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Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is prejudice towards, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews as a national, ethnic, religious or racial group. The term was coined in Germany in 1860 as a scientific-sounding term for Judenhass ("Jew-hatred") and does not refer to Non-Jewish Semites. Anti-Semitism takes many forms, ranging from hateful words uttered to individual Jews to organized violent attacks by mobs, state police, or even military attacks on entire Jewish communities.
462 Questions
Is Anti-Semitism still a problem in today's society?
Certainly. It is mostly an issue in places where there are large numbers of both Jews and Anti-Semites, such as France, but it occurs elsewhere too. Anti-Semitism is much more common in the Islamic World than elsewhere.
A few recent examples:
- In Poland, 48 percent of the population shows deep-seated antisemitic attitudes.
- "In Hungary, Jews can feel the hatred in the streets."
- In the Pine Bush school district in upstate New York, Jewish students were being bullied, beaten, taunted and harassed while authorities looked the other way (New York Times). According to ADL polls, 35 million Americans hold anti-Jewish attitudes.
- Antisemitism has increased in Europe since 2000, with increases in verbal attacks as well as vandalism such as fire bombings of Jewish schools, and desecration of synagogues and cemeteries. These incidents take place not only in France and Germany, but also in counties like Belgium, Austria and the U.K.
- Recent physical assaults against Jews in Europe include beatings, stabbings and other violence, in a number of cases resulting in serious injury or death. Holland and Sweden have also had high rates of antisemitic attacks since 2000.
Why was it a big deal for a Jewish person to be baptized?
The fundamental issue was not the physical act of pouring water on the child, but all of the religious and social implications that the baptism would have. While there was some debate among Christians about whether a Non-Christian could be baptized against his will (or the will of his parents if he was underage), there was no debate that the baptized person was irrevocably a Christian and could not be "un-baptized".
The primary problem arises when you realize that it was illegal in all Christian countries for Jewish adults to raise a Christian child. This meant that the child would then be forcibly seized from his parents and given to a Christian family. The reason for this illegality is that it was believed that the Jewish parents would teach the child "untruths" that would condemn the soul of the Christian child to Hell. For this same reason, all contact between the Jewish parents and the child was forbidden. A number of Jewish children who were forcibly baptized were thus ripped from the arms of their parents in order to put them "in good Christian houses". This was a violation of the family's dignity and wholesomeness.
The secondary problem is that Jews believe that their religious views are correct and, therefore, by force of law, their children were taken to be taught incorrect beliefs about the world and not to be taught the correct nature of the world. Jews also value their traditions and it is very important to teach those traditions to the next generation. The loss of this child makes the transmission of these important traditions impossible.
What are some examples of antisemitism?
German- that is nazi anti-semitism worked heavily on Hate propaganda. the Jews were blamed and offensive cartoons even targeted the kiddy set- for such social problems as World War I, the depression, the Russian Revolution, and so on. There was some true kernels mixed in with the toxic trap-rock. It is true the NKVD officer, directly responsible for the St.Petersberg/Ekaterinaberg massacre, a Lt. Yuroksky, was a Jewish ex- station house cop/ He used an American made M-l9ll cColt automatic as did many early NKVD and KGB agents, this was/ois a powerful gun ideal for assaults and attacks on ( major targets).-like th Romanov family. ironically the firearms wre originally inte4nded for use by White Army specialist troops ( such as Tank, artillery and airmen, and IKGB operatives who were to protect the Czar. well as they say Guns don:t care who is using them. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, while we are in the Crimson Land, were first circulated by the propaganda branch of- the IKGB (imperial Counter Intelligence-espionage) the Czarist equivalent of the later KGB/ Hitler and hiterian propagnda llinked Communism with Jewish people, and in many cases they were accurate ( Lt. Jake Yuroksky) for example.
Why didn't the US assist the Jews in Germany in the 1930s?
The US was in the middle of the Great Depression and had to look to help their own before they could help foreigners.
In the 1930s, word was just beginning to get out regarding treatment of the Jews. Early actions included armbands, removal to certain areas of the cities, closing of businesses and such were not immediately seen as leading to anything that could be interfered with, given the sovereignty of the countries involved, as well as German propaganda. Boats with refugees were refused by many European countries as well as the US (look up Voyage of the St. Louis). Anti-semitism had a part in the refusal as well as the reluctance to admit immigrants who might take the few jobs that were available. Finally, the concentration camps that were opened to mass horror at the end of the war were beyond anyone's imagination. There were a few people who did assist in sending children to Britain, families who wisely moved out of Europe before the crisis, but the number helped was in the low 1000s.
because they were scared of also getting killed like they killed the other jews that had takesn some of the jews out of sighet
How did adolf hitler get people to hate Jews?
