Jewish Persecution

Why is it that, throughout most of modern history, the Jew has been object of criticism, of persecution, and of hate? Both The Merchant of Venice and The Jew of Malta give satirical examples of the Renaissance view of Jews - but in this satire seems to be a hint of truth. Blamed for the death of Christ, it seems Jews have been more hated in the last two thousand years than any other socio/religious/ethnic group. The Holocaust and the current situation between Israel and Pakistan (and the history leading up to said conflict) are very obvious examples of the persecution of Jews, but the stereotype of Jew as money hungry, greedy, etc. have existed at least since the Renaissance, if not before, as is evident from our class texts. Even today most people can think of a handful of jokes about Jews, and these are still associations between Jews and money, especially jobs involving money, as is displayed by our current pop culture: shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy poke jokes, Jerry Seinfeld has based a large part of his comedic success, etc. While these representations aren't necessarily malicious, they do hearken back to a time when such accusations were meant to do harm. Why are Jews such a popular target?