Antisemitism

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Anti-Semitism is ideologically motivated hostility toward Jews, Jewish individuals or Jewish culture. Different sources offer a number of definitions of the term. For example, Charles Glock and Rodney Stark define anti-Semitism as:

"The hatred and persecution of Jews as a group; not the hatred of persons who happen to be Jews, but rather the hatred of persons because they are Jews." [Christian Beliefs & Anti-Semitism]

David Berger, professor of history at Brooklyn College, writes that:

"Essentially, anti-Semitism means either of the following: (1) hostility to Jews as a group which results from no legitimate cause or greatly exceeds any reasonable, ethical response to genuine provocation; or (2) a pejorative perception of Jewish physical or moral traits which is either utterly groundless or a result of irrational generalization and exaggeration"

The terms Semitic and "anti-Semitic" are not diametrically opposed, despite the use of the prefix "anti."

The term anti-Semitism was coined specifically to refer to hostility towards Jews. Discrimination or violence against other non-Jewish Semites are unlikely to be described as anti-Semitism.

Semantically, it would be considered that Arabs, being Semites, could not be anti-Semitic (barring issues of self-hatred). However, this illustrates the difficulty of the general adoption of an inaccurate term for a common phenomenon, since some Arabs are anti-Jewish, which is what anti-Semitism means in practical terms. Some speakers now prefer the term anti-Jewish as being more appropriate.

Wider Anti-Semitism

In addition to usage of the word to refer to ideological hatred of Jews, some Jews simply see the world as a dichotomy: Non-Jews either show sympathy and are Filo-Semites or show antipathy and are Anti-Semites. The wider definition of Anti-Semitism is in common use, and causes some confusion. While ideological Anti-Semitism is seen with contempt, the other meaning is only a political label and has no moral connotations.

Etymology and usage

The antisemitic political writer Wilhelm Marr is credited with coining the German word Antisemitismus in 1873, at a time when racial science was fashionable in Germany but religious hatred wasn't. This term was offered as an alternative to the older German word Judenhass, meaning Jew-hating.

So far as can be ascertained, the word was first printed in 1880. In that year Marr published "Zwanglose Antisemitische Hefte," and Wilhelm Scherer used the term "Antisemiten" in the "Neue Freie Presse" of January. The related word semitism was coined around 1885.

Roots of anti-Semitism

There have been a number of motivating factors that spurred anti-Semitism, including social, economic, national, political, racial, and religious factors and any number of combinations of the above. In Middle Ages the main root for the contempt of Jews were:

Religious based upon a so-called "teaching" by the Catholic Church that Jews are collectively and permanently responsible for killing Jesus Christ. (see Deicide) This was never a teaching of the Catholic Church, however - such a spurious teaching can not be found in any official magesterial teaching of any pope, and in fact, was repeatedly taught against by numerous popes. Vatican II in 1965 reiterated the constant teaching of the popes throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, many Christian groups continue to hold to this teaching.
Socio-Economic due to local authorities, rulers, and some church officials closing many occupations to the Jews, leaving them to be local tax collectors and lenders which provided a basis for claims that the Jews engaged in usury. These restrictions varied from one locale to another and one time period to another. The basis for moral contempt were also the participation of Jews in slave trade (especially between Slavic countries and the Muslim empire).

In the twentieth century, the most visible forms of anti-Semitism were:

Racist anti-Semitism, a kind of xenophobia. Some people perceive Jews as people of a racially distinct origin from other peoples, and claim that discrimination on the basis of such distinctness is valid.
Religious anti-Judaism. Like other religions, Judaism has faced discrimination and violence from people of competing faiths and in countries that practice state atheism. Unlike anti-Semitism in general, this form of hatred is directed at the religion itself, and so does not affect those of Jewish ancestry who have converted to another religion. Nevertheless, there have been instances, such as in Spain during the Inquisition, in which Jews who had converted were suspected of practicing Judaism in secret.
Socio-Economic anti-semitism rooted in the disproportionate success, relative to their numbers within the general population, that individuals Jews have achieved in a variety of occupations, including academic, legal, medical, scientific, financial and most rarely political. These individual successes have provided a basis for conspiracy theories.

Dennis Prager believes that the root cause of anti-Semitism is that Jews are socially and culturally different from the societies that they live in; in most eras Jews have not let themselves become assimilated into the majority culture. This led to belief that the Jews believed themselves superior to others, resulting in hatred towards Jews. Such phenomenon existed in ancient Egypt, ancient Persia, and in the ancient Roman Empire. While other conquered peoples assimilated and joined the religion of the majority, Jews retained their religious and cultural heritage.

