February 7, 2010
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anti-Semitism
Prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, or religion.I have been thinking about this a bit recently. There are a few reasons for that. One being that I have heard that Anti-Semitism is at the highest that it has ever been since WW2. Another reason I have been thinking about it is because of a comment my grandmother made…She wondered if I was not worried about my children’s safety or that they would be teased because they have “some Jewish blood.”
The word “anti-Semitism” is inadequate. It is a misnomer. The word was coined in 1879 from the Greek words “anti”, meaning “against” and “Semite”, meaning a descendant of Shem.
Anti-Jewish, and Jew- hatred, are more descriptive.
During the Middle Ages in Europe there was persecution against Jews in many places, with blood libels, expulsions, forced conversions and massacres. A main justification of prejudice against Jews in Europe was religious. The persecution hit its first peak during the Crusades.
1190 A.D. Massacre of Jews in England.
1240 A.D. Talmud burned in France.
As the Black Death epidemics devastated Europe in the mid-14th century, annihilating more than half of the population, Jews were used as scapegoats. Rumors spread that they caused the disease by deliberately poisoning wells. Hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed by violence.
1421 A.D. 270 JEWS BURNED AT THE STAKE. In the 14th and 15th centuries the Inquisition was more intense because the Church and State joined forces. Just being Jewish guaranteed persecution
The Chmielnicki Uprising when Bohdan Khmelnytsky’s Cossacks massacred tens of thousands of Jews in the eastern and southern areas he controlled (today’s Ukraine). The precise number of dead may never be known, but the decrease of the Jewish population during that period is estimated at 100,000 to 200,000.
In 1744, Frederick II of Prussia limited the number of Jews allowed to live in Breslau to only ten so-called “protected” Jewish families and encouraged a similar practice in other Prussian cities.
In 1772, the empress of Russia Catherine II forced the Jews of the Pale of Settlement to stay in their shtetls and forbade them from returning to the towns that they occupied before the partition of Poland.
There were expulsions of Jews from England, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain during the Middle Ages as a result of antisemitism.
German for “Jews’ sow”, Judensau was the derogatory and dehumanizing imagery of Jews that appeared around the 13th century. Its popularity lasted for over 600 years and was revived by the Nazis.
1945 A.D. HOLOCAUST Final Count: 6,000,000 Jews slaughtered.
Antisemitism has increased significantly in Europe since 2000, with significant increases in verbal attacks against Jews and vandalism such as graffiti, fire bombings of Jewish schools, desecration of synagogues and cemeteries. In Germany and Austria, where antisemitic incidents are highest in Europe, physical assaults against Jews including beatings, stabbings and other violence increased markedly, in a number of cases resulting in serious injury and even death. The Netherlands and Sweden have also consistently had high rates of anti-semitic attacks since 2000.
2010 – There are so many that happened already this year…here are a few….
A knife-wielding man shouting “I will kill Jews” attacked a synagogue in downtown Moscow Wednesday, slashing and stabbing at least eight people before the son of a rabbi wrestled him to the ground
Antisemitic graffiti was found at Mount Sinai cemetery in Portland.
Swastikas were spray-painted on yeshiva school buses at Williamsburg, NY
Anti-Semitism can be compared to an iceberg, where only a relatively small portion is visible to the casual observer and the greatest mass lies below the surface. Typically people see or hear about only the most horrendous examples of anti-Semitism, such as hate crimes that hit the headlines. The incidents that receive public attention are really just the tip of the iceberg.
Subtle slurs, graffiti, and other expressions of bias that do not make it into the news can be likened to the 90% of the iceberg that remains hidden below the waterline. All individuals need to recognize ignorance and insensitive behavior for what it is. While taking care to not overreact, it is important to recognize that ignoring small transgressions can lead to more serious incidents. If you ignore subtle bias, you help foster a climate in which hate crimes can occur.
What can be done to reverse the rising anti-Semitism? What are your thoughts about anti-Semitism?
Comments (25)
It’s something that makes me sick at my stomach, and yet I know that it is inevitable, too. I tend to think that most of the incidents happening today are coming from Muslims and are no different than the anti-Christian junk. After all, Muslims are anti-everyone else. As for what can be done…I don’t know. Mostly just keep ourselves pure and speak truth. We are, after all, approaching a time when God’s people will be hated by everyone.
