It's true that the Jewish leaders at that time persecuted and eventually caused the crucification of our Lord, Jesus Christ. However, we must always remember that He died for ALL OF US and our sins. It was our sin...the sin at that time and prior as well as the future sins yet to be committed for which He chose to sacrifice Himself. There were also many, many Jews who willingly followed Christ. Let's not forget the many sacrifices they made in His name, as well. They chose to keep Him alive with us all by passing His deeds and words down through the generations.
God loved us all equally. He knew what Man would do to His son and He sent Jesus anyway. It was the only way to offer us salvation and yes, the price was high. There is no way to tell which side you would have been on given those times and circumstances. We all like to think that we would have followed Jesus, but there's no real way to tell. That is why He came for ALL of us.
Catholics, Jews, Protestants, etc. must all exist in this world together. We have different viewpoints on how best to worship and glorify our Lord. However, we all agree that it is the same Lord. The Jews who follow the old ways will be judged in accordance with the old ways. I say more power to them because that was even harder to accomplish. Christ taught us about love and forgiveness, even in the most dire of circumstances. As Christians, we are called to do this and help bring Christ out in others, not persecute them for differences.
