antisemitism handbook
TRANSCRIPT
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August 2002Elul 5762
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Antisemitism Handbook
Published and produced by WUJS, the World Union of Jewish Students.
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The World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
9 Alkalai St., POB 4498Jerusalem, 91045, Israel
T: +972 2 561 0133F: +972 2 561 [email protected]
©2002 WUJS – All Rights Reserved
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Dear WUJS Jewish Students,
Welcome to the new Activate source book on Antisemitism.
This source book is meant to help young Jewish activists, especially on campus, to
deal with the issue of Antisemitism in an educational way.
In the past few years every survey has indicated that both the frequency and
severity of Antisemitic incidents has risen around the world. As Jewish activists we
respond in two ways:
1. Practically – with increased security and efforts to fight the trend.
2. Educationally – understanding for ourselves the issues, the history and its
different forms and analysing our responses.
This book includes elements of the practical but focuses on the educational.
Our history from the earliest times has been filled with people who hate and aim to
destroy us. In the texts G-d assures us that we will overcome those who hate us,
and though many millions have been killed because of mere hate and racist agendas
which causes Antisemitism, we have survived as a people. The question for the 21 st
century however is have we survived because of Antisemitism or in spite of it? Or, as
a wise Jewish leader once said- “When Antisemitism grows it is bad for Jews but
good for the Jewish People”. In ages when Antisemitism was reduced, assimilation
was increased. Is it possible to remain Jewish for positive and affirming reasons or is
it others who keep us that way?
Though the Antisemitism we face today may not compare to previous ages it is none
the less the most severe we have seen for some time. As activists it is your job to
respond to it and help your members understand and cope with it. As Jews it is your
responsibility not to let it define you, or your relationship to Judaism. It is your
responsibility not to exploit it to gain greater numbers of people who identify as Jews
only for negative reasons. It is your responsibility to seek positive ways to react to
the situation and not to become victims.
Antisemitism is one of the old and worst forms of racist phenomenons man-kind
invented. It is also one of the main issues we, Jewish students, must be
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knowledgable and educated in order to identify, resist and uproot any attempt to
revive it and WUJS hope this Activate will help in this process.
We would like to thank Elana Marsden and Alex Brookes for their contribution to the
content of this booklet.
We hope you will find this Activate interesting and useful. If not, maybe Antisemitism
has not reached your door yet…
Sincerely yours,
Peleg Reshef
WUJS Chairperson
Alexandra Benjamin
Editor: Antisemitism Activate
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Contents
Introduction
What is in a Hyphen? - Appendix 1 10
History of Antisemitism
Different Forms of Antisemitism in History 13
Pagan Antisemitism – Appendix 2 22
Christian Antisemitism - Appendix 3 24
Modern Antisemitism – Appendix 4 27Causes of Antisemitism 29
Myths and Stereotypes 31
Contemporary Antisemitism
Antisemitism or Anti-Zionism: What is the difference 39
Israel simply has no right to exist – Appendix 5 45
Antisemitism: The Reality 48
Antisemitism issues and dilemmas
Telling the difference between Antisemitism and Paranoia 51
When is a crime against a Jew Antisemitic? – Appendix 6 55
How to move past Antisemitism and build a positive Jewish identity 57
I am Jewish Because… - Appendix 7 61
Wearing your identity on your head 62
Questionnaire – Appendix 8 64
Responses to Antisemitism: Simulation Game 65
Party Politics – Appendix 9 68
What to do when Antisemitism comes to Campus 70
Bibliography 73
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HHOOWW DDOO Y Y OOUU SSPPEELLLL A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM??
Below is an article on how we write the word ANTISEMITISM. This seemingly
insignificant issue can be very important for us understand what we mean when we
refer to ANTISEMITISM.
Read the article and consider the following questions.
• How do you write the word?
• What do you feel are the implications of the different spellings?
