Antisemitism

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Antisemitism is the bias, prejudice or discrimination against Jews. A synonym of antisemitism is Judeophobia, preferred by those considering "antisemitism" ambiguous.

Overview

Human history has been full of antisemitism, the most known instance of which is the Holocaust, while the most common form of antisemitism is conspiracy theories. The adjective of antisemitism is antisemitic. Those with antisemitic views are called antisemites.

Etymology

American historian Deborah Lipstadt and several antisemitism experts said that the word antisemitism was invented by anti-Jewish German nationalist Wilhelm Marr in his tract Path to Victory of Germanism Over Judaism to refer to the prejudice against Jews, which he deemed necessary for the German race to stop Jews (the leading group of Semites in Europe back then) from subverting the German culture. Despite Semites including other Middle Eastern ethnic groups, German nationalists like Wilhelm Marr referred to Jews as Semites specifically.

Semantically, antisemitism cannot be assumed as the prejudice against all Semitic groups, or it would constitute the etymological fallacy (using a word's ancient meaning to make a point about its current meaning). Moreover, the word covers Jews who practice Judaism, Jews who converted to Christianity and those with traceable Jewish ancestry, all of whom can be victims of antisemitism.

Spelling

The term is spelled by some as anti-Semitism, but such spelling is controversial. Historians have pointed out that anti-Semitism is misleading as there is no such an ideology as "Semitism" that can be opposed, while the concept Semites derived from pseudoscientific 19th-century scientific racism.

Europe

In a 2013 survey of 5,847 Jews in Europe, 76% thought that antisemitism had increased in the previous five years, while 29% had thought about moving countries as they felt unsafe.

Latin America

Mariana de Carabajal, a Jewish Catholic convert, was executed over the false charge of "relapsing into Judaism," in where is now the Mexico City, 1601 AD.
"JEWS GO HOME!", a graffiti on the wall of the Israeli Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.

MENA

Background

Execution of a Jewess in Morocco (Sol Hachuel), c. 1861; painting by Alfred Dehodencq.

Jews started living in the Arabian Peninsula in the 6th century BC, when Babylonian Empire's conquest of the Kingdom of Judah forced Jews out of Judea. Successive waves of Jewish exiles – caused by alternating conquests of Judea – made Jews the leading ethnoreligious group in the Arabian Peninsula, where Judaism stood in contrast to the multi-god religion of ancient Arabs, many of whom had arrived later than the Jews due to their nomadic nature.

Middle Ages

Jews thrived in the Arabian Peninsula until Muslims conquered the Peninsula, when they, along with other conquered indigenous peoples, were required to pay jizya in exchange for their existence to be tolerated. The payment of jizya granted Jews the status of dhimmi under which they were prohibited – under the threat of execution – from criticizing any aspects of Islam, sharing Jewish ideas to Muslims or touching a Muslim woman. Jews were also not allowed to

21st century

2010s

Some polls indicate antisemitism may be common in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In 2011, the Pew Research Center polled a significant number of Middle Eastern countries' citizens, where Muslims are the majority. Most of the interviewees were hostile to Jews. Only 2% of Egyptians, 3% of Lebanese Muslims and 2% of Jordanians reported feeling good about Jews.

United States

2010s

Neo-Nazi Goyim Defense League (GDL) member Patrick Little holding an antisemitic placard ("JEWS RAPE KIDS") at a street corner in Los Angeles, United States.

A 2017 survey showed that 14% of Americans were hostile to Jews.

2020s

The FBI released crime statistics illustrating that antisemitic incidents constituted 68% of all religion-based hate crimes in 2023, a 63% rise compared to 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3
    • Schäfer, Peter (October 1, 1998). Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674487789. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
    • Hayes, Christine (1999). "Judeophobia: Peter Schäfer on the Origins of Anti-Semitism". Jewish Studies Quarterly. 6 (3). Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Co. KG: 261–273. JSTOR stable/40753239. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
    • Wistrich, Robert S. (1999). Demonizing the other: Antisemitism, racism and xenophobia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-51619-8. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
    • Sadan, Tsvi (July 1, 2021). "It's Not Antisemitism, It's Judeophobia. What's the Difference and Why You Should Know". Israel Today. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bard, Mitchell. "Anti-Semitism or Antisemitism?". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Who Are the Jews? | AJC - American Jewish Committee". American Jewish Committee. 17 April 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Gil, Moshe (1997). The origin of the Jews of Yathrib. Brill. pp. 4–5. ISBN 9789004138827.
  11. ↑
  12. 1 2
  13. ↑ "Muslim-Western Tensions Persist - Pew Research Center". Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Washington, D.C. July 21, 2011.
  14. ↑ "In First, New ADL Poll Finds Majority of Americans Concerned About Violence Against Jews and Other Minorities, Want Administration to Act". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  15. ↑