Antipope Benedict XIII, in part to bolster…

Antipope Benedict XIII, in part to bolster faltering support for his papacy, had initiated the yearlong Disputation of Tortosa in 1413, which is to become the most prominent Christian–Jewish disputation of the Middle Ages.

The initiator of the disputation and representative for the Christians is the antipope's personal physician, the Jewish Christian convert Gerónimo de Santa Fe.

After his conversion to Christianity, he had presented Antipope Benedict XIII with a composition containing topics to contest with his former co-religionists.

The aging antipope, who rejoiced at religious debate, had jumped at the opportunity to bring the Jews to a disputation.

King Ferdinand I of Aragon had not stood in his way, and letters of invitation had been sent to the various Jewish communities in 1413.

Attempts by the Jews to free themselves of this had not been successful.

Benedict is also mentioned for his oppressive laws against the Jews.

These laws will be repealed by Pope Martin V, after he receives a mission of Jews, sent by the famous synod convoked by the Jews in Forlì, in 1418.

Among the participants on the Jewish side are Profiat Duran and Yosef Albo as well as other rabbinic scholars such as Zerachia HaLevi, Moshe ben Abbas, and Astruc ha-Levi.

Each one is a representative of a different community.

Vincent Ferrer, later canonized, is an important participant on the Christian side.

The Jewish representatives are at a considerable disadvantage—where Nahmanides at the Disputation of Barcelona and the Jewish representatives at the Disputation of Paris had been granted immunity, "every Jewish attempt to respond to the Christian charges was met with the threat of the accusation of heresy".

(Madeleine Pelner Cosman and Linda Gale Jones (2008).

Handbook of Life in the Medieval World.

Infobase Publishing.)

The disputation is not a free discussion between two parties but takes the form of a propaganda attack by the Christian side against Jews, including the use of psychological pressure in the form of intimidation and threats.

Benedict claims victory and he gives instructions by which all books of the Talmud will be handed over to his functionaries for censorship.