• Are there other words that would be more appropriate to use - Jew hatred, or
Judeophobia?• Are we over thinking the whole issue?
• What is the significance of a capital letter? Antisemitism or antisemitism.
• WUJS has chosen to use the spelling Antisemitism throughout this source
book (except in quotations or re-printed articles where the original spelling is
preserved). Why do you think this is? Do you agree?
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Appendix 1
What's in a Hyphen?
by Shmuel Almog
A seemingly minor point crops up from time to time but grows in importance the
more you reflect upon it. Should one write 'Anti-Semitism' with a hypen or
'antisemitism' as one word?
What is the importance of such a technical question and why should anyone, apart
from typesetters and proofreaders, worry about it...
Let me start at the beginning: When did the word 'antisemitism' make its first
appearance? It is generally attributed to Wilhelm Marr, who was called by the Israeli
historian Moshe Zimmermann "The Patriarch of Antisemitism." Marr coined the term
in the 1870s to distinguish between old-time Jew-hatred and modern, political,
ethnic, or racial opposition to the Jews. This term made great advances and soon
became common usage in many languages. So much so, that it applied not just to
the modern brand of Jew-hatred but--against all logic--was attached to all kinds of enmity toward Jews, past and present. Thus we now say 'antisemitism', even when
we talk about remote periods in the past, when one had no inkling of this modern
usage. Purists no longer cry out in dismay against such anachronistic practice; it is
currently established procedure to use 'antisemitism' for all types of Jew-hatred.
Let's go back to the hyphen then. What's the difference? If you use the hyphenated
form, you consider the words 'Semitism', 'Semite', 'Semitic' as meaningful. They
supposedly convey an image of a real substance, of a real group of people--the
Semites, who are said to be a race. This is a misnomer: firstly, because 'semitic' or
'aryan' were originally language groups , not people ; but mainly because in
antisemitic parlance, 'Semites' really stands for Jews ,just that.
And mind you, Jews are not a race at all. They do not all have inherent
characteristics in common that may distinguish them from other people. What unites
them is a tradition, culture, history, destiny maybe, but not genetics. If you do
assume for a moment that Semites are a special race, consider also the implication
that this so-called race comprises both Jews and Arabs. One often talks of the
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kinship between these two, who are now at loggerheads with each other. Be that as
it may, antisemites talking against 'Semites' do not generally refer to Arabs; they
mean Jews. So did the Nazis who killed the Jews and invited cooperation from the
Arabs.
It is obvious then that 'Anti-Semitism' is a non-term, because it is not directed
against so-called 'Semitism'. If there is any substance to the term, it is only to denote
a specifically anti-Jewish movement. Antisemitism is a generic term which signifies a
singular attitude to a particular group of people. As the late philosopher Zvi
Diesendruck pointed out, "There has never been coined a standing term for the
merely negative attitude" to any other people in history. Only antisemitism; only
against Jews.
So the hyphen, or rather its omission, conveys a message; if you hyphenate your
'Anti-Semitism', you attach some credence to the very foundation on which the
whole thing rests. Strike out the hyphen and you will treat antisemitism for what it
really is--a generic name for modern Jew-hatred which now embraces this
phenomenon as a whole, past, present and--I am afraid--future as well.
This article appeared in the SICSA Report: Newsletter of the Vidal Sassoon
International Center for the Study of Antisemitism (Summer 1989)
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A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM IINN
HHIISSTTOOR R Y Y
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DDIIFFFFEER R EENNTT FFOOR R MMSS OOFF A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM IINN HHIISSTTOOR R Y Y
Aims:
• For participants to be able to identify and understand the difference between
different forms of Antisemitism in history
• For participants to be able to place their own experiences of Antisemitism in that
context
Background:
Antisemitism has evolved over the centuries. We can point to several distinctly
different forms of Antisemitism. The actual term was first used by the
aforementioned William Marr in 1879, but the phenomena existed long before this.
