables, in bad conduct and in barbarism. You deserve to be punished, for this is your destiny."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zeitlin |first1=Irving M. |title=Jews The Making of a Diaspora People |date=2012 |publisher=Polity Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fenby |first1=Jonathan |title=The History of Modern France From the Revolution to the War on Terror |date=2015 |publisher=Simon & Schuster}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Samuels |first1=Maurice |title=Inventing the Israelite Jewish Fiction in Nineteenth-Century France |date=2009 |publisher=Stanford University Press |page=266}}</ref> He further said, "They are, all of them, born with raging fanaticism in their hearts, just as the Bretons and the Germans are born with blond hair. I would not be in the least bit surprised if these people would not some day become deadly to the human race."<ref>{{cite book |title=History of the Jews in Modern Times |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=James |title=Constantine's Sword The Church and the Jews – A History |date=2002 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rousseau |first1=G. S. |title=The Languages of Psyche Mind and Body in Enlightenment Thought |date=1990 |publisher=University of California Press |page=413}}</ref>

Some authors link Voltaire's [[anti-Judaism]] to his [[polygenism]]. According to [[Joxe Azurmendi]] this anti-Judaism has a relative importance in Voltaire's philosophy of history. However, Voltaire's anti-Judaism influenced later authors like [[Ernest Renan]].<ref>[[Joxe Azurmendi|Azurmendi, Joxe]] (2014). ''Historia, arraza, nazioa''. Donostia: Elkar, pp. 177–86. {{ISBN|978-84-9027-297-8}}</ref>

Voltaire did have a Jewish friend, [[Daniel de Fonseca]], whom he esteemed highly, and proclaimed him as "the only philosopher, perhaps, among the Jews of his time".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Friedenwald |first=Harry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfLdrTb69fMC |title=The Jews and Medicine |date=1944 |publisher=Johns Hopkins Press |page=725 |language=en}}</ref>

Voltaire condemned the persecution of Jews on several occasions, including in ''[[Henriade]]'', and he never advocated violence or attacks against them.<ref name=":1" />{{sfn|Durant|Durant|1967|p=629}} According to the historian [[Will Durant]], Voltaire praised the simplicity, sobriety, regularity, and industry of Jews, but subsequently became strongly anti-Semitic after some personal financial transactions and quarrels with Jewish financiers. In his ''[[Essai sur les mœurs et l'esprit des nations|Essai sur les moeurs]]'' Voltaire denounced the ancient Hebrews in strong language. The anti-Semitic passages in Voltaire's ''Dictionnaire philosophique'' were criticized by [[Isaac de Pinto|Isaac De Pinto]] in 1762. Subsequently, Voltaire agreed with the criticism of the anti-Semitic passages and stated that De Pinto's letter convinced him that there are "highly intelligent and cultivated people" among the Jews and that he had been "wrong to attribute to a whole nation the vices of some individuals";{{sfn|Durant|Durant|1967|p=630}} he also promised to revise the objectionable passages for forthcoming editions of the ''Dictionnaire philosophique'', but he failed to do so.{{sfn|Durant|Durant|1967|p=630}}