In 1424, at a time when such banishments were common, the German city of Cologne expelled its Jewish population, which had been there since at least the 4th century CE. Looking back on her research into the city’s Jews, which formed the basis of her first book, the historian Shulamit Magnus explains the anomalous history that followed:

In recent years, Jerusalem has developed good relations with a group of Central European countries that have proved far more sympathetic than those of the West, and whose governments have sometimes stopped the European Union from issuing anti-Israel statements. But Europe, both East and West, is now in a state of political flux, and this approach may soon be obsolete. Emmanuel Navon proposes a new direction for Jewish state that capitalizes on its economic ties with Western Europe. Take, for instance, post-Angela Merkel Germany: