Medieval Christian narrative required Jews both annihilated and preserved as authentic model

Evidence

The fate of the Jews in the Siege of Jerusalem is therefore, paradoxically, double: on the one hand, they must be annihilated so that the superiority of Christianity can be clearly demonstrated; on the other, they must be preserved in order to maintain the authenticity of the model they offer for Christians. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 275

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how groups must be both erased and preserved—parallels work on colonial mimicry and native informants.