Dagen - An Abridged History of Anti-Semitism

What is Anti-Semitism?

Anti-Semitism is the hatred of the Jewish people and/or Judaism, the Jewish religion

According to the biblical history, how are all three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - connected?

Abraham is believed to be the founding father of the three religions

Why were the early Jewish people seen as stubborn?

Jews refused to worship the idols of the kingdoms in the Middle East,which was seen as stubborn

Followers of Judaism and Christianity lived together relatively peacefully for a while during the early years of the Roman Empire. Despite this Jews were eventually portrayed as "Christ killers." Why?

- by not recognizing Jesus, Jews were seen as abandoning their role in the divine plan, and thus seen as unnecessary
- destructive charge was now imposed upon the Jews, seen as "Christ killers"

In what ways were Jewish people discriminated against during the Middle Ages?

- forbidden to intermarry with Christians
- prohibited from holding high positions in government
- prevented from appearing as witnesses against Christians in court

What were the Crusades, and how were Jewish people affected by them?

In 1095, Pope Urban II made a general appeal to the Christians of Europe to take up the cross and sword and liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims, beginning what was to be known as the Crusades

What does the term pogrom mean?

the organized massacre of helpless people, who held unpopular religious beliefs

Why were Jewish people accused of spreading the Black Plague?

- fear, superstition, and ignorance prompted the need to find someone to blame, and Jews were a convenient scapegoat because of the myths and stereotypes that already existed about them
- even though Jews were also dying from the plague, they were accused of poisoning wells and spreading the disease

What is significant about the pamphlet "The Jews and Their Lies"?

- written by Martin Luther(German priest and theologian)
- claimed that Jews thirsted for Christian blood and should be killed
- some scholars felt that these attacks mark the transition from anti-Judaism(attacks motivated because of the Jews' refusal to accept Christianity) to anti-Semitism(hatred of Jews as a so-called "race" who would contaminate the purity of another race)

How did the stereotype of a "money hungry" Jew come to be?

- the Church did not allow Christians to loan money for profit, so money lending was one of the few ways Jews could earn money legally
- once Jews became associated with the forbidden trade of usury(loaning money for interest), Jews were accused of being money hungry

Why is it unlikely that Shakespeare ever met a Jewish person?

- Jews were expelled from England in 1290
- Shakespeare's lifetime was from 1564-1616, almost 300 years after Jews had been kicked out of England

Why were Jews seen as a necessary evil during the late medieval and early modern Europe?

- Jews had a central role in economic exchange: in foreign trade, loans to the state, and small-scale money-lending
- they could be neither tolerated or expelled

Where did the term ghetto originate?

Venetian authorities designated an area called the ghetto nuovo/"new foundary" as the locale where all Jews were required to relocate and live in rented quarters

In Germany, during the 18th century, the circumstances for Jewish people improved. Explain.

- Jews were granted full civil rights in 1871 after German states unified in a single nation called the Second Reich
- Jews were able to have jobs that were previously denied to them
- improved their social and economic positions by becoming storekeepers, lawyers, doctors, and teachers
- many Jews left ghettos and became part of Germany's growing middle class

When was the term Anti-Semitism first used?

- 1873 by Wilhelm Marr, a German politician

Why did Anti-Semitism in Germany lead to genocide?

- Germany lost WW1
- The victorious countries, the US, France, and England authored the Treaty of Versailles, which compelled Germany to give up territory, and pay large sums of money to the countries it damaged during the war
- Germany suffered from severe economic problems
- The government of the Weimer Republic that was established after the war was unable to solve the economic problems
- In result, there were increased strikes and riots that the government could not control

What is the message conveyed by Pope John Paul's statement made on March 12, 1998?

The progressive dehumanization that Jews endured - the image of the Jews' demonic "otherness" - made the Holocaust possible

What was "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"? Why is this document important?

- the writings of a secret group of rabbis plotting to take over the world
- forged by the secret police in an attempt to blame Jews for problems Russia was experiencing
- "Protocols" were to serve as one of the bulwarks(defenses) of Nazi propaganda and were introduced into the curriculum of many of Germany's schools

In what ways are Anti-Semitic feelings still alive today?

- young neo-Nazi Skinheads look for scapegoats to blame for rising unemployment
- When Skinheads cannot find living Jews, they desecrate Jewish cemeteries and look for other vulnerable targets, such as immigrant workers
- 75 percent of hate crimes motivated by religious bias targeted Jews from a report in 2001
- extremist groups and Skinhead youth promote racist and anti-Semitic worldviews and are actively recruiting young people through various means including the internet