In consequence of their alien status, Jews were often excluded socially and politically from the societies in which they lived, or alternately, were forced to enter professions that were considered socially inferior (tax- and rent-collectors, money-lenders, etc.) Over time, these professions engendered animosity among the people who came into contact with Jews—peasants, who were forced to pay their taxes to Jews could personify Jews as the people taking their earnings, while remaining loyal to the lords on whose behalf the Jews worked.

Background of anti-Semitism

Since the term anti-Semitismus was found in 1873, the whole idea belongs to the century of ideologies. However, the unfortunate events, that occurred for Jews, Jewish religious and Jewish people, can be traced in history centuries before. Those events form the background, that make foundation of anti-Semitism in XIX century possible. Disdain of Jews can be traced back to the Graeco-Roman period and the rise of Hellenistic culture. Most Jews rejected efforts to assimilate them into the dominant Greek (and later Roman) culture, and their religious practices, which conflicted with established norms, were perceived as being backward and primitive. Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, for example, writes disparagingly of many real and imagined practices of the Jews, while there are numerous accounts of circumcision being described as barbarous.

Furthermore, throughout the Diaspora, Jews tended to live in separate communities, in which they could practice their religion. This led to charges of elitism, as appear in the writings of Cicero. As an ethnic minority, Jews were also dependent on the goodwill of the ruling imperial power, though this was considered irksome to the indigenous population, which regarded any vestiges of autonomy among the local Jewish communities as reminders of their subject status to a foreign empire. Nevertheless, this did not always mean that opposition to Jewish involvement in local affairs was anti-Semitic. In 411 A.D. an Egyptian mob destroyed the Jewish temple at Elephantine in Egypt, but many historians argue that this was provoked by anti-Persian sentiment, rather than by anti-Semitism per se--the Jews, who were protected by the imperial power, were perceived as being its representatives.

The enormous and influential Jewish community in the ancient Egyptian port city of Alexandria saw manifestations of an unusual brand of anti-Semitism in which the local pagan populace rejected the biblical narrative of the Exodus as being anti-Egyptian. In response, a number of works were produced to provide an "Egyptian version" of what "really happened": the Jews were a group of sickly lepers that was expelled from Egypt. This was also used to account for Jewish practices--they were so sickly that they could not even wander in the desert for more than six days at a time, requiring a seventh day to rest, hence the origin of the Sabbath. It was these charges that led to Philo's apologetic account of Judaism and Jewish history, which was so influential in the development of early church doctrine.

Judaic traditions extend at least a thousand years BCE (before the common era), and are the historical predecessor for the religions of Christianity and Islam, both of whom hold some Judaic traditions and texts as sacred, though differ in aspects that are central to each distinct branch of religion.

Hence Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, each took different course in terms of beliefs, as well as traditional customs; each creating a separate and distinct culture, from the parent Judaism. Those who held to traditional Judaic belief were considered "deniers" of the newer beliefs and traditions, in much the same way that every religion considers people of other religions to be denying the truth.

While many more subtle manifestations of Church anti-Semitism can be traced to anti-Jewish sentiment in Egypt, these more blatant early accusations of Theological anti-Semitism has been particularly prevalent in Christianity. Christian theological anti-Semitism was created by the New Testament's replacement theology, or supersessionism, which taught that with the coming of Jesus a new covenant has rendered obsolete and has superseded the religion of Judaism. anti-Egyptian sentiment and the rejection of the Exodus mythology were not coopted by the Church since they countered Christian doctrine.

Anti-Judaism originated from the New Testament

Christian theological anti-Judaism was originated in the New Testament's replacement theology, or supersessionism, which taught that with the coming of Jesus a new covenant has rendered obsolete and has superseded the religion of Judaism. It was believed that "the wicked Jews", as a people, were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. A number of Christian preachers, particularly in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, additionally taught that religious Jews choose to follow a faith that they actually know is false out of a desire to offend God.

The Catholic Church is alleged by many anti-Catholics to have followed the "theology" until 1965. While there were many Catholics who were anti-semitic, this attitude toward the Jews was repeatedly condemned by the official Magesterium of the Church, was never a doctrine of the Catholic Church in which all the faithful were bound to believe. Rather, as part of Vatican II, which was a pastoral council and not a dogmatic council (it taught no new doctrine), the official condemnations of the deicide charge were reiterated. A small number of Protestant sects still teach it, however.

Some examples of anti-Semitism in the New Testament are:

Jesus said to them [i.e., the "Jews"], "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. . . . He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is you are not of God." (John 8:44-47)

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. (Acts 13:46-48)

Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie -- behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you. (Rev. 3:9).

Anti-Semitism in the Quran

See Islam and anti-Semitism

Medieval anti-Judaism, blood libels, the Black Death, and the Crusades

From around the 12th century through the 20th there were Christians who believed that some (or all) Jews possessed magical powers; some believed that they had gained these magical powers from making a deal with the devil.