@homefire - I have actually never experienced it coming from a Muslim (though I am sure that some are). Most of the times I have seen it it comes from a “Christian” or an atheist (I am not saying all Christians or all Atheists are this way)
Anti-Semitism has for many centuries taken many forms. It is so unpredicable that no one can tell in what shape it will occur next. Today, it is centered around nationalism where Zionism is used as a cover. To Jew-baiters, anti-Semitism and Zionism are purported to be two distinct entities when really they are meant to be synonymous. The important remedy for this sickness has always been and will continue to be education. And I’m speaking of objective, thorough research into what really makes anti-Semitism tick.
@Kristenmomof3 - I’ve experienced it coming from Muslims, even though I’m not at all saying that all are this way either.
I don’t think we can. The Bible teaches that anti-semitism will be at an all time high during end times.
@Kristenmomof3 - Ugh. That worries me more…
Not interested witch. 900,000 children were murdered in 2009 for your occultic abilities, seems a bit hypocritical. NOTHING is covering that.
I live near Hollywood, and there is a large Jewish community around here. I’ve not really noticed much anti-semitism, but possibly since I’m not a part of the community I don’t see it? I don’t know, but people who are that way just sicken me. I’ve had (and still have) a lot of Jewish friends, and I love the whole “community” aspect of the Jewish community. But I agree with the others, it something that will unfortunately get worse until the end of the world.
Considering the church has taught Jews are coniving, greedy,god murdering demons since almost its very beginning, I don’t see how anyone can wonder where this Jew hating crap comes from or why it continues. From the seeds of the Catholic church,through Luther, and right down to the Southern Bap Congress prez saying God doesn’t hear the prayers of Jews to a standing ovation, it remains alive and well in the world. I could fill this whole page with quotes from “Christian Saints”, but let’s just tag a few:
Quotes that reveal shocking hatred against the Jewish people and false accusations against the Jews by popes, ‘saints’ (LOL) and other Christian religious functionaries. I’m sure we’ll get a whole bunch of th e”They weren’t real Christians” song and dance. Problem is they were the only Christians at the times.
(POPE) CLEMENT I: (d.101) Highly esteemed Christian martyr and Apolistic Father of the Church who
blamed the Jews for Nero’s persecution of the Christians.
(SAINT) JUSTIN MARTYR: (100-165) Recognized as one of the most important early Christian writers, and also one of the original anti-Jewish church fathers revealed his anti-Semitism when he stated in the year 116 that: “The Jews were behind all the persecutions of the Christians. They wandered through the country everywhere hating and undermining the Christian faith.”
QUINTAS SPETIMUS FLORENS TERTULLIAN: (160-230) Latin Church Father who bruited that:
“The Jews formed the breeding ground of all anti-Christian actions.”
(SAINT) HIPPOLYTUS: Roman Priest (170-236) who was obsessed with the belief that the Jews were receiving and would continue to receive God’s punishment for having murdered Jesus. The “Saint” avouched:
“Now then, incline thine ear to me and hear my words, and give heed, thou Jew. Many a
time does thou boast thyself, in that thou didst condemn Jesus of Nazareth to death, and didst give him vinegar and gall to drink; and thou dost vaunt thyself because of this. Come, therefore, and let us consider together whether perchance thou dost boast unrighteously, O, Israel, and whether thou small
portion of vinegar and gall has not brought down this fearful threatening upon thee and whether this is not the cause of thy present condition involved in these myriad of troubles.”
ORIGEN: Well-known teacher and preacher credited as the greatest theological scholar of the early church. Born in Egypt (185) his works range from Contra Celsum (which abolishes idolatry) to Hexapla (Old Testament scholarly work). But when it came to Jews, his comments were less scholarly:
”On account of their unbelief and other insults which they heaped upon Jesus, the Jews will not only suffer more than others in the judgment which is believed to impend over the world, but have even already endured such sufferings. For what nation is in exile from their own metropolis, and from the place sacred to the worship of their fathers, save the Jews alone? And the calamities they have suffered because they were a most wicked nation, which although guilty of many other sins, yet has
been punished severely for none as for those that were committed against our Jesus.”
EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: The first historian of the Christian Church (265-339), and credited author
speaks in Demonstration of the Gospel (I.I.) of how the royal metropolis of the Jews would be destroyed
by fire and the city would be inhabited no longer by Jews, “but by races of other stock, while they [Jews]
would be dispersed among the Gentiles throughout the whole world with never a hope of any cessation
of evil or breathing space from trouble. Furthermore, he claimed that Jews in every community crucified
a Christian at their Purim festival as a rejection of Jesus. He also made a distinction between Hebrews
[who he saw as "good men of the Old Testament"] and Jews [who he characterized as "evil."]
(SAINT) HILARY: Noted author from Potieres (315- 367) who spoke of the Jews as “a people who had
always persisted in iniquity [sin] and out of its abundance of evil glorified in wickedness.”
(SAINT) JOHN CHRYSOSTOM: The strongest attacks on Jews and Judaism by the Church Fathers
are to be found in the homilies of Chrysostom (344-407) in his Antioch sermons. He is considered to
be among the most beloved and admired in Church history. Besides his proclamation of Jews as “god-less, idolaters, pedicides, stoners of prophets, and commiters of 10,000 horrors [which, incidentally, is
found in the anti-Jewish Christian Bible in Matthew 23:37-38], Chrysostom said in his book Orations
Against The Jews that:
”The Jews are the most worthless of all men. They are lecherous, rapacious, greedy. They are perfidious murderers of Christ. They worship the Devil. Their religion is a sickness. The Jews are the
odious assassins of Christ and for killing God there is no expiation possible, no indulgence or pardon. Christians may never cease vengeance, and the Jew must live in servitude forever. God always hated the Jews. It is essential that all Christians hate them.” (year 379)
Furthermore:
“The Jews sacrifice their children to Satan…they are worse than wild beasts. The synagogue is a brothel, a den of scoundrels, the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults, a criminal assembly of Jews, a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, a gulf and abyss of perdition.The Jews have fallen into a condition lower than the vilest animal. Debauchery and drunkenness have brought them to a level of the lusty goat and the pig. They know
only one thing: to satisfy their stomachs, to get drunk, to kill, and beat each other up like stage villains and coachmen.The synagogue is a curse, obstinate in her error, she refuses to see or hear, she has
deliberately perverted her judgment; she has extinguished with herself the light of the Holy Spirit.”
Chrysostom’s homilies were to be used in seminaries and schools for centuries as model sermons, with the result that his message of hate would be passed down to succeeding generations of theologians. The nineteenth century Protestant cleric R.S. Storr called him “one of the most eloquent preachers who ever since apostolic times have brought to men the divine tidings of truth and love.” A contemporary of Storr, the great theologian John Henry Cardinal Newman, described Chrysostom as a “bright, cheerful, gentle soul, a sensitive heart.”
Islam is no better when it comes to demonizing Jews .Islam: “Jews are Apes and Pigs” – Jewish Internet Defense Force
If you think the above video clip is just a rare example of this sort of hate, you need to take off the blindfold and take your fingers out of your ears.
@homefire - I’m Muslim. I have yet to be “anti-everything.” I mean it would be a bit pointless seeing as my entire family is Jewish. But I can say I have faced persecution from my Jewish family members and even in Israel for being Muslim, which is odd since I’m a dual citizen.
I guess what I’m saying is that there are intolerant people everywhere. The only way that the Jew hate will stop is when we as individuals stop being discriminatory. There will not be a mass change, the change has to come from every individual personally.
religions can do a lot of good.. as pointed out in your post,, they can also do a lot of evil…
refer to the old saying,, power corrupts,, and complete power corrupts completely…
the various religions pretty much hold cxomplete power over their congregation…
making it impossible to carry on a reasonable debate about them…
and the best part about any attempted debate,, it requires no proof from either side,,, hahahahahahaha,,, nor common sense…
im not anti anything,,, you are free to do as you please,,, religiously or politically,,, but i frown heavily on any strong arm attempt at manipulating me…..
jews,, always get a raw deal,,, currently muslims seem to be getting a free ride,,, buddists,, and the like,,, they are just kind of ignored,,, the bulk of the current christian religions,,, i dunno,,, they would do better to leave their strong arm tactics at home,,,
i dont know that i ever see them brought up… i guess those are reserved till a time they can have a one on one talk,,, so to speak,,, with you…
ive tried pretty much all the common ones,,, and had to walk away from them all,, their strong arm tactics just bounce off me,, but i dont appreciate them being directed at my kids…
The problem is that humankind is desperately sick and hateful, lashing out at everyone who is different because they’re seen as a threat. Throughout history those with power have typically lorded it over those without power, choosing to subjugate or even eliminate rather than working alongside. Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and others have all suffered subjugation and have in turn subjugated others. As @Hezakiah4 unfortunately demonstrates, anti-Christian hatred by Jews is also a problem.
