Why have the Jews been hated throughout history

1
Why have the Jews been hated throughout history?
2
Oh the Protestants hate the Catholics,and the
Catholics hate the Protestants,and the Hindus
hate the Moslemsand everybody hates the Jews.

• From National Brotherhood Week by Tom Lehrer

3
Antisemitism
4
Antisemitism

• Defined as hostility toward or discrimination
  against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial
  group

5
Antisemitism

• Created by Wilhelm Marr in 1879
• Inaccurate as Semitic refers to a language group,
  including Jews, Arabs and Ethiopians

6
Four erasof Jew hatred

• Classical (cultural)
• Christian (religious)
• Modern (racial)
• Anti-Zionist (political )

7
(No Transcript)
8
Classical Antisemitism(cultural)

• Conflict between observing the Jewish religion
  and being sensitive to the local customs

9
Conflict of Cultures

• The pagan world vs The Jewish world

Polytheism vs Monotheism Visible gods vs
invisible God Dietary laws Isolationistic
10

• All these things gave the appearance of a sense
  of superiority and contempt
• By continuing to practice Judaism, Jews
  challenged the values of their neighbors.
• Characterized as haters of mankind

11
Historical examples

• 3rd century B.C.E. Egypt, accusations of
• Accusations of atheism, leprosy, ritual killing
• 167 BCE Antiochus
• Prohibited Jewish worship
• 63 BCE Rome
• Jews were persecuted for not participating in
  Roman culture
• Examples
• Infanticide
• Orgies
• Gladiator battles

12
Why try and destroy Judaism?

• Because the Jews represented an entire nation
  that held values in opposition to the majority
  society
• And they were willing to die for those values

13
The Escape Clause

• Jews were hated because they practiced Judaism.
• If they disavowed Judaism, they were accepted
  into pagan society