Lighter Skin = Better?

[Red Celt]

The Jews wouldn't have had half so many problems with the Romans had they not insisted on being stiff-necked assholes.

Well. The one distinct problem for the Jews was that thing called monotheism. That became a problem from Augustus onwards, when Roman emperors were considered gods. Polytheism was the norm for a Roman citizen, with the emperor being one of those gods. He didn't have to be the only god, as such a thing would be foreign to them. But if he wasn't in your list... well, then, you could expect problems.

There were Jewish inhabitants of the Roman world (and Rome, the city) from the very earliest days.

The whole monotheism thing became a distinct problem when the Jewish cult of Christianity gained popularity. Jews has occasional difficulties with the Romans (in places like Alexandria), but they were smart enough (and well-established enough) to get by. Christians, though... not so smart.