This was also often accompanied by beliefs that Jewish religious practice entailed devil worship, or "Satanic" actions, such as drinking the blood of Christian children in mockery of the Christian Eucharist; this belief is known as the blood libel (the history of which is described in more detail in that article). Jews were also falsely accused of torturing consecrated host wafers in a re-enactment of the Crucifixion; this accusation was known as host desecration.

The Expulsion from England, France, Spain, Germany, and Spain

(to be written)

The Enlightenment and the rise of racial anti-Semitism

Racial anti-Semitism, the most modern form of anti-Semitism, is a type of racism mixed with religious persecution. Racial anti-Semites believe erroneously that the Jewish people are a distinct race. They also believe that Jews are inherently inferior to people of other races.

Modern European anti-Semitism has its origin in the ethnological theory that the Jewish people are a sub-group of Semitic peoples; Semitic people were thought by many Europeans to be entirely different from the Aryan, or Indo-European, populations, and that they can never be amalgamated with them. In this view, Jews are not opposed on account of their religion, but on account of their supposed racial characteristics. As such are mentioned: greed, a special aptitude for money-making, aversion to hard work, clannishness and obtrusiveness, lack of social tact, and especially of patriotism.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

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

Dreyfus and the New Anti-Semitism

See Alfred Dreyfus, Dreyfus affair

The Holocaust

Holocaust, Warsaw Ghetto, An Anti-semite that oppose the holocaust Protest of Zofia Kossak-Szczucka etc...

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism

Main article: Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism

Modern anti-Semitism in America and Western Europe

Passion plays, dramatic stagings representing the trial and death of Jesus, have been accused by some of being used in some Christian communities to arouse hatred of local Jews; the plays usually depict the entire Jewish people as condemning Jesus to crucifixion and being collectively guilty of deicide, murdering God. (Some critics have compared Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ to these kinds of passion plays, but this characterization is hotly disputed). There is a widely held opinion that an accurate reading of the New Testament by its very message inspires a certain amount of anti-semitism in the reader. Some would say that Christ rejected many aspects of Judaism, although he himself stated that he did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. Even today he is viewed in a less than favorable light by some Jews as a false messiah.

In the years leading up to America's entry into World War II, Father Charles Coughlin, an anti-Semitic radio preacher, as well as many other prominent public figures, condemned "the Jews" because they were leading America into war. While most Jews in America supported the interventionist camp, not all did.
Jews were condemned by populist politicians for their left-wing politics at the turn of the century.
Jews are condemned for their high level of participation in the slave trade.

Anti-Semitism in Poland

Since the reign of Casimir the Great, 1343, Poland was the safe asylum for Jews. Jewish population of Poland played very important role, their position was only comparable with the status of nobles. After partitions of Poland, and the final defeat of January Uprising 1864, the ways of Polish nationalists and Jews began to split.

Main article: History of the Jews in Poland See also Jacob Frank.

Anti-Semitism in Russia and the Soviet Union

Main article: History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union

Anti-Semitism and Islam

Main article: Islam and anti-Semitism

Islam in and of itself is not Anti-Semitic, although the Qur'an criticizes both the Hebrew Bible for allegedly being corrupted, and the Jews for allegedly not adhering to what was revealed to Moses. Islam is similar to Judaism, in that both see themselves as both spiritual descendants of Abraham and followers of the same prophets. Islamic scholars are quick to point out that Islam encourages toleration and respect for Jews, as well as Christians, as both are considered "People of the Book", meaning they share common scriptures and prophets. Many people have produced hadith concerning Muhammad that showed how he did business with the Jewish tribes of his city and how he ordered Muslims to share food with their Jewish neighbors.

Historically there has not been as much anti-Semitism in Muslim lands as in Christian lands, up until the Twentieth century. While many Jews were persecuted in Europe, they enjoyed relative political and religious freedom in Islamic societies. After helping the Muslims conquer Spain, they helped the Muslims govern the country throughout the Middle Ages (and parts remained under Muslim control until the completion of the Reconquista in 1492); during that time, Jewish citizens had rights nearly equal to those of American citizens today. Jewish historians refer to that time period as "The Golden Age of Judaism."

Jews, and their Rabbis, gained prominence in the courts of Baghdad, Cairo, and Istanbul, performing the duties of palace physicians, finance officers, and even government ministers known as "viziers.' As a minority, Jews exempt from Islamic law (Sharia), and the governments allowed them a degree of self-rule by appointing Jewish leaders to implement Jewish law for their communities. Important synagogues dot the major cities of the Middle East, and relations between Muslims and Jews have been relatively calm for over a thousand years.

Anti-Semitism in the Muslim world increased greatly in the twentieth century. This can be traced to various sources; some of it can be traced to long-held prejudices and historical misunderstandings. The main reason for the rise of anti-Semitism in the past century may be due to the poor state of relations between Israel, a Jewish-majority state, and the isolation enforced by the neighboring Arab countries. Criticism of Israeli policy has resulting in a marked rise in distrust of Jews and anti-Semitism at the popular level.

