In light of the rising Anti-Semitism on our university campuses and cities passing ordinances, I thought it might be a good time for a history lesson on Anti-Semitism.
I previously shared a map with a timeline of the Jews’s presence in the Eastern Mediterranean area aka Israel. The Jews have a connection from the Days of Abraham through the Diaspora through the Holocaust and now.
Antisemitism “is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. This sentiment is a form of racism, and a person who harbors it is called an antisemite. “ Wikipedia.
The pathway to anti-Semitism can be broken into a 10-step progression to understanding the escalation of prejudice and violence against Jewish communities.
1. Misunderstanding: A lack of understanding or unfamiliarity with Jewish customs, traditions, and beliefs can lead to misconceptions and stereotypes.
2. Stigmatization: The process of viewing Jews as different or “other” based on these misunderstandings or deliberate misrepresentations.
3. Isolation: Both socially and physically isolating Jewish communities, as witnessed in the ghettoization in medieval Europe or exclusion from social organizations.
4. Rumors and Lies: Propagation of false stories, myths, or conspiracy theories about Jews, such as blood libels or economic conspiracies.
5. Discrimination: Enacting laws or practices that systematically disadvantage Jews in society, including restrictions in professions, education, or civic participation.
6. Dehumanization: Portraying Jews as sub-human, inferior, or even demonic, often via propaganda, literature, or art. This makes violence against them seem more justifiable.
7. Economic Exploitation: Confiscating property, levying special taxes, or other measures that target the economic well-being of Jewish individuals or communities.
8. Violence: Physical harm directed at Jews or their property, exemplified by pogroms, violent riots, or individual acts of violence.
9. Persecution: State-sponsored or socially sanctioned campaigns against Jews, leading to mass arrests, forced conversions, deportations, or forced exiles.
10. Extermination: Systematic efforts to eradicate the Jewish population, the most horrifying example being the Holocaust orchestrated by Nazi Germany.
These steps apply more or less to any marginalization of a minority from a mere misunderstanding to organized extermination/elimination/marginalization/ victimization underscoring the importance of early intervention and education in combating prejudice and promoting tolerance.
The Declaration of Independence
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal [not born but created] that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
And our First Amendment –
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, …”