People have be determined not to look at each other with fear, to be more willing to see good in others rather than evil. And they must be willing to look at themselves with a critical eye, recognizing their own potential for hate. The curse of Adam is upon us all, and even those of us who have been reborn through Christ’s sacrifice are not yet free from it.
You mention the anti-Jewish purge in Spain. I think the history there is instructive, as there is a powerful argument that the anti-Semitism of the Inquisition led to Spain’s downfall. When the Inquisition began Spain was the world’s pre-eminent power. At that time Jews formed a very high percentage of the literate class, and were often employed in accounting (this is the source of the supposition that Jews control the world’s money, which used to have some kernel of truth but is now very much out of date). As the Jews were forced out, Spain suddenly became a country where no one knew how to handle money. They went to being flush with wealth to impoverished. That ought to be a lesson to anyone that seeks to scapegoat one group as the source of the world’s evil.
Don’t forget about the sign being stolen from Auschwitz.
@ProfessorTom - yep. Luckily that was recovered
@Kristenmomof3 - Last I had read, it had been cut up to be sold to a number of interested buyers. How did the story end?
@ProfessorTom - They recovered it and are fixing it so that it can go back up where it belongs
@Kristenmomof3 - I hope the the punishment the bastard who stole the sign receives makes Hell look like paradise.
@ProfessorTom - Five men in their 20s and 30s have been arrested. They face up to 10 years in prison if they are convicted
officials are still seeking a suspected neo-Nazi from Sweden who is believed to have ordered the theft
I kinda hoped that hatred against Arabs would be categorized as anti-Semitism as well.
Notice the common thread though? That SO many people in SO many places for SUCH a long time have HATED the Jews?! There is generally no smoke without fire. There is much to be mistrusted, and even hated, with many Jews and Zionists. Make no mistake though, even though they have been complicit in many evils (and still are!), there are even more sinister forces pulling their strings.
@ihsankhairir - And that is to be remembered to! That although many Jews have connivingly hijacked that name and phrase, there are Semitic peoples that are NOT Jews! Don’t know about that part about hating Arabs though, the Arabs have never been hated for anything other than what has deserved it.
@mileyfan08 - It’s a community, that unless you’re in it, you’re NOT gonna get invited! And, you live near Hollywood, but haven’t notcied any “anti-Semitism”? Cough! Splutter!…Hello! Are you surprised? The Jews RUN Hollywood!
@Aaliyaan - Well, that’s good to hear! Since there are no Muslims in my area at all, I tend to go by headlines, and it seems like so many of them are against anyone non-Muslim. I’m guessing your family conversations would be interesting.
The above comment by Hezekiah4 seems to me like a good example of self-perpetuating racism. Everyone knows many early Christian leaders were anti-Semites, but I had rather hoped that in today’s world that wasn’t very common. I don’t personally know any Christians who are, so I’d like to think that. And I notice that all of his quotes are from ancient sources. Can’t we leave the mistakes of the past In the past?
Have to admit that I rather enjoyed that video–the speaker shared my views on evolution, at least,
and he wasn’t spewing hatred like some imams I have seen. It’s also interesting to me that he says that according to their tradition, the Jews who rebelled were ‘turned into’ apes and pigs, which would mean that the Jews left as humans today are NOT. It actually seemed to me to be far less insulting than many I’ve heard.
@homefire - Haha “Interesting” is an understatement. I would definitely recommend to NEVER go by what the headlines say because the headlines exploit stereotypes and basically show the “jahil” or ignorant. As we all know that no one would watch a regular Muslim playing catch with his kids or reading a book to his daughter, so they only show the crazies.
What’s funny is that Muslims believe Christians and Jews are people of the book, so it’s actually against our religion to hate them or anyone else for that matter.
@randomneuralfirings - Must have struck a nerve if you’re saying my quotes of Christian leaders and saints equals some sort of anti-Christian ideal among Jews.I didn’t write them,your Saints did.