Anti Semitism As A Conflict Of Religious Identity And National Identity

Robert S. Wistrich defined antisemitism as hostility and/or prejudice against the Jewish people or their religion of Judaism. Many people in today’s world instinctively associate antisemitism with Nazi Germany because of the mass genocide that took place. Hostility towards the Jewish people dates back thousands of years ago when the Roman Empire forced them away from their homeland that is now known as Israel. With the Jewish population forced from their homes they began to spread out all over the world and so did the prejudice against them. The Judaism religion was looked down upon in many parts of the world and people felt like it was their duty to treat the Jewish people with inequality. Antisemitism took a different turn when statesmen begin to use it in their campaign to gain the citizens support.

     Throughout history the Jewish people have been scapegoats; whenever something was not going right they were the ones to blame. From Biblical times through to the Shakespearean Era, all the way to the Middle East Crisis and the creation of Israel, the Jews have been persecuted and blamed for the problems of the world. The most horrifying account of Jewish persecution is the holocaust, which took place in Europe from 1933 to 1945 when Adolf Hitler tried to eliminate all the people that he thought were inferior to the Germans, namely the Jews, because he wanted a pure Aryan State.

Anti-Semitism has been prevalent throughout the world since the establishment of the Jewish religion and unfortunately, traces of it can still be found to this day in the United States. What exactly is anti-Semitism? It is the intense dislike for and prejudice against the Jews; it can range anywhere from simple opposition to the Jews to vicious hatred displayed through physical torment. Some examples of the more publicized cases of violence against the Jews include the attack of Irish workers and police on the funeral procession of Rabbi Jacob Joseph in New York City in 1902, the lynching of Leo Frank in 1915, the assassination of Alan Berg in 1984, as well as the Crown Heights riots of 1991. I have

Europe’s Growing Anti-Semitism is written by Mike Ross, and was published on October 20, 2014. In this article, Ross explains the disturbing anti-Semitic acts that are taking place in Europe and the effects it is having on Jewish communities. For example, in France three Jewish children and a rabbi were murdered in a Jewish school, four people were shot in a Jewish museum in Brussels, and violent riots have emerged outside numerous synagogues in Europe. Due to these

At the end of WWI in 1918, Germany’s economy was in ruins. There were very few jobs, and bitterness began to take over the country. According to the text, “Hitler, a rising politician, offered Germany a scapegoat: Jewish people. Hitler said that Jewish people were to blame for Germany’s problems. He believed that Jews did not deserve to live.” (7) This was the birth of Antisemitism--prejudice against Jewish people. Europe’s Jewish people have always been persecuted due to their “different customs and beliefs that many viewed with suspicion.”(7) Hitler simply reignited the flames, and a violent hatred was born.

Anti-Semitism dates back to the conception of Christianity. Because Jesus was Jewish, the steadfastness of the Jews in their beliefs is a stumbling block to Christians. Judaism is the older of the two religions, Christianity stemming from Judaism. Christianity, then, was supposed to be the renewal of the old Jewish ways; thus, the Jewish people are supposed to convert to Christianity. Also, Jesus was

Antisemitism, the hatred for the Jewish people, has been called the longest hatred in history. This history is deep rooted and has existed for thousands of years, taking different forms throughout its existence, and intensifying up until and through the Holocaust, to then diminish to an extent but still be prevalent in most societies. Antisemitism exists in different forms, religious, ethnic, and political. The presence of Christianity as the predominant religion in Europe can be noted as a driving factor in religious and ethnic antisemitism, as can the Holocaust. Whereas instances such as the Islamic view on Judaism can be

Antisemitism is the hostility or prejudices against Jews. Those with the intentions and actions to discriminate Jews are known as anti semitic. This began shortly after Hitler and Nazi Germany assumed power in 1933. At an annual party put on by the Nazis, they created a brand new set of rules called the “Nuremberg Laws”. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Nazis started to “make good” on their pledge to oppress German Jews (ushmm.org). Eventually, Nazi party members announced their purpose. They wanted to segregate Jews from their society. With these intentions, the actions of the Nazi party that came after were cruel and inhumane. It was at this annual party that the start of the creation of these cruel laws intending to separate Jews.

Anti-Semitism as a term to describe hatred of Jews was not used until the second half of the nineteenth century, but a bias against Jews had existed for thousands of years. This resentment of the Jews as a people can be traced back to theological roots as well as practical concerns in early Europe. The most significant and accepted origin of anti-Judaism is the death of Jesus. Jews were branded as the murderers of Christ and Jesus’ followers developed a deep hatred of them. This undertone to Christianity endured over time and became an inherent facet of the religion. Later, when Jews attempted to assimilate into European societies, they faced strong discrimination and resistance. Other citizens viewed them as economic competition. In addition, negative stereotypes evolved about the Jews in relation to their

Anti-Semitism is the discrimination against Jewish people as individuals and as a group. (A Brief History of Anti-Semitism) People may think that anti-Semitism began with Adolf Hitler but they are mistaken. There is so much evidence of anti-Semitism as far back as the ancient world. (History.com, n.d.) There are three examples of anti-Semitism in Europe prior to World War One that I will discuss.

Throughout history, hatred has been a widespread thought which has caused widespread death, chaos, and war. One huge and important example would be the Holocaust. This idea that Jewish

In our society, there are a handful of people who believe that anti-Semitism is a matter of the past, and do not realize that it still exists today. Countless of Jews face it more than once in their lifetime, whether it may be an

Anti-Semitism seemed to be very popular in the European countries. Anti-Semitism is the “prejudice against or hatred of Jews (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). A man named Wilhelm Marr originated the term in 1879. Violent riots against Jews were often and encouraged by the government officials and pogroms were violent attacks against the Jews by non-Jewish people (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).

Throughout the history of the world, the Jewish people have been persecuted and oppressed because of their religious beliefs and faith. Many groups of people have made Jews their scapegoat. Jews have suffered from years of intolerance because people have not understood what the religion really means. They do not understand where and why the religion began, nor the customs of it's people. For one to understand the great hardships, triumphs, and history of the Jewish people one must open-mindedly peruse a greater knowledge of the Jewish people and faith.

Anti-Semitic means discrimination toward Jews just because they are Jewish. Hostility towards Jews dates back to ancient times; from the days of the bible to ancient times ,Jewish people have been criticized and pushed just because they have a different religion and did not fit in with everyone else. The rise of Christianity greatly increased the hatred towards Jews. Instead of just considered outsiders Jews were now seen as people who rejected Jesus and crucified him. By the middle ages Jew were considered to be barely human and they were called Christ killers. Jewish people were forced to live in the ghettos, they were accused of poisoning the wells and rivers in times of major disease epidemics. In the 19th century thing started to get a little easier for Jewish people as there was a decline in Christianity and a rise in the Jewish belief. But later on in World War two they became Germany's justification seeking to kill every Jew. between 1939 and 1945