The Showtime series 'The Borgias' is one of the better of new fairly realistic as well as blood, guts and sex-orientated genre of historical dramas. Aside from the not-too-well-known fact that the show is more or less a dramatization of Alexandre Dumas' account of the rise of the Borgia family in the first volume of his collaborative work 'Celebrated Crimes' another aspect of the series requires comment.
That aspect is its presentation of the jews. Now the series really doesn't need to introduce jews into the equation at all as they are only of passing import to the schemes and activities of the historical Pope Alexander VI and his son Cesare Borgia. The jews in the first series of 'The Borgias' are presented as having bought their way into Alexander VI's favour being on the run from 'oppression' in the Ottoman Empire: this - although I cannot find mention of any source for it - is at least somewhat plausible.
That said there were jews in Rome already at this juncture and what is not presented in the series is the commonly accepted anecdote from a Christian chronicler (who had no particular reason to write it to attack the jews) that the jews already resident in Rome offered Alexander VI a bribe of 1,000 ducats if he would not admit the jewish refugees from the Ottoman Empire. Since the jews already resident in Rome feared that they were unused to living under Christian rule, had strange jewish customs and would substantially increase the visibility of the jewish community in Rome: would ultimately lead to trouble for all the jews of Rome. (1)
Pope Alexander's response was not related to the spear of Longinus or Christian relics in general and nor did the jews come to Rome penniless and nor were the jews of Rome penniless. Since Pope Alexander VI promptly rejected the jewish bribe and instead fined the jews 2,000 ducats for failing to show a modicum of Christian charity to their co-religionists, (2) which if they didn't pay would mean they would be ejected from Rome and the Papal States post haste. (3)
The jews predictably paid, but this does allow us to understand that the portrayal of the jews as innocent victims in 'The Borgias' is hardly historical as the episode of jews demanding other jews not be admitted to Rome is simply omitted. Presumably lest it offend Zionists who would certainly look on such an admission as being tantamount to 'self-hating' treason and probably accuse everyone associated with the production of 'The Borgias' with anti-Semitism.
The addition of a 'jewish fixer' for Pope Alexander VI is naturally enough also a fabrication and as far as we know Pope Alexander VI had no jewish agents and nor would he relied on them in large part because of their significant international connections to his erstwhile enemies as well as the fact that he would have known that jews had historically acted as fifth columnists in Christian cities - such as Jerusalem and Cordoba - by betraying them to the forces of Islam.
There was one jew of significance heavily attached to Pope Alexander VI and that was his personal physician: Samuel Sarfati. It was Sarfati who presented petitions on behalf of the jews to Pope Alexander VI such as when the jews demanded special privileges in regard to trade and taxation (which he granted). Sarfati had many privileges bestowed upon him by Pope Alexander VI in particular the removal of his obligation to wear an identifying badge as a jew and also being granted permission to treat Christian patients (and thus significantly increasing his client base and income). In addition to this King Louis XII of France granted him a writ of safe passage so he might attend to his business affairs in France. (4)
Indeed, Pope Alexander VI seems to have been generally admired by the jews (5) as does Cesare Borgia (6) since they granted jews the right of residency and were accordingly honoured with jewish books being dedicated to them. Indeed, a jew named Salamone da Sesso even made Cesare Borgia's sword (aka 'The Queen of Swords'). (7)
However, we should note - as is shown by the earlier anecdote about Pope Alexander VI - that in spite of his apparent friendship towards the jews: this should not be confused with Pope Alexander VI actually particularly liking jews. How Pope Alexander VI viewed the jews was as a source of funds for his broader political and religious ambitions as is indicated by the fact that on any given pretext he would fine the jews large sums of money and also the fact he wanted to be as rich as possible in order to be his cash cows. Hence why he unfettered and unleashed the jews on the people of Rome and the Papal States.
This fits somewhat with the picture of Pope Alexander VI portrayed in 'The Borgias' as it is quite clear from all his machinations: that he views the jews as nothing more than a means to an end rather than as an end in themselves. However, the problem comes in relation to the portrayal of the jews as being at the centre of Pope Alexander VI's schemes, which simply isn't true.
The jews weren't able to outsmart Pope Alexander VI - as 'The Borgias' suggests was the case - and nor were the jews the principle agents of Pope Alexander VI or Christendom in combating the Ottoman Empire. In fact, they almost exclusively worked for the forces of Islam in the battles between the Ottomans and the European principalities! (8)
'The Borgias' presents the jews as being major players in Renaissance politics which is simply not true (while at the same time being constantly and irrationally persecuted): the jews were not major players in the politics of Renaissance Italy, but they did exert some influence based upon their hold on the Italian banking industry: a hold which gradually slipped more and more as time went on due to the arrival of dynasties of Christian bankers and the relaxation of theological prohibitions concerning usury (i.e. from taking any interest to taking exorbitant interest).
Nor were Alexander VI or the Borgia family friends of the jews, but rather saw the jews as a means to an end as by unleashing the (jewish) wolves to gobble up as much wealth as possible so-to-speak: they could in turn pick them clean when they wished to finance their political and religious ambitions.
The historical Borgias used the jews: the jews didn't use the Borgias.
References
(1) On this see Cecil Roth,1946, 'The History of the Jews of Italy', 1st Edition, Jewish Publication Society of America: Philadelphia, p. 179; Leon Poliakov, 1977, 'Jewish Bankers and the Holy See: From the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Century', 2nd Edition, Routledge & Kegan Paul: Henley, pp. 132-133
(2) Poliakov, Op. Cit., pp. 132-133
(3) Roth, 'The History of the Jews of Italy', Op. Cit., p. 179
(4) Cecil Roth, 1959, 'The Jews in the Renaissance', 1st Edition, Jewish Publication Society of America: Philadelphia, p. 217
(5) Ibid, p. 232
(6) Ibid, pp. 181; 232
(7) Ibid, p. 197
(8) For a brief summary of this issue see Jane Hathaway, 2008, 'The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516-1800', 1st Edition, Pearson Education: New York, pp. 193-195