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Origin of Jewish Ghettos in Europe
The Ghetto system began in Renaissance Italy in July of 1555 with Pope Paul IV's issuing of the Cum nimis absurdum. This change in papal policy implemented a series of restrictions on Jewish life that dramatically reshaped their place in society. Among these restrictions were the requirement of Jews to identify themselves by wearing a Yellow badge, restrictions on the ownership of property, restrictions in commerce, and tighter regulations on banking. However, the most visible of these restrictions was the requirement of Jewish communities to reside in sectioned off, sanctioned neighborhoods known as ghettos. The formation of the ghetto system also brought changes to Jewish economic activity. As a result of the Cum nimis absurdum regulations and the increasing complexity of the early modern economy, the role of Jews as money lenders became more difficult and less profitable. This as well as the fact that ghettos were often located at the town commercial centers drove Jews away from money lending and towards the role of second-hand merchants. In this role, Jews were forbidden from selling anything considered vital to life such as food or other high value commodities, so they gravitated towards reselling secondhand goods in the form of pawn shops. Some scholars, however, have argued that this shift in papal policy inadvertently ended up improving some aspects of the Jewish experience relative to the medieval period. Jewish Historian Robert Bonfil has argued that the formation of ghettos acted as a sort of middle ground between acceptance and expulsion by the Christian church. Following the formation of the ghetto system, there was a sharp decline in incidents such as Pogrom s, forced expulsion, and accusation of ritual murder that were common during the medieval period.