Historically, the Christian church was very hostile. (Though there were individual bishops who protected Jews.) In England, they were seen as the King's cattle, so to speak. Under royal protection but fleeced whenever he felt like it. (Medieval kings always needed a few quid.) They were only allowed to lend money (almost every other trade was closed to them) and a lot of their clients were powerful men who found a dead creditor rather convenient.
That's the simple tale. I won't go into how the saintly Queen Eleanor of Castile used to get hold of Jewish debt by various means so she could foreclose and steal people's lands. She and her mother-in-law both detested Jews. King Edward I, under financial pressure, agreed to throw all Jews out of the country in return for a subsidy - that is, a grant of taxation. This was carried out in 1290, though not before Edward had rounded up much of the male Jewish population, accused them of coining, and had them strung up. Those who survived were often robbed by the sailors who took them out of the country. This included some being dumped on sandbanks in the middle of the sea and left to drown.
It's a shame that when studying history, most 'patriots' prefer to focus on Agincourt and other 'glorious' victories.
