Heat & light in one thread!
Wow, I have not clicked on this thread, lo these many months and I miss out on one of the more interesting discussions.
Perhaps I can help with some of the more awkard questions.
Unrequited Philosemetism
What many Christians* do not understand is that a whole lot of orthodox Jews really do not like Christians and Christianity. TR has alluded to this, without coming out & writing it. All one has to do is take a gander at some of the big boys' writings TR mentioned earlier. Not many kind things and many unkind things were written about Christianity by the rabbis of note after exile. One might think, "Hey, look how they were treated by some Christians...THAT's why they have a chip on thier shoulder." Oh, I have no doubt that is some part of some individuals' sentiments, but the anti-Christian point of view is entirely supported by a reading of the materials outside of any ill treatment by Christians.
This dislike manifests itself more openly nowadays, since the secuirty of the Jewish ethnic group and orthodox Judaism is at a high point in history, given the populations in Israel & the USA. Most, however, are sharp enough to not alienate potential allies (in their support of Israel) and others maintain a lower profile due to survival behaviors learned over time. Thus, verbal circumlocutions and demurrals are often resorted to in interfaith dialog (on both sides).
Others are not so worried about giving offense. FWIW, roughly 2/3 of the Israelis who I also knew were orthodox Jews have openly expressed such sentiments in no uncertain and quite colorful language in my presence. This is not a statistically valid sample, obviously, but serves as an example.
One last note. Just because a particular religion is held in low regard by another in its scriptures & commentaries, is not determinative of any individual's predilictions. Also, there are several interfaith groups that work to forward causes dear to both orthodox Christianity and orthodox Judaism. Folks & organizations can and do look past such obstacles.
To generalize, folks who take their faith seriously often have similar habits, POVs, etc. in other areas and can get along quite swimmingly, if each can manage to be civil on faith matters.
When the Other Option Is Persection...
Why have Jews "tolerated" living around Christians? They had no other choice, since the Romans went after them, hammer & tongs & sent them packing. A religious/cultural minority is not in a position to dictate terms to the majority.
* Especially evangelicals with the fairly recent (developed in late 1800s) pre-millenarian eschatology (ie., folks to whom the Left Behind books are correct in their general eschatology).