Antisemitism

Anti-Semitism is hostility or violence toward people of Jewish ancestry. Although sometimes confused for hatred of all Semites, The word "anti-Semitism" was coined specifically to refer to hatred of Jews. There are numerous forms of anti-Semitism, originating in different trends in human society, but usually having the common ground of xenophobia.

Etymology of the word

The word was coined in Germany in 1879 by Wilhelm Marr as a more euphonious way of saying "Judenhass" (Jew-hatred). This name was chosen because Marr and others believed in a now discredited theory that held that certain racial groups and linguistic groups coincide. Semites, at the time, were defined as natives of a group of Middle Eastern nations related in ethnicity, culture and language. Under this theory Semites would include: Jews, the various Arab groups, and ancient nationalities such as the Assyrians, Canaanites, Carthaginians, Aramaeans and Akkadians (one of the ancestors of the ancient Babylonians). The theory of semetic races has long since been discredited.

The only Semitic people found in significant numbers in Germany at the time the word was coined were Jews, and because of that, anti-Semitism was considered a convenient way to name the hatred of Jews without reminding of either hatred or Jews.

Since the late twentieth century, some advocates have argued that since Arabs speak a Semitic language, they by definition cannot be "anti-Semitic". Jewish, Christian and moderate Muslim groups (as well as English usage dictionaries) generally consider this just a word game (see semantic dispute). Anti-Semitism, in its generally accepted meaning, means solely hatred of Jews. See also Anti-Arab.

Similary, some writers and speakers have used "anti-Semitism" to mean hatred of either Jews or Arabs, considering both groups as "Semites". This is highly controversial, and they have been accused of distorting the meaning of the word for propaganda purposes.

Theological anti-Semitism

Theological anti-Semitism blames the entire Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, and for willfully and deliberately refusing to believe in the New Testament, despite the fact that all Jews "know" that Christianity is the one true faith. Theological anti-Semitism was created by the New Testament's replacement theology, which taught that with the coming of Jesus a new covenant has rendered obsolete and has superseded the religion of Judaism.

Mere disagreement with the religion of Judaism, as such, does not constitute anti-Semitism in any way. However, teaching that Jews murdered God, or that that they literally choose to follow a faith that they actually know is false (as many Christian preachers have claimed) constitutes the oldest and perhaps most widely spread form of anti-Semitism. Theological anti-Semitism is referred to by some historians and scholars as anti-Judaism to emphasize its relationship to the Jewish religion.

Mystical, or Demonic, anti-Semitism

From the medieval era to the 1900s many Christians believed that some (or all) Jews possessed magical powers; depending on the culture, people believed that the Jews gained these magical powers from making a deal with the devil.

"The Satanizing of the Jews: Origin and Development of Mystical Anti-Semitism" Joel Carmichael, from, 1992

Economic Anti-Semitism

From the medieval era to today, many people believed that Jewish people unfairly took away jobs and money from Christians.

More commonly, there is prejudice against Jews largely on account of the fact that Jews are often, in spite of what ethnic and religious differences they have with the population at large, in positions of power and prestige. Hence, anti-Jewish prejudice is very often, by the defenders of Jews and Jewishness, ascribed to envy more than to any sort of religious concern.

Racial Anti-Semitism

Racial anti-Semitism is the most modern form of anti-Semitism; it is based on the erroneous notion that the Jewish people are a distinct race. Racially motivated anti-Semitism often stems from the belief that Jews are inherently inferior to people of other ancestry; it is a type of racism mixed with religious persecution.

Jews are not actually a race; they are an evolving religious civilization that started out as a nationality in exile. Historians, as well as Jewish people themselves, see Judaism as a type of ethnic group. It is unlike many other ethnic groups, as it allows outsiders to join, so it is an ethnic group with people of all races and ethnicities in it.

Anti-Semitism in the 20th and 21st century Middle-East

In the Middle east, Jewish people are widely resented both for their religious differences, and for the fact that they now live in what was once the predominantly Muslim territory of Palestine. According to Islamic law, all lands fall into one of only two possible legal categories (A) Land currently under Islamic control, and (B) Land once controlled by Muslims, that all Muslims worldwide are bound to re-conquer; such lands, including the State of Israel and Spain, are termed "lands under the sword." Others would argue that Palestinians are embittered because they feel they were unfairly expelled from their country. This has nothing do to with religion.

From a sociological point of view, the origin of much modern day anti-Semitism in these nations is due to indoctrination of young children to hate Jewish people from an early age.

Palestinian television programs for kindergarten age children feature songs about becoming suicide-bombers, and drenching shopping malls with Jewish blood

Syrian and Palestinian school textbooks deny the existence of the State of Israel.

Children who have grown up in this atmosphere don't see themselves as anti-Semitic. In the last few years American and European politicians and human rights groups have begun criticising the Palestinian Authority and other middle-eastern Arab nations for such television shows and textbooks; they are held to be violations of the Oslo accords.

Anti-Zionism

Many people all over the world feel that in the vast majority of cases, ideological anti-Zionists are also anti-Semites, combining the two concepts in a way that cancels the distinction between them. These people hold that while it is legitimate to criticize the state of Israel because of its particular acts or policies, the conceptual denial of the right of Jews for a state is indicative of considering Jews inferior - which is exactly anti-Semitism. In addition, they feel that the frequent disability of anti-Zionists to distinguish between Israel the state, and Israelis and Jews as individuals is nothing but traditional anti-Semitic demonization and hatred.

