According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, anti-Semitism is hostility or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group. There are two main types of anti-Semitism: classic anti-Semitism and modern anti-Semitism. Classic anti-Semitism is hatred and intolerance toward Jews because of their religious differences. According to Remember.org, "Modern anti-Semitism, unlike earlier forms, was not based on the religious practices of Jews but on the theory that Jews were an inferior race." Anti-Semites exploited the fact that Jews had been forced into exile by touting as “fact” that their “uprooting” had a genetic basis. A Jew was Jewish not because he practiced a particular religion, but because it was a characteristic of his blood. » The main difference between classic anti-Semitism and modern anti-Semitism is that Jews confronted with classic anti-Semitism were given the opportunity to convert and erase their stain of Jewishness, and to be able to access Christian society. Whereas Jews confronted with modern anti-Semitism would forever remain Jewish, no matter what procedure they participated in. The Mortara Affair, a famous and controversial case in Jewish history that took place around 1858, demonstrates both classic and modern anti-Semitism. The Mortara Affair involves the kidnapping of a young Jewish boy named Edgardo Mortara. The story begins when the Italian police inform the Mortara parents, Marianna and Momolo Mortara, that Edgardo has been baptized and that, according to the law of the Papal State, a Christian is not allowed to live in a Jewish home. Marianna and Momolo Mortara discover that their former caregiver, Anna Morisi, was guilty of secretly baptizing their son Edgardo...... middle of paper ...... in 2010. .Kertzer, David I.. The kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.Kertzer, David I.. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.Kertzer, David I.. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.Kertzer, David I.. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.Kertzer, David I.. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.Kertzer, David I.. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.Kertzer, David I.. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.