Jewish faith.

Now, just at this period the Messianic era was generally believed by the
Jews to be approaching, and it appears to have occurred to them that
Cromwell might be fitted to the part. Consequently emissaries were
despatched to search the archives of Cambridge in order to discover
whether the Protector could possibly be of Jewish descent.[459] This
quest proving fruitless, the Cabalist Rabbi of Amsterdam, Manasseh ben
Israel,[460] addressed a petition to Cromwell for the readmission of the
Jews to England, in which he adroitly insisted on the retribution that
overtakes those who afflict the people of Israel and the rewards that
await those who "cherish" them. These arguments were not without effect
on Cromwell, who entertained the same superstition, and although he is
said to have declined the Jews' offer to buy St. Paul's Cathedral and
the Bodleian Library because he considered the L500,000 they offered
inadequate,[461] he exerted every effort to obtain their readmission to
the country. In this he encountered violent opposition, and it seems
that Jews were not permitted to return in large numbers, or at any rate
to enjoy full rights and privileges, until after the accession of
Charles II, who in his turn had enlisted their financial aid.[462]
Later, in 1688, the Jews of Amsterdam helped with their credit the
expedition of William of Orange against James II; the former in return
brought many Jews with him to England. So a Jewish writer is able to
boast that "a Monarch reigned who was indebted to Hebrew gold for his
royal diadem."[463]

In all this it is impossible to follow any consecutive political plan;
the role of the Jews seems to have been to support no cause consistently
but to obtain a footing in every camp, to back any venture that offered
a chance of profit. Yet mingled with these material designs were still
their ancient Messianic dreams. It is curious to note that the same
Messianic idea pervaded the Levellers, the rebels of the Commonwealth;
such phrases as "Let Israel go free," "Israel's restoration is now
beginning," recur frequently in the literature of the sect. Gerard
Winstanley, one of the two principal leaders, addressed an epistle to
"the Twelve Tribes of Israel that are circumcised in heart and scattered
through all the Nations of the Earth," and promised them "David their
King that they have been waiting for." The other leader of the movement,
by name Everard, in fact declared, when sum