Did Cicero of Rome (if ya'll know who that is) hate Jews.?

Question

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a significant roman figure. He was a senator, statesman, lawyer, judge and more. I know just a little over little about him but what I don't know is if he despised Jews. He was generally an honest man but did he have any resentments toward Jews and why if he did?

To what extent do modern day politics (especially in America) resemble that of Ancient Rome, like out of a 100%?
From the above statement, I obviously agree that both systems of government are familiar but what I want to know is how is it that it is the Roman system of government that is mirrored and not some other ancient nation's system.
I mean it's not like there were not immense flaws especially with their Republican system (and Rome did see it's downfall).
Why did America choose to adopt that system, why did the forefathers choose to adopt that system, is there any link between America (I don't know if that's the right thing to say since America is a pretty eclectic nation) and Rome?
Does the Italian government resemble that of Ancient Rome too??
I'm sorry, don't know anything bout politics, not my fav subject.
I would appreciate all the answers I can get, thanks.

Answer 1

Your question requires a lot of reading, unless someone here has read his writings I guess no one will have the correct answer. Here are some sites that might give you the answer:

http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/documents/Cic.html#Texts
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ROME/CICERO.HTM
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Cicero
http://www.iep.utm.edu/c/cicero.htm
http://www.iep.utm.edu/c/cicero.htm

Answer 2

I've only read On Duties, so I'm no Cicero expert, but I'll try. In this famous book, he shows no knowledge of the tiny religious minority from a backwater Roman province that were the Jews. Most Romans probably didn't even know enough about Judea to dislike Jews. But generally speaking, as a high ranking Roman official, he would have been open to almost all religions, as the Roman Empire was generally pluaralist in its religious stance. However, for Romans the Jews held a special problem as their religion by definition denies the existence of other gods. Such an exclusionary religion was perceived as anywhere from annoying to infuriating for the average Roman. Occasionally, as with Christianity, there were surely backlashes against them because of this.

But in a nutshell, as long as the Jews paid their taxes to their Roman overlords and didn't rebel, I'm sure Cicero would have gladly accepted them as a part of the Empire.

Answer 3

In his oration Pro Flacco, Cicero very openly demonstrated his hatred of Jews. In fact, it is believed that he spawned the stereotype of Jewish people being thrifty and managing their money well.

This can probably be attributed to history. During his lifetime, Rome was in control of the Holy Land and would therefore have experience with Jews. Jews were often persecuted during this time period by the Romans because of their priorities of allegiance. What I mean by this is that the Jews' allegiance lay with God first, and then with the emperor. To the Romans, this was unacceptable. They demanded that the Jews pledge complete and total allegiance to the emperor, which they simply could not (or would not) do because of their religion. So, this is why they were persecuted and most likely the reason why Cicero despised the Jews.