Judaism

Judaism was one of the major religions of Earth. It was practised by the Jewish people, who spoke Hebrew.

It forbade the consumption of anything deemed "not kosher". Kosher was a set of Jewish dietary laws.

The laws were as follows: anything meat must have cloven hooves and chew its cud for it to be Kosher, any fish has to have fins and scales for it to be considered Kosher. Anything made out of fruits or vegetables was automatically Kosher.

It forbade the eating of pig products, a practice that continued and evolved even a

In 73 AD, in Masada, Judaea, a band of Jewish zealots were losing in a war against the Romans. Eleazar ben Jair, the leader of the group, devised a plan: they would all kill each other.

When the TARDIS appeared there, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright joined the Jews, while the First Doctor and Susan Foreman joined the opposing Roman camp. Ian tried to change history by helping the Jews fight, which the Doctor counteracted by helping the Romans, trying to preserve time. In the end, Ian was chosen to kill everyone, and Elezar killed himself. (PROSE: The Last Days)

When Christianity came into being, the Jewish leaders — in particular the Pharisees — reacted with hostility. They tried to murder Lazarus and any one else they judged to have had contact with Jesus Christ. (PROSE: Byzantium!)

I have no doubt that they, the Jews that is, consider Christianity to be a danger to them.First Doctor

In 16th century Europe, when Susan tossed a part of a Liciax ship out of the TARDIS, thinking it was a meteorite, it found its way to Prague and was shaped into a golem. When the golem went on a murderous rampage, they managed to trap it in a Jewish synagogue. (PROSE: Life from Lifelessness)

In 1888, the City of London Police thought that Sir Charles Warren's reference to Ju'wes was to induce a riot against the Jews. (COMIC: Ripper's Curse)

In 1938, River Song told a Nazi officer that she was on her way to a gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled, flippantly referring to several groups that the Nazis considered "undesirable." (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

Dr. Ruth Horwitz, a physicist at St Ursula's College in England, was Jewish. In 1939, she received anti-Semitic poison pen letters for two to three months. (AUDIO: An Eye For Murder)

During World War II, Jews were heavily persecuted by the Nazis, and many were sent to concentration camps. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus) The word "Jewish" was used at least by the Nazis around this time derogatorily; for example, Joachim Wolff called psychoanalysis "Jewish rubbish." (AUDIO: Just War)

In 1963, Rosa's, a café owned by a German Jew named Rosa, was a popular hangout for Coal Hill School students. (AUDIO: Hunters of Earth)

Amongst the other people not aforementioned who were Jewish were:

• Professor Rachel Jensen, Captain Ian Gilmore's scientific advisor. (AUDIO: Threshold)
• Julius Silverstein, businessman and collector. (TV: The Web of Fear).
• Barnabas, Jewish priest. (PROSE: Byzantium!)

New Zion was a Jewish colony founded prior to or during the 23rd century. (PROSE: Shopping for Eternity)

Judaism was the precursor to New Judaism. The Tenth Doctor asked the Beast, if he was the Devil of New Judaism, along with that of numerous other religions, to which he responded he was the Devil of all religions. (TV: The Satan Pit)

Behind the scenes

• In the novelisation of The Web of Fear, Julius Silverstein's name was changed to "Emil Julius" in order to remove the offensive stereotype of the greedy Jewish businessman.
• One of New Zion's towns was Gehenna, (PROSE: Shopping for Eternity) probably named after the Jewish hell. There was also a planet named this, which was inhabited by Devil-like creatures. (PROSE: Mean Streets)
• Sydney Newman, considered one of the creators of Doctor Who, was Jewish, as was the show's original producer, Verity Lambert.