Anti Semitism
What is anti Semitism?
Anti Semitism can be described as being hostile towards Jewish people, simply because they are Jewish. It can be seen through religious teachings, political views, jokes, comments and/or actions. Essentially, it is racism against the Jews.
When most people think of Anti-Semitism, they think of the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler. Most of what we have seen in history about Anti-Semitism came from the thoughts and ideas of Hitler, though throughout time there have been other cases of discrimination against others simply based on their beliefs or looks (e.i. slavery in the United States, Darfur, ect.)
Who is Anti Semetic?
People who discriminate against others who practice the Jewish faith.
Jews were criticized for many things; their looks, their jobs, their success, how they smelled, their customs.
Some famous anti Semites are Adolf Hitler, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Shakespeare, Voltaire, and even Walt Disney.
Someone’s thought is that everyone is an anti-Semite; this person’s belief is that anti-Semitism is when someone disagrees with a Jew—no one can agree with a Jew 100% of the time, therefore we are all anti Semitic.
How does Anti Semitism relate to Fascism?
Fascism can be described in one statement: anti-liberalism. Anti-Semitism was clearly an extreme version of racialism, and there was a strong sense of victimization through violence, all of which also relate to fascism. In fascism, one of the principles is that there is a distinct difference between friend and foe, and that the enemy must be exterminated; something that Hitler wanted to make sure of happened to the Jews.
What is anti Semitism?
Anti Semitism can be described as being hostile towards Jewish people, simply because they are Jewish. It can be seen through religious teachings, political views, jokes, comments and/or actions. Essentially, it is racism against the Jews.
When most people think of Anti-Semitism, they think of the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler. Most of what we have seen in history about Anti-Semitism came from the thoughts and ideas of Hitler, though throughout time there have been other cases of discrimination against others simply based on their beliefs or looks (e.i. slavery in the United States, Darfur, ect.)
Who is Anti Semetic?
People who discriminate against others who practice the Jewish faith.
Jews were criticized for many things; their looks, their jobs, their success, how they smelled, their customs.
Some famous anti Semites are Adolf Hitler, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Shakespeare, Voltaire, and even Walt Disney.
Someone’s thought is that everyone is an anti-Semite; this person’s belief is that anti-Semitism is when someone disagrees with a Jew—no one can agree with a Jew 100% of the time, therefore we are all anti Semitic.
How does Anti Semitism relate to Fascism?
Fascism can be described in one statement: anti-liberalism. Anti-Semitism was clearly an extreme version of racialism, and there was a strong sense of victimization through violence, all of which also relate to fascism. In fascism, one of the principles is that there is a distinct difference between friend and foe, and that the enemy must be exterminated; something that Hitler wanted to make sure of happened to the Jews.
Carrie
(Here comes Carrie - via eMail - I should have looked into my mailbox before writing the last post. But here now my comment:)
ReplyDelete(1) The short definition in the first sentence is as simple as it is useful.
(2) But is all (!) AntiSemitism racist? - There was plenty of non-racist but religious AntiSemitism before the 19th century created this bogus-scientific and nutty conception of the Jews as a race.
(3) Is it a human characteristic to resent some other group(s) in general, without considering individual differences among the members of the resented group?
(4) Hitler's racist version of AntiSemitism was not his invention. He learnt it from others.
(5) How might be racist AntiSemitism different to non-racist AntiSemitism? (Race is a conception coming from biology, and it is meant by Hitler & Co to be such a biological quality: blood!)
(6) No matter how you looked or smiled or whether you were religious or not - for the Nazis a Jew was somebody who was born a Jew: coming from a Jewish family, or a formerly Jewish family. It's your blood, stupid!
(7) What might be the purpose of a contemporary statement that calls everybody who differs with a Jew an AntiSemite (= somebody who resents Jews because they are Jews)?
(8) We all know Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Was Shakespeare a forerunner or harbinger of Hitler?
(9) AntiSemitism is at the core of Nazism (the German version of Fascism) - not necessarily at the core of Fascism in general. Fascism is extreme AntiLiberalism, indeed, but Nazism is extreme AntiLiberalism + extreme AntiSemitism.
(10) Imagine my father's father. He was AntiHitler, really hostile to the Nazis from a conservative and catholic point of view, with one foot in KZ Dachau because after a few glasses of wine he sometimes spoke a word to much ... and he was "moderately" antisemite: He didn't like Jews in general - similar to my father who never was fond of Italians, and a neighbor of mine who cannot muster any sympathy for Turks in her heart ... Is my grandfather's AntiSemitism something to condemn in the face of the Holocaust?
(11) See also my comment to Zionism.