Why Anti-Semitism?
by Mike James
Once again anti-Semitism is rearing its ugly head. Two of the more prominent events in the last month include a shooting in a Jersey City, New Jersey kosher deli and a machete attack in a Rabbi’s house in Monsey, New York. Over the past three weeks in New York state alone 13 anti-Semitic attacks have occurred. In New York City there has been a 21 percent increase in anti-Semitic crimes in the last year. Why is it that Jews continue to be a target for these crimes?
Some believe anti-Semitism may have originated in Egypt and been spread by the retelling of Egyptian prejudices by the Greeks. The Egyptian prejudices might have originated when God freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. According to a Wikipedia article, the first real anti-Jewish sentiment can be found in the writings of an Egyptian priest named Manetho in the third century B.C. Some conjecture hatred for Jews in the ancient world was due in part to their separateness from other groups due to their religious beliefs. Prejudicial statements against Jews can be found in many pagan Greek and Roman writers. Edward Flannery (author and Roman Catholic priest) says it was the Jews’ refusal to accept Greek religious and social standards that marked them as different. An early example of anti-Semitism during the Greek period of history was Antiochus Epiphanes desecrating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and banning Jewish religious practices.
After the Greeks, the Romans persecuted the Jews even more. Around 19 A.D. the Roman emperor Tiberius expelled Jews from Rome. This may have been due to the Jews trying to convert people to their religion. But the Romans dealt harshly with other religions too. Revolts by Jews living under Roman rule were also dealt with harshly by the Romans in the first and second centuries A.D.
By the fourth century Christianity had become the state religion of Rome. The Christians began to make laws against the Jews. The Synod of Elvira made intermarriage between Jews and Christians illegal. The Council of Antioch forbade Christians to celebrate the Passover with Jews. The Council of Laodicea made it illegal for Christians to keep the Sabbath. By the fifth century discriminatory laws against the Jews were even worse.
Another accusation made against the Jews during the Roman era was deicide. In other words, some Christians began to accuse the Jews of being responsible for the death of Jesus. This is a false accusation because all of humanity and our sins are responsible for the death of Jesus (Romans 5:8). But this belief in deicide among some Christians may have played a part in what was to come in the middle-ages.
During the early Middle Ages the crusaders not only killed Muslims, but also Jews. The first crusade in Germany led to the destruction of Jewish communities in Germany and the second crusade in France destroyed Jews in France. During the plague of the mid-14th century more than half the population of Europe was killed. Jews became the scapegoats for this being falsely accused of having brought about the plague. There were also false conspiracy theories spread about Jews ritually murdering Christian children that gained popularity.
Another major blow to Jews by Christians came through the writings of Martin Luther. In his earlier writings Luther is quoted as saying of the Jews, “…we are at fault in not slaying them…” Some believe these words did influence some Germans in the 20th century. Later in his life Luther did say of the Jews, “…treat them with Christian love and to pray for them, so that they might become converted…”
There is more we can say about the four hundred years between Luther and the 20th century, but the 20th century did produce major issues that helped build a belief in anti-Semitism. One of these events was the forging of a document called Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Russia. The document is an early conspiracy theory that alleges Jewish elders have a plan to achieve global domination. This false document has been used by many anti-Semitic groups throughout the world over the past 100 years to influence their followers.
The Nazi regime in Germany during World War II has also been another major influence on the continuation of anti-Semitism in the world today. The Nazi regime alone killed over 6 million Jews. The Nazi regime was defeated, but the racially anti-Semitic ideas and propaganda the Nazis produced still pervades the world today.
Finally, the establishment of a Jewish nation in the Israel of today has led to a backlash in the Islamic world. Many Arabs, Persians, and Muslims in the world today have created their own forms of anti-Semitism due to their disagreement with the establishment of the modern nation of Israel and the displacement of Palestinians who were also living in the same land.
As we can see from this short trip through history it appears anti-Semitism is difficult to eradicate. Prophecy makes it clear there are hard times ahead not only for Jews, but also Christians (Revelation 12:17) before Christ’s second coming. But have no fear, in God’s future kingdom the words of Galatians 3:28 will ring true and clear and anti-Semitism will be eradicated.
Sources:
Baltimore Jewish Times 12/10/19
The Washington Post 12/31/19
Wikipedia, “History of anti-Semitism”