There are three main recognised forms of Antisemitism in history.
Classical (pagan) Antisemitism
Christian Antisemitism
Modern Antisemitism
Antisemitism developed in the ancient world because of intolerance of the religious
differences between pagan peoples and the Jews. Jews were the subjects of
Antisemitism by Christians because Jews were viewed as evil and responsible for the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Modern Antisemitism takes on racial elements. In each
case being perceived as different is the source of the Antisemitism.
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The Tanach is full of examples of Pagan Antisemitism, where the surrounding
cultures persecuted the Jews because of their failure to conform to the practices of
majority. In Megillat
Esther, the Jews, asgroup, are targeted
due to the failure of
one individual
(Mordechai) to bow
down to Haman.
Mordechai refuses
to bow down to
Haman as it violates
his religious
practice.
The reason for the
conflict is Judaism’s distinctness from the mainstream culture. In the Chanukah
story, Jews again refuse to conform to the mainstream culture. Those who did were
spared by the Hellenist rulers but those who refused and adhered to their own
practices enraged the Hellenists. The story of Hannah and her 7 sons (see box
above) who were all put to death for refusing to bow to the king or refusing to eat
pig in public - depending on which version of the story is being read -is remarkably
similar to the story of Mordechai and Haman.
The Jewish religion is full of laws and practices designed specifically to separate Jews
from surrounding cultures in order to strengthen and sustain the Jewish community.
For example:
• Jews observed strict dietary laws. Thus they could not, according to their law,
share a meal in their neighbours' homes.
• People who observed minority religions were, for the most part, quite willing to
make sacrifices to the gods of their host countries, even as they worshipped their
own gods. With only few exceptions, Jews refused to do so.
• Also according to Jewish law, Jews were not supposed to marry outside their
faith, and most did not. Intergroup marriages often served as a bond in ancient
times to promote intergroup harmony. This refusal also retarded any assimilation,
T he Second Book of Maccabees relates how the Greek ruler o
Judea, Antiochus Epiphanes IV comes across a Jewish womanand her seven sons and orders them to eat a pig in public. Although the actual name of this woman is not recorded, thename Hannah was accorded to her by a 16th century Spanish-Jewish scholar.
F ortified by the religious convictions that their mother installed inthem, each son, in turn, refuses to eat the meat, and is tortured and put to death in front of Hannah. Finally, Antiochus stands infront of the mother and her last surviving three-year old child.Losing heart at the prospect of another refusal, the angry and perplexed ruler appeals to Hannah to direct the little boy to eat the pig's meat and be saved.
H owever, the young boy astounds the Seleucid ruler. He repliesthat he is only sorry that he had to wait so long to show his loveof the Torah. Hannah praises the boy - and he, too, is killed. Thecourageous mother then follows in the footsteps of her sevensons. According to one version of the story, she threw herself of
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which would have narrowed the differences between the Jews and their host
communities.
• Jews maintained their traditional dress and did not adopt the dress of
surrounding cultures. The result was that Jews became more easily identified as
a stereotyped culture, which had ramifications beyond religious differences.
This separation often created resentment and was at the root of most Pagan
Antisemitism. Evidence for this Antisemitism is not only found in Jewish sources but
also in other writings of the time. Evidence of Antisemitism has been found in the
writings of those who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, in the 4th century, B.C.E. In the first
century C.E., Apion, a writer from Alexandria, wrote the "History of Egypt" which was
the source for many of the false accusations about Jewish religious rituals, which
have plagued Jews throughout later history. Isolated incidents of persecution against
the Jews were recorded in the first century. As many as 4,000 Jews were deported
to the island of Sardinia during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The first
recorded pogrom took place during the reign of the Roman Emperor Caligula in 38
C.E. Classical Roman writers such as Cicero and Ovid wrote about the differences
between Jewish observances and those of the Romans in less than flattering terms.
