What's Wrong With the WikipediaJews in the Middle Ages Entry Essay

What's Wrong With the WikipediaJews in the Middle Ages Entry - Essay Example A number of article entries have made fantastic claims about certain events, people, or facts without providing any authentic or credible sources to back them. Wikipedia is an open and free encyclopedia which is not considered to be a valid and trustworthy source by universities. Students are not allowed to cite information taken from Wikipedia while other schools have banned its usage. This research paper assesses the encyclopedic entry â€Å"Jews in the Middle Ages† by pointing out the untrustworthiness and unreliability of its content. It considers how the article is limited with reference to the history of the Jews by excluding several communities. It also studies how certain elements and aspects of Jewish history have not been added into the entry. The paper investigates and critically assesses how the article makes conclusions regarding the relations between the Jews and majority culture. The article extensively writes about the social conditions of the Jews living in West Europe. It fails to mention the history of the Jews who lived in the Middle East and Russia1. The Islamic caliphates were at the height of their intellectual, scientific, and philosophical achievements. Unlike the Christian West, Jews were actually tolerated and protected under Arab areas. The Jews had to pay a special tax called â€Å"Jizya† which was levied on minorities. Wikipedia’s article fails to write about the social conditions of the Jews in the Islamic caliphates. Jews rose to important positions inside the Islamic Caliphates like Solomon Ibn Gabirol and Yehuda HaLevi2. These Jews made extensive contributions towards the study of Judaism by writing interpretations of the Torah, philosophical beliefs, and prayers. An investigation of the article also reveals little information regarding the position of Jews in the Slavic nations. The Khazar kingdom in the middle ages was a Je wish state in the