Why were Jews punished for their religious beliefs?

Answer 1

The way that this question is phrased would offend numerous people because it assumes that the Jews were guilty of committing some sort of offense and were therefore rightfully castigated. This is not the case in the slightest. Jews (on the whole) never did anything worth punishing them for in the same way that Africans (on the whole) never did anything to merit enslavement. These actions were taken on account of bigotry and self-supremacy, not based on any system of equitable justice.

Jews received every type of maltreatment possible over the course of time. They have been enslaved, tortured, evicted, overtaxed, denied the right to movement, had their religion suppressed, had their families ripped from them, were attacked in their own homes, were summarily executed, were executed by genocide, denied the right to self-protection, restricted in their choice of occupation, denied voting or land acquisition rights, forced to stand trials and kangaroo courts specifically because of their faith, and they have been forcibly converted. That list is not exhaustive, but should hit the main points.

Answer 2

The Jews were persecuted for their religious beliefs throughout history, but they were never punished for them, because punishment implies that they did something wrong.

The reasons they were persecuted were hatred, fear, and bigotry.