Christianity didn’t begin as Antisemitic. Jesus was himself a Jew who practiced his
Judaism and didn’t seek to separate himself for the Jewish community. Even after
Jesus’s death the nascent Christian leadership were Jews. Non-Jewish converts were
on the periphery until Paul’s mission to covert the gentiles changed the composition
of the early Christians. The Christians and Jews gradually grew further and further
apart. After the destruction of the Temple many Jews supported the revolt of Bar
Kochba, believed by many to be the Messiah. The Jewish Christians naturally did not
support Bar Kochba and were therefore distanced even further from mainstream
Judaism. In the second century, theologians and church fathers became more
concerned with "making the break" with anything Jewish, beginning to take an
uncompromising posture of theological and political opposition. Blanket policies
condemning Jews began to colour New Testament interpretation. Some examples
are:
• the promises of blessing to Israel in the Hebrew scriptures are now the
exclusive property of the Church (Parkes, p. 98);
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• God has cursed and rejected Israel, and now the Church is the "true" or
"new" Israel; and
• the Jews killed Jesus; all Jews everywhere forever are responsible for his
death.
With the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire by
Constantine in the fourth century, Christianity soon began to enjoy a position of
superiority over Judaism, which caused serious consequences for Judaism. The new
"Christian" empire began to enact such changes as:
• The removal of former religious and governing privileges• The curtailment of Rabbinical jurisdiction
• Prohibition of missionary work
• Jews were no longer allowed to hold high offices or have military careers
(e.g. legislation in 537 C.E. which prohibited local Jewish people from serving
on municipal bodies).
Negative theological attitudes began to abound, such as the idea that Jews had lost
their right to exist; Jews only exist as a testimony to the truth of Christianity; Jews
are suffering justly at the hands of the Gentiles because God is angry with them, etc.
Various church councils drew up damaging anti-Jewish legislation such as:
• banning contact with Jews
• the forbidding of the reading of the Torah exclusively in Hebrew (553 C.E.)
(see Parkes, 251ff, 392)
• confiscation of Jewish property and the prohibition of the sale of Christian
property to Jews (545 C.E.)
Subsequent writings by church fathers (and church leaders throughout church
history) condemned Jews, accusing them of being idolaters, torturers, spiritually
deaf, blasphemers, gluttons, adulterers, cannibals, Christ-killers, and beyond God's
forgiveness. Church Father John Chrysostom in particular pushed the idea of Jewish
sensuality, gluttony, stubbornness and rejection by God. The Justinian Code negated
civil rights for Jews. It meant that Jews in the Roman Empire could not build
synagogues, read the Bible in Hebrew, gather in public places, celebrate Passover
before Easter, or give evidence in a judicial case in which a Christian was a party.
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Anti-Jewish legislation continued throughout the next centuries where Christianity
maintained legal and political power. In the Middle Ages from 1096-1272 the Catholic
Church launched a series of holy wars. The purpose of these wars was to march to
the Holy Land of Palestine and liberate it from Moslem "infidels." Along the way, the
crusaders massacred all "infidels" in their path who refused to be baptized on the
spot to Christianity. Thousands of Jews were massacred in Germany and France.
The Inquisition was a tribunal established in the Middle Ages (13th Cent.) by the
Catholic Church in Rome designed to suppress heresy. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX
formally established the papal Inquisition and sent Dominican friars to South France
and Northern Italy to conduct inquests. The Dominican order had set as one of their
goals the conversion of Jews to Christianity. This aim, backed by the power of the
Inquisition, brought on a wave of persecution.
A further Inquisition was established by Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain in 1478. "For
centuries, the Jewish community in Spain had flourished and grown in numbers and
influence, though Antisemitism had from time to time made itself felt and pressure to
convert was brought to bear on the Jews. Nominal converts from Judaism were
called Marranos (Jews who had been baptized under duress, but were believed to be
still surreptitiously practicing Judaism). After the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella
(1