Sanctifying the Name of God: Jewish Martyrs and Jewish Memories of the First Crusade

Analyzes Hebrew chronicles recounting the Jewish experience of the First Crusade, concluding that these sources tell more about Jews who survived the persecution than about those who did not. Replaces the accepted image of most or all of the non-survivors as self-sacrificing martyrs with a more complex picture that includes some who wished to escape. Highlights the conflicted perspective of the survivors, who were traumatized by the violence and also by the dreadful choice they faced. Points out that "Kiddush Hashem" originally entailed a willingness to be killed, but not suicide or homicide. Detects in the chronicles traces of guilt, frustration, and resentment of the way Jews were treated by history and by God, as well as some ambivalence about Jews killing Jews even when faced with the threat of forced conversion.