In 1290 King Edward expelled the Jews from England. After persecution in Portugal a Sephardic Jew, Menasseh ben Israel, came to Holland with is father, studied at the Yeshiva in Amsterdam, excelled in Talmudic studies, and was appointed to the Rabbinical Council in Amsterdam. In 1650 he sent "The Hope of Israel," a petition to the English Parliament asking for the readmission of Jews. In October 1655, he was permitted to go to Britain, and wrote "Salvation of the Jews." Oliver Cromwell then granted individual Jews the right to settle in London. He was a Cabbalist with a strong belief in the coming of the Messiah. In 1666 the son of a British cloth merchant and Cabbalist, Sabbatai Zevi would declare himself to be the Messiah, he would convert to Islam, declare sin to be holy, and immoral acts were encouraged, many Europeans would hail him as the Messiah. They would be declared heretics and go underground. 379