On the other hand, most Zionists consider it to be instrumental that the nation be placed in historical Palestine. This raises questions whether Zionism can be accomplished without losses for the Palestinians; the New Historians have analyzed this.

Most Jews feel that there is a distinction between anti-Zionism (which Jews hold to be based on anti-Semitism in most instances) and any specific criticism of the Israeli government or of a facet of Israeli society. The latter by all reasonable definitions of the term cannot be considered anti-Semitic. For instance, one can oppose the occupation of the West Bank without being an anti-Zionist. Thus, although anti-Zionism often is the same as anti-Semitism, a specific criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism.

To understand why this issue is so complicated, one must consider how most Jews define the word "Zionism", and how many non-Jews understand the word. For the great majority of Jews, Zionism means only that the Jewish people, like all other peoples, have a right to a state of their own. Just as Arabs have a right to have an Arab nation (there are in fact nearly two dozen ethnic Arab nations) and just as Japanese people have a right to have a Japanese nation, Jews have a right to one as well. This is what some Jewish writers have termed "normalcy"; the goal of Jews to live as other peoples do all across the world. Nevertheless, out of the thousands of ethnic groups on the planet, only a few have a state of their own. Some would argue that it cannot be considered racist to feel that not all ethnic or religious groups can have a nation of their own.

Many people outside the state of Israel consider themselves Zionist, because being a Zionist only means that one supports the right of Jews to have a state; it does not necessarilly mean, for instance, that one must emigrate to that state (aliyah) in order to populate it (yishuv yisrael). Some anti-Zionists claim that Zionism has something to do with race, which is totally incorrect: the State of Israel has allowed million of people of all races and skin colors to become Israeli citizens including Hispanics, Vietnamese, Yemenites, Druze, Bedouins, black Africans, etc. In many ways, these false teachings about the nature of Zionism may be a sign of anti-Semitism itself.

Examples of where anti-Zionism has clearly been a veneer for for anti-Semitism include events in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the former Soviet Union.

"Zionism, even as a code word, is the litmus test with respect to anti-Semitism throughout the world, even in America. The facile rhetorical linkage of Zionism with imperialism and racism is little more than an admission that Jews are uniquely not entitled to be like everyone else and live as citizens as part of a majority in a nation, for better or for worse. Zionism, as mirrored in the State of Israel, has proven the point that Jews are in fact just human. Israel has displayed a full range of human achievement and weakness and of decency and its absence common to all nations. Comparatively speaking, one can make the case that Israel has behaved better, given its circumstances. The anti-Zionist, like the anti-Semite a century ago, does not allow the Jew the privilege of normalcy. " [Leon Botstein, The New Republic, September 8, 1997]

"The anti-Zionist becomes an overt anti-Semite as soon as he goes beyond criticism of the policies of the Jerusalem government (a favorite activity of the Israelis themselves) and challenges the very existence of the State of Israel. For to refuse the Jews their right to nationhood is to perpetuate their bondage. To de-Zionize Israel would be like trying to de-Helvetize Switzerland. The fact that Israel has an Arab minority is shocking only to those for whom the idea of a Jewish majority in any country is intolerable." [Jacques Givet, "The Anti-Zionist Complex"]

Some Anti-Semitism existed in Poland in 1956 when Gomulka rose to power, but only at minor levels. His government was opposed to anti-Semitism. During this time period many Jewish Poles were repatriated from the U.S.S.R., and many of them immigrated to the State of Israel or other nations. However, in line with the official policy of the Soviet Union, after the Six Day War in 1967 the government of Poland turned against its Jewish citizens. Gomulka publicly warned Jews against becoming a "fifth column" against Poland, and merely expressing sympath for israel was stated as reason to believe that someone was a traitor. Thus, most Jews instantly became suspected of treason if they had expressed any support for Israel. Immediately following this was an explostion of anti-Semitic books and articles filled with anti-Zionism, all carrying traditional anti-Semitic overtones. Immediately following this was a nation-wide anti-Jewish purge, removing Jews from their jobs in the government, universities, and many other fields. This purge was directed by the minister of the interior, and head of the security police, MieczysGaw Moczar.

Some Anti-Semitism existed in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, but not much. Tolerance towards Jews in this nation was traditional. The situation began to change when strong differences emerged between the liberal regime in Prague and the more conservative Soviet Union. By August 1968 the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to destroy the liberal regime, and the Soviet's instituted an anti-Zionist campaign against the nation's Jews. Soviet propaganda claimed that Zionist attempted a "counter-revolution", which the Soviet Union had to save the nation from. Immediately following this invasion Jews were purged from many government and university positions.

Martin Luther King Jr. on Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism:

".. You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely 'anti-Zionist.' And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God's green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - this is God's own truth. Anti-Semitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind....And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe....The anti-Semite rejoices at any opportunity to vent his malice. The times have made it unpopular, in the West, to proclaim openly a hatred of the Jews. This being the case, the anti-Semite must constantly seek new forms and forums for his poison. How he must revel in the new masquerade! He does not hate the Jews, he is just 'anti-Zionist'! ...Let my words echo in the depths of your soul: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - make no mistake about it."

Occurrence of anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitic beliefs are often held by people of many different ethnicities. Anti-Semitism has a long history, including persecution of Jews in Europe, the Middle East and the Western world at large. (Can someone expand on this?) Relations between Christians and Jews have at times been horrible, other times bad, yet at other times peaceful. In recent years there has been much reconciliation between Jews and Christians. In many nations there has been a remarkable decline in anti-Semitism.

One of the most damaging anti-semitic tractates published is the infamous Russian hoax, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Common occurences of anti-Semitism: