The roots of anti-Semitism: An informed opinion

Anti-Semitism is the oldest hate.

In the past, it was naked. Today, it‘s often cloaked behind “causes.” 

Historically, a hallmark of anti-Semitism was religious-based persecution, culminating in murder and the expulsion of Jews from much of Western Europe, including England, France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. 

There was nothing subtle about it.

Jew hatred is rooted in religion.

First, the followers of the first monotheistic religion, Judaism, were subject to charges of disloyalty from nations that worshiped multiple gods. 

Jews were the people “chosen” to bring to the world the light of a single God. They were punished for it.

Later, significantly and tragically, the Catholic church charged Jews with deicide — killing God.

More than anything else, that justified anything that Christians did to Jews, including the Holocaust, the mass murder of some 6 million Jews (along with millions of others). 

The Nazis killed one-third of world Jewry, and the Jewish population has not yet climbed back to the 16.6 million alive before World War II. 

The Nazis were Christians. Maybe not good ones, some would argue, not turn-the-other-cheek Christians, but Christians nonetheless.

A friend of mine believes Muslims were equally as anti-Semitic. 

I don’t agree. Christians had a 600-year head start — Islam was founded in 610 CE — and Muslims never killed millions of Jews.

Anti-Semitism is rooted in ignorance, some of it really evil, such as the lie that Jews kill Christian  for blood to make matzoh, or simple hate. The former conspiracy is known as the blood libel. 

It wasn’t until the Second Vatican Council in 1965 that the Catholic Church under Pope Paul VI repudiated collective, multigenerational Jewish guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus. The accusation, it declared, could not be made “against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”

After almost 2 millenia, Jews were exonerated of deicide. But the harm had been done.

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None of this connects in any way with Palestine, or Gaza, which provides the latest cover for anti-Semites.

Which is not to say that all who are “pro Palestine” are anti-Semitic.

It is to say that some are.

When they chant “Death to Israel,” they are saying “Death to Jews.” That is indisputable.

When they chant “We are Hamas,” they are saying death to Jews, because that is Hamas’ purpose. You can see it in the second paragraph of its charter. 

When they say “from the river to the sea,” it means the death, or expulsion, of Jews from the land where they have lived for more than 3,000 years. Israel is not a colony of Europe, although many European Jews migrated there for safety.

The current talking point is that Israel’s actions in defending itself create anti-Semitism. 

Perhaps true in part, but that ignores the reality that Jew hatred has been around for 2,000 years, long before the rebirth of Israel in 1948. Anti-Semites do seize on anything Israel does to fan the flames of hate. And they (wrongly) equal all Jews with the actions of Israel’s government.

Let me ask you this: On the distant day that Arab Palestine achieves independence (Jewish Palestine already has), will anti-Semitism end?

Of course not.

Will opposition to Israel end?

Of course not.

What will make anti-Semitism go away? That’s such a big question I asked Gemini AI, and got this:

“The destruction of anti-Semitism demands a global coalition tackling its core roots: ignorance and prejudice. This requires universal education, including mandatory Holocaust and Jewish history lessons, to foster empathy and counter conspiracy theories. 

“Simultaneously, there must be robust legal action, with governments and institutions adopting and enforcing clear definitions and hate crime laws. Crucially, it requires cultural change, where allies break the silence and actively confront anti-Semitic tropes in all forums, demanding sustained accountability from social media platforms and individuals to cultivate true peace and understanding.”

Comprehensive, but unlikely.

The oldest hate will not go away. A reasonable goal is to drive it underground, make it shameful, following loud denunciations by Christians and Muslims of good will.

Like racism, I see no end to it, only a lessening and a rejection of it by all people of good will.

That will be good enough.