Anti-Semitism in the Arab World

Main article: Arabs and anti-Semitism

Holocaust revisionism

Holocaust revisionists often claim that "the Jews" or a "Zionist conspiracy" is responsible for the exaggeration or wholesale fabrication of the events of the Holocaust. Critics of such revisionism point to an overwhelming amount of physical and historical evidence that supports the mainstream historical view of the Holocaust. It should be noted that most academics also agree that there is no creditable evidence for any such conspiracy.

Disputes over modern manifestations of anti-Semitism

In recent years some Jewish groups claim that they have noticed what they are describing as "the new anti-Semitism", especially in the anti-globalization movement, among many in the political left-wing, and among those who consider themselves anti-colonialist. Core characteristic of this "new anti-Semitism" is a vilification of Israel. The underlying thought is that criticism of Israel (and Zionism) is directed against Jews. Evidence for this claim is often sought in unfair criticism of Israel or the application of a double standard.

Others, however, deny that criticism of Israel (and Zionism) necessarily represents anti-Semitism. [1] According to this view, when criticism of Israel is purely political in nature, it does not condemn the Jews. According to some, the overreaction of some Jewish groups means the dilution and abuse of the term anti-Semitism, that should be attributed only to hatred of Jews and dangerous and criminal acts, not to opinions about a nation's politics. The possibility exists that by labelling any criticism on Israel as anti-Semitic, some critics may indeed develop an anti-Semitic view in response.

A recent survey in Europe entitled Iraq and Peace in the World showed that sixty percent of Europeans most often selected Israel as the nation that “presents a threat to peace in the world”. Palestine was not listed (as one of the 14 countries together with the EU from which a selection was to be made) because, the EU says, it is not a country.[2] Therefor, it is unclear whether some respondents saw the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a threat to world peace and chose Israel to make this clear.

Jewish groups expressed shock and regret to the results, likening them to views that were held by Germans before the Holocaust. Rabbi Marvin Hier, of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, stated that these “shocking results defy logic and [are] a racist flight of fancy that only shows that anti-Semitism is deeply embedded within European society.” The poll did not provide respondents the option of selecting any nation involved in the Middle East conflict other than Israel and Syria.page 78 (pdf page 82)

The list of 15 countries that might be a threat to peace was put together by a low-level EU unit in concert with Belgian members of EOS Gallup Europe. It was not cleared by foreign policy experts working for Chris Patten, the external relations commissioner. [3]

The president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi stated that the poll results “point to the continued existence of a bias that must be condemned out of hand. To the extent that this may indicate a deeper, more general prejudice against the Jewish world, our repugnance is even more radical.” Prodi further said that the poll “ "reflected neither the ideas nor the policies of the commission,"; and discounted public opinion as a factor in the formation of European policy.” [4]

The political director of the European Policy Centre suggested that Europeans might fear that Israeli policies "are creating the conditions for terrorism in the occupied territories" and that "the idea that people are anti-Semitic by reason of criticising the Israeli Government is just totally ludicrous." [5]

History of anti-Semitism

Iraq and peace in the world -- The poll cited above

Anti-Semitism Behind EU Poll? Majority of Europeans in new survey called Israel ‘threat to world peace

CNN interview with Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League on the EU poll

EUMC report "Manifestations of anti-Semitism in the European Union"

Organizations dedicated to combatting anti-Semitism

Anti-Defamation League

American Jewish Committee

American Jewish Congress

Southern Poverty Law Center

References

The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, Norman G. Finkelstein. Verso Books, 2001.
Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, Israel Shahak. Pluto Press, 1994.
The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust As Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Michael Berenbaum. Little Brown & Co, 1993.
The War Against the Jews: 1933-1945 Lucy S. Davidowicz. Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub, 1991.
Antisemitism in America, Leonard Dinnerstein, Oxford Univ. Press, 1995.
Antisemitism in the New Testament, Lillian C. Freudmann, University Press of America, 1994.
Jewish Self-Hatred: Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews, Sander L. Gilman, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990, ISBN 0801840635
The Destruction of the European Jews Raul Hilberg. Holmes & Meier, 1985. 3 volumes
Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory Deborah Lipstadt, 1994, Penguin.
Why the Jews? The Reasons for Antisemitism Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin, Simon & Schuster, 1983
Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred, Robert S. Wistrich. Pantheon Books, 1992.
The Politics of Anti-Semitism. Ed. Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair. CounterPunch/AK Press, 2003.
A New Antisemitism? Debating Judeophobia in 21st Century Britain, Ed. Paul Iganski and Barry Kosmin. Profile Books, 2003.
Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism, Abraham Foxman. Harper, 2003.