Antisemitism

hostility, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews
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Antisemitism is the hatred of, or prejudice against, Jewish people.[1][2] A synonym is Judeophobia,[3] preferred by those deeming antisemitism too ambiguous.[3]

Origin

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As per American historian Deborah Lipstadt, antisemitism (German: antisemitismus) was coined by German nationalist Wilhelm Marr in 1881 to describe the anti-Jewish sentiment in German society. The term refers to Jews who practice Judaism, Jews who have converted to Christianity as well as those of Jewish ancestry.[4]

Sometimes, the term is spelled as anti-Semitism, but such spelling is controversial, particularly because there is no such thing as "Semitism" and the concept "Semitic race" stemmed from scientific racism.[4]

Before 21st century

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Antisemitism has a long history.[3] The worst instance of antisemitism in history is the Holocaust.

The Holocaust

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The Holocaust was a genocide committed by Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 (during World War II). It was also known as the Final Solution. The Nazis' plan was to get rid of every Jew in Europe. They succeeded in killing up to 67% of the Jews in Europe: around six million people. This plan was based on antisemitism. Adolf Hitler believed that the "Aryan race" was better than all others, including Jews. To him and his followers, the "Aryan race" was the master race.

21st century

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Middle East

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Antisemitism[1][3] is extremely common in the Middle East.[2] In 2011 Pew Research Center polled people in all of the Middle Eastern countries where Muslims are the majority. Most of the interviewees viewed the Jews very negatively. Only 2% of Egyptians, 3% of Lebanese Muslims and 2% of Jordanians reported feeling good about Jews.[5] Some scholars believe that mass media have played a significant role in such phenomenon.[6][7]

Europe

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Overall

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In a 2013 survey of 5,847 Jewish people in Europe, 76% thought that antisemitism had increased in the past five years. 29% had thought about moving countries because they felt unsafe.[8]

Eastern Europe

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In Eastern Europe, the level of antisemitism is found to be high.[9]

For instance, in Armenia,[10][11] a Caucassian country allied with Russia,[12] China[13] and Iran,[14] 58% of her population are found to hold negative views of Jews – the highest in Eastern Europe.[15] Garegin Nzhdeh (1886–1955), an Armenian nationalist who recruited thousands of Armenians to fight for Nazi Germany, is still popular within Armenia. Hundreds of statues have been erected in honor of him across Armenia.[16][17] Meanwhile, the only synagogue in Armenia's capital Yerevan was attacked four times in a row between 7 October 2023 and 11 June 2024.[18]

Members of the Marxist-Leninist militant[19] front Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia[20] (ASALA) claimed responsibility for the attacks, some of which involved the synagogue being set on fire.[21]

United States

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A 2017 survey showed that 14% of Americans held negative views of Jews.[22] Since Hamas' brutal attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, there has been a surge of antisemitism in America and Europe, especially on college campuses in the United States. This antisemitism has led to Jewish students feelings alienated and attacks for expressing their identities as Jews. There is also widespread antisemitism in social media.[source?]

In August 2024, the advocacy group Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) did a poll which found that 3.5 million American Jews had faced antisemitism since the October 7 massacre in 2023. 1,075 American Jews were asked, 28% of whom said that they, often, were told that "Jews care too much about money", 25% were told that "Jews control the world" and 13% were told that "the Holocaust did not happen" or its "severity has been exaggerated".[23][24]

Meanwhile, the FBI released crime statistics illustrating that antisemitic incidents accounted for 68% of all religion-based hate crimes in 2023 – a 63% rise compared to 2022.[25]

Lies about Jews

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Ancient

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  1. The Jews killed Jesus[26][27]
  2. The Jews conspire against Christianity[28]

Middle Ages

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  1. The Jews take blood from Christian babies for rituals (blood libel)[29]
  2. The Jews poison wells to cause pandemics, including the Black Death[30]

Modern

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  1. The Jews control mass media[31]
  2. The Jews control all the banks[32]
  3. The Jews control governments around the world[33][34]
  4. The Jews create wars and revolutions around the world[35]

Contemporary

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  1. The Jews are fake European converts to Judaism[36]
  2. The Jews ran the Atlantic slave trade[36][37]
  3. The Jews created the AIDS and COVID-19[38]

Antisemitism in the Bible

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The New Testament consists of antisemitic content blaming all Jews for the Crucifixion of Jesus:

For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way, they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

— New International Version translation of 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 from Greek and Hebrew sources

Antisemitism in the Quran

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The Qur'an consists of antisemitic content similar to that of the New Testament of the Bible:

Thou wilt find the most vehement of mankind in hostility to those who believe (to be) the Jews and the idolaters. And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians. That is because there are among them priests and monks, and because they are not proud.

— Translation of Qur'an 5:82 by Marmaduke Pickthall
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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Working Definition Of Antisemitism". World Jewish Congress. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
    IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism :
  2. 2.0 2.1
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3
  4. 4.0 4.1 Bard, Mitchell. "Anti-Semitism or Antisemitism?". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  5. "Muslim-Western Tensions Persist - Pew Research Center". Washington, DC. 21 July 2011.
  6. "Discrimination and hate crime against Jews in EU Member States: experiences and perceptions of antisemitism" (PDF). European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  7. "Yerevan's Lone Synagogue Attacked For Fourth Time In A Year". Radio Liberty. June 11, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024. Yerevan's only synagogue was attacked again on June 10 when perpetrators threw rocks through a window.
  8. Armenian: Հայաստանի ազատագրության հայ գաղտնի բանակ
    Azerbaijani: Ermənistanın Azadlığı üçün Gizli Erməni Ordusu
    Georgian: სომხეთის გათავისუფლების სომხური საიდუმლო არმია
    Greek: Μυστικός Αρμενικός Στρατός για την απελευθέρωση της Αρμενίας
  9. "In First, New ADL Poll Finds Majority of Americans Concerned About Violence Against Jews and Other Minorities, Want Administration to Act". Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  10. "Antisemitism in US at all-time high as American Jews report 'explosion of hate'". The Jerusalem Post. October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  11. "3.5 million US Jews experienced antisemitism since Oct. 7 Hamas attack, survey finds". The Times of Israel. October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  12. The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics (PDF). Anti-Defamation League (ADL). 2003. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  13. Láníček, Jan (2013). Czechs, Slovaks and the Jews, 1938–48: Beyond Idealisation and Condemnation. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-31747-6.
  14. "Jewish 'Control' of the Federal Reserve: A Classic Anti-Semitic Myth". Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  15. Karsh, Efraim (July 2012). "The war against the Jews". Israel Affairs. 18 (3): 319–343. doi:10.1080/13537121.2012.689514. S2CID 144144725.
  16. 36.0 36.1