AntiSemitism Unit 2 Religion and Belief Systems What

Anti-Semitism Unit 2: Religion and Belief Systems

What is anti-Semitism? ● Anti-Semitism: prejudice towards Jews on either a religious or racial basis, or both ● The persecution of Jews has led to the Jewish diaspora, or the dispersion of Jews from their ancestral homeland to other parts of the globe

Why Jews? ● Jews have generally been small in population, so make easy scapegoats (people wrongly blamed for the errors of others) ● Christianity ruled Europe, and the Christian Bible places blame for Jesus’s death on the Jews ● Popularity of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion ● Tradition

“Since the emergence of Christianity as Europe’s dominant religious, political and cultural force, Jews and Muslims have been targeted for violence—often extreme violence—isolated from the rest of society, and periodically purged from jobs, towns, countries and even continents. Antisemitism began as religious intolerance, but has always been at least partly xenophobic or mysophobic; Jews have been cast as outsiders, pollutants or polluted, such as with 15 th– 16 th Century Spanish limpeza de sangre (blood purity) laws. Eventually through the development of modern, “scientific” racism, many people began to consider Jews a distinct, inferior and troubling race. Because of this process of evolution, sometimes antisemitism today is religious in form, focused on Jews as heretical non-believers, sometimes it is driven by specific myths and stereotypes about Jews, and sometimes it’s racial, rooted in the idea that there is something fixed and inherently, biologically wrong with Jews. Usually it’s a little bit of each. ”

Origins of Anti-Semitism ● Anti-Semitism became prominent as Christianity grew to be the dominant force in Europe ○ Jews and Muslims became targets for violence by Christians (Crusades, Black Death) ■ Since there were less Jews than Muslims, Jews were the easier target ● European leaders forced Jews into isolated ghettos (part of a city in which minority groups live), separate from Christian populations ○ Ghetto conditions often much worse than other areas

Early Anti-Semitism in Europe ● Jews were prohibited from owning property ● Jews were required to wear badges or other distinguishing clothing ● Jews were restricted to jobs that Christians found distasteful or were prohibited by the Church ○ ○ Money-lending Tax collecting ● Jews were sometimes “expelled” from entire kingdoms

Early Anti-Semitism in Europe ● Anti-Jewish myths began appearing in response to their low standing in society ○ ○ Jews rejected Jesus and were the cause of his crucifixion Jews are greedy Jews are the source of disease and suffering Blood libel: Jews killed Christian children and used their blood for Jewish rituals ● These myths followed Jews throughout Europe ● Early anti-Semitism was purely a European concept ○ ● Jews typically led better lives in Islamic territory Europeans exported anti-Semitism as they conquered and colonized other continents

Protocols of the Elders of Zion ● 1903, anti-Semites in Russia published and distributed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ○ This document detailed a conspiracy in which Jews were planning world domination ■ Entirely fabricated ● Common words used to describe Jews in The Protocols : ○ Globalist ○ International ○ Cosmopolitan

Protocols of the Elders of Zion ● The Protocols became widespread and popular ○ ○ Henry Ford paid for 500, 000 copies to be printed and distributed The Protocols influenced and strengthened Adolf Hitler’s anti-Semitic beliefs ● The Protocols were incredibly damaging to Jewish communities ○ Used as the foundation for many anti-Semitic beliefs

Protocol of the Elders of Zion

Early Modern Anti-Semitism ● France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War was blamed on Jews by some ● The collapse of the French-Panama Canal project was blamed on Jews ● American politicians called for tighter immigration control when Jews immigrated to the U. S. in large numbers between 1880 -1920 ○ Claimed Jews were morally, culturally, biologically inferior people ● The “America First Committee” formed in the 1930 s in the U. S. pushed anti. Semitic views ○ ○ Influential figures like Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford were members Race riots in 1943 in Detroit targeted Jewish businesses ● In 1939 the U. S. , Canada, and Cuba denied the MS St Louis entry into their ports ○ This ship carried 900 Jewish refugees from Germany

Nazi Racial Hierarchy

Anti-Semitism Today ● Historically, there has been a connection between economic issues and a rise in anti-Semitism ○ Still true today ■ Boston Globe during the financial crisis in 2009: ● "In order to assess explicit prejudice toward Jews, we directly asked respondents ‘How much to blame were the Jews for the financial crisis? ’ with responses falling under five categories: a great deal, a lot, a moderate amount, a little, not at all. Among non-Jewish respondents, a strikingly high 24. 6 percent of Americans blamed ‘the Jews’ a moderate amount or more, and 38. 4 percent attributed at least some level of blame to the group. "

Anti-Semitism Today Anti-Semitism is still an issue today ● Jews make up 1. 73% of the U. S. population (2012) ○ FBI (2016): 55% of all religiously-motivated hate crimes are towards Jews ● The U. S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in 2012 found that anti-Semitism continues to grow globally ● October 27, 2018: A shooter killed 11 Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA ○ Deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U. S. history