Hitler hated Jews because they were apparently ruining his country because they were making the Germans starve and live in poverty when they stole ALL THE BUSINESS and that was what he told his people who also saw this because they were not blind. They wanted to save their country and Hitler told them it was the Jews fault so they hated them because of it.
Hitler's political manifesto replete with fanatic nationalism and anti-Semitism?
Mein Kampf (german for "My Struggle")
Define the terms anti-semitism and persecution?
Anti-Semitism is prejudice or hostility towards jews
Persecution is systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group.
Did hitler hate the jews because of their class-ism?
No. Hitler did not believe the Jews to be classist. (This is one of the few things that Hitler believed about Jews that actually accords with reality.) Since he did not believe Jews to be classist, he did not resent them for this.
Conversely, Hitler provided numerous rationales during that period as to why he believed that the Jews were worthy of hate. However, the only person qualified to answer this question fully and accurately, without speculation, (Hitler) killed himself on April 30, 1945. Various contributors have stated that the following were some of the reasons that Hitler claimed to hate the Jews:
1) Superiority of the German People: Hitler believed that the Germans as a "race" of Nordic of peoples were superior in all ways to all non-German people. Since the Jews were not a Nordic people, Hitler reviled them (as he reviled the Romani, Slavs, and other ethnic minorities).
2) Decay of the German State: During the 1800s, Jews began to become more integrated in German National Life. They served in its government, its military divisions, and its industry. As was typical of Western Europe, the Jews had more of a hand in the higher echelons of government than their population percentage would account for. The Nazis saw this increasing Jewish percentage in the government as a slow takeover of German policy and a corruption of the German people. They contrasted the great victories under Bismarck with the depressing failure of World War I and noted how a much larger percentage of soldiers in the latter war were Jewish. There was also the sentiment than in the early 20th century, values were beginning to ebb (this is similar to current politics in the United States) and the Jewish integration in the German apparatus (becoming teachers, lawyers, doctors, etc.) was to blame for this recession of values as opposed to modernity as a process.
3) Nationalism: Germany was brought together under the Nationalist conception that all peoples with German culture, history, and language should be united regardless of which principality currently held control. The German self-conception also had an ethnic component, holding that the perfect German was blond and blue eyed. Regardless of the fact that the majority of Germans were dark haired, Jews stuck out like a sore thumb because they overwhelmingly had darker hair. In addition, the idea of a German Jew was still rather new and both Jews and non-Jews tended to see the Jews in Germany as being part of a vast Jewish network and that these Jews just happened to be in Germany. The Nazis capitalized on this cosmopolitan sensibility by claiming that Jews' allegiances were not to the German State, but to secret Jewish Councils organizing world events.
4) Economy: Whether it was true or not, there was perception among Germans and the Nazis in particular that Jews were wealthy individuals and had a higher per-capita income than the Germans. In many ways (because of the above two reasons) Germans felt that the Jews were "stealing" their money while they were poor and suffering. Adolf Hitler blamed the Jewish population for the social and economic problems of the era. A popular anti-Semitic belief was that Jewish families were shrewd and sought to control the wealth of a community at the expense of other members in the community. This being the case he thought that the world would be a better place if the Jews were no longer in charge of finance.
5) Pseudo-Science: The late 19th and early 20th century was filled with radical new ideas concerning Social Darwinism. It was believed by the Pseudo-Scientific community (which was rather in vogue) that different groups of people or races exhibited different emotional traits that were linked to physical differences. This led to the belief that Jews were corrupt and thieving by their irreversible nature and that they could not be "cured" and brought up as proper Europeans. This formalized Racial Anti-Semitism in Germany and made the situation much more dire for German Jews.
6) Heresy/Christian Anti-Semitism: Although not as much an issue in World War II as it may have been 500 years prior, Jews were still considered the heretics who murdered the LORD and Savior. This helped to justify Anti-Semitism as the Jewish comeuppance for their accepting of the "Christ Bloodguilt". Jews were called Christ-killers by the Nazis, as they had by most Christian churches for centuries, and that was behind a lot of the hatred. This existed regardless of the fact that the Bible names the Jews as God's Chosen people first.
7) Hitler's Ambition: Adolf Hitler was very ambitious. His dream was to see Germany at the top. After the First World War he became more and more ambitious. He blamed the Jews for the misery and suffering of Germans. Moreover, he held Jews responsible for the loss of World War I. He claimed that they held high position and were very rich. This was one of reason for his hatred for the Jews.
8) Populism: Adolf Hitler's "hatred" of the Jews was one of the tools he used to convince the people of Germany that he knew the source of their economic problems and that he was the person who could correct the situation. He chose to use the long standing antisemitism in Germany to gain the people's support.
9) Anti-Semitic Childhood: When Hitler was studying Art in Munich as a teenager he was rejected from the academy he wished to attend and for some reason, he blamed it on the city's Jewish population. He was also brought up in an anti-Semitic family (at least some believe).
10) Foreigners: Hitler argued that the German Jews were not 'native' members of the country and should not be able to enjoy the benefits of citizenship. Their motives would be suspect as their loyalty was to something other than Germany. (Of course, this argument has been used against all minorities and is equally fatuous as concerns the Jews.)
11) Communism: Hitler alleged that the Jews were the primary supporters of Communists and thus also considered them in bed with his political opposition. (It should be noted that there is NO credible evidence the Jews were the main supporters of Communism, and this is yet another stereotype used by bigots for decades.)
Why is Holocaust Denial relatively common?
The reason that Holocaust Denial is common is that it is ideologically motivated, not motivated by the facts. There is more information, data, documents, eyewitness testimony, physical evidence, etc. on the Holocaust than practically any other event of similar magnitude. There are more documents attesting to the Holocaust than documents that exist attesting to the existence of Napoleon (never mind the various things he is known to have done). This sound outrageous, but consider for a moment the number of memoranda that 20th century governments produce at all levels compared to the much smaller bureaucracies in the 19th century. If people had a serious wish to engage in "Napoleon Denial", it would be correspondingly easier since there is less evidence to overthrow the correct historical perspective that Napoleon lived.
The ideological underpinnings for Holocaust Denial come from several major sources. Among them are:
- Anti-Semitism: People who hate Jews would prefer to minimize the suffering they underwent so as to minimize any sympathy or remorse that might be due to them. This also falls in the "Jewish Conspiracies" allegation that Jews are trying to control the world and/or the Nazi actions against Jews were part of a legitimate power struggle in Germany as opposed to outright slaughter.
- Anti-Zionism: There is a significant part of the population of Holocaust Deniers who oppose the existence of the State of Israel and see the Holocaust as a but for cause of the state's existence. In their minds, if the Holocaust did not happen, then the creation of Israel is an obvious error that should be rectified. This is especially common in the Islamic World.
- White Supremacy: White Supremacists usually idolize Hitler and the Nazis for their desire to racially cleanse Europe. As a result, they oppose his vilification, which can naturally be attributed to a genocidal dictator.
- Anti-Israel Support Groups: This is only slightly different from the Anti-Zionists and these groups often overlap. Many countries have strong financial, trade, AID, or reparation programs with Israel. For example, the German government has to provide millions of euros of machinery to Israel on a regular basis as reparations for the war. The United States gives Israel more AID than any other single nation. These groups wish to minimize these payments and see Holocaust Denial as an effective method to argue that the Jews are not in a position warranting such support. However, in contrast to the Anti-Zionists, they do not necessarily believe that Israel should not exist, but that it should be financially isolated.
- Foreign Complicity: Teaching of the Holocaust in Europe usually includes mention that there was significant collaboration between Europeans and Germans in the Holocaust. Croatia and Romania even had their own mini-Holocausts in parallel with the Nazi one. However, due to the strong sentiments of nationalism in these countries, as a result of the fight against Communism, the teaching of the complicity angers them and as a result, they would seek to minimize their involvement. These individuals claim that it was exclusively a German activity and disclaim responsibility, so many of these "side-massacres" are Denied.
Ezra Pound hated Jews because he believed they controlled financial markets and banks. He thought they were responsible for wars due to the exercise of such economic power. Such views were not uncommon in the early to mid 20th Century. His brilliant poetry notwithstanding, Pound's racist views toward Jews and his support for the Axis during WWII in radio broadcasts led to his arrest for high treason at the end of the war. He wrote the Pisan Cantos in the Gorilla Cage under the brutal sun during his imprisonment. Many consider this the best section of the Cantos and he was awarded the Bollingen Prize while awaiting trial for treason. He never was tried as he was found unfit to stand trial due to insanity. He was sent to St. Elizabeth's Insane Asylum for 12 years where he held court and instructed some of the greatest young poets of the 50's like Charles Olson and reactionary pundits like Eustice Mullins. He was finally released and returned to Italy to live his final years in Venice, virtually silent. His paranoid and racist sentiments toward the Jews were his undoing. His influence on poetry was immense.
What is the word for people who hate Jews or other cultures?
The Nazis.
___
- Jew-haters - antisemites
- those who hate other cultures are xenophobes or (often) racists.
Where do Jews originate from and do Jews still hate Germans?
There are two questions here:
Where do Jews originate from?
Jews are the people who historically come from the area that is now the countries of Israel and Palestine.
Do Jews still hate Germans?
Many Jews still have problems with buying prominent German products, such as cars, because of the association with the Holocaust, but would not demonstrate any prejudice towards German people. Conversely, many Germans might have a bit of hesitance in doing business with Israelis because of the political situation in Israel, but nothing close to prejudice. The reason for this rapprochement comes from the way that the Germans as society have apologized for the evil of the Holocaust to the Jews and the general acceptance and understanding with which Jews have responded to that apology.
When did anti-Semitism start and end?
Anti-Semitism started back in the early Bible times and it continues today. The Palestinians cannot stand the Israelis. There are even people in the United States who do not like them. Crying shame since they are wonderful people.
Your question implies that either there was only ever one pharaoh, or that all pharaohs had that same prejudice, both of which views are obviously false.
In fact there is no evidence for racial prejudice of any kind in ancient Egyptian history; there is plenty of evidence for some pharaohs having ambitions of expanding their empire into Libya, Nubia, Palestine and as far north as the Hittite kingdom, by subjugating their neighbours by military force. There is also plenty of evidence for all the nations of the region enslaving defeated populations - the Babylonians did it, the Assyrians did it, the Persians did it and so on.
Enslaving Jews was, for any of the pharaohs, no different to enslaving Libyans, Nubians, Canaanites or anyone else. In that sense the Biblical pharaoh was completely lacking in prejudice - any captive slave was exactly the same as any other captive slave, meaning that they were valuable property, like cattle or geese. No sane owner would willing allow his cattle to wander off on their own, just as pharaoh was disinclined to allow the Jewish slaves of the Bible story to wander off.
What did pogroms in Russia do?
Pogroms were targeted, anti-Jewish riots that began in Russia during the 19th century. Rampant anti-semitism began when Russia acquired territories that had large numbers of Jews. From the beginning, Russia restricted movement of the Jews, confining them to specific areas unless they converted to Orthodox Christianity.
Increase in food prices
Was communism in russia led by Jews?
No. This is a typical Anti-Semitic canard. While it is true that Jews were overrepresented in the Communist party relative to their population in the Russian Empire, most of the leaders of the Communist Party were not Jews, such as Lenin and Stalin.
Communism in Russia was led by Russians who were furious with the Czar for abusing his power over his subjects and making them suffer in serfdom and quasi-slavery while they enjoyed the high-life.
Why has Judaism survived over the many centuries despite the diaspora and persecution?
Answer 1: Refusal to Give Up Faith
When considering the long history of the Jewish people and their journey through some otherwise incredible times the one thing that seems to stand out the most above all else, is their undeniable faith. The Holocaust and Spanish Inquisition was truly a testament of that faith. To be subjected to such atrocities because they would not believe in another god in Heaven and would not bow down and worship or give praise to other gods. For that, they suffered terribly. The key to their survival and longevity lies in their their relationship to G-d and their unwavering faith. "For God so loved the Jews, for they are my people and I am their God."
Answer 2: Christian Divine Plan for the Jews
The Jews followed the same God as the Christian God since Adam and Eve, especially since Noah after the word-wide flood subsided. They were under a different covenant with laws to follow and not the same grace that people got after Christ died. There's only one answer to how they've been around since the beginning of time till the end. They are God's chosen people, even though they've rejected Christ. They will be protected by God all the way up until judgement day. Jews will either wind up being condemned or accepting Christ and making it to heaven. God has guided them all throughout the old testament and God still has a plan for them in the new testament even though they don't follow it.
Answer 3: Jewish Divine Plan for the Jews
Judaism does not recognize a Christian divine plan. Judaism does not recognize Jesus. Judaism does not recognize the new testament.
Judaism only recognizes the one G-d of Israel.
The Jewish people have survived so long because The Jewish people are eternal.
In Genesis 17:7 G-d promises Abraham that the Jewish people will be eternal in an everlasting covenant between Him and the Jewish people.
On Mount Sinai G-d promises the Jewish people they will be an eternal nation.
Leviticus 26:44 states: And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Answer 4: Uniqueness of the Jews
There are numerous interrelated reasons that the Jews survived despite being deprived of their homeland and being almost consistently persecuted to varying degrees, regardless of whether the miracle-argument is convincing or not.
1) Identity and Distinctiveness: Both Jews and non-Jews perceived Jews as a unique ethnic group of people with specific religious beliefs. Historically, parts of the Jewish and parts of the non-Jewish communities have strongly resisted integration and legal equality between Jews and non-Jews. This distinctive identity was further reinforced by the various forms of persecution that Jews suffered. They realized that nobody would look out for their interests consistently other than themselves, which made them more resilient and inward-looking as a community with distinct customs and beliefs.
It is worth noting that in countries with more persistent persecution (but not genocide) of Jews, that Jews tend to be more religious than in countries were Jews feel less persecuted. This is not to encourage persecution, but there is a strong correlation between stronger persecution (that does not rise to genocides or massacres) and a more religious Jewish population.
2) High Degree of Literacy and Education: Jews have historically had high literacy rates and a determination to be educated. This resulted in Jews being able to more effectively preserve their traditions than the general Christian or Muslim populations with which they lived. This prevented cultural diffusion, where it did occur, from obfuscating Jewish traditions because the latter could always be reread and discussed.
3) Usefulness: Since Jews were more educated, they were able to branch out into numerous more skilled professions. Additionally, many of the professions in artisanry were forbidden to Jews. This led to many Jews becoming lawyers, doctors, bankers, and bureaucrats. Their abilities to help Gentile leaders effectively rule their states made the Jews worth protecting in a way that other minorities, such as the Romani, did not encourage.
4) Mobility: Unlike most minorities, the Jews were able to migrate from areas with increasing persecution and hardship to areas where these things were lessened. This moblity was enhanced by the above three benefits. Since Jews were distinct, it fostered a strong sense of brotherhood, meaning that a migrant Jew would be welcomed by the extant Jewish community. Additionally, the shared literacy of the Jewish communities meant that even if the migrants did not speak the vernacular, they could at least communicate with Jews using written Hebrew in a pinch. However, more useful were Jewish languages like Yiddish, Ladino, Yevanic, or Judeo-Arabic which had a larger geographic dispersions than most spoken languages of the time. Also, given that Jews were very useful, they posed less of welfare problem than non-Jewish migrants with equal resources.
Answer 5: God's promise
Rabbi Jacob Emden (1697-1776) once said that the survival of the Jewish people is the greatest of miracles. It can be explained only as a fulfillment of God's covenant.
Consider also this famous quote from Mark Twain:
"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. The Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of.
The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they were gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.
The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no dulling of his alert mind. All things are mortal but the Jews; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"
How did many Germans view Hitler's anti semitic vision for a master race?
In respect to the World War II era, it is not possible to determine the precise number of Germans who fully accepted or rejected (or otherwise viewed) Hitler's own anti-Semitic vision for his 'master-race.' It is, however, reasonable to posit that the majority of Germans generally accepted the Nazi 'vision' of life as a struggle against Jewish and other 'oppressors' of the Fatherland, given the ferocity with which most ordinary Germans aided the war-effort during the duration of the conflict.
How did the Nazis use antisemitism in World War 2?
They put Jews in camps where they where sent to die, just because they were Jewish.
How does shakespeare discourage anti semitism?
The play has been used to discourage anti-Semitism by portraying Shylock, the Jewish character, in a sympathetic light and the anti-Semitic Venetians unfavourably. It has also been used to encourage anti-Semitism by portraying Shylock as a villain and the anti-Semites like Graziano as heroes.
there will always be people who hate people that are of a different race, colour or creed than themselves, most of the time this is because they know nothing about the other cultures, have never studied human behavior and have never ever been tought nor educated properly by their parents who probably held the same beliefs, this is why there is so much deversion in today's society. This is a vicious cycle that needs to be stopped ASAP as of this minute!
Were Elizabethans of Shakespeare's time anti-Semitic?
By our standards, yes. For one thing, they were not free to practise their religion, but of course nobody was. Everybody had to belong to the Church of England and go to Church of England services. If you wanted to be a Jew or a Catholic or a Muslim in your spare time, you had better not let anyone know about it.
For another thing, there weren't actually very many Jews in England (and those who were were not very up front about it) so most English people had no real Jewish people to find out what Jews were like from. Instead, they had to rely on legends, traditions and stereotypes, many of which were derived from earlier periods of virulent anti-Semitism and were thus very hostile or were simply inaccurate. This would apply also to any other group of people who the Elizabethans knew very little about, like the Turks or the Chinese.
So, the Elizabethans were not particularly hostile to Jews but they did carry around some strange prejudices and stereotypes with little opportunity to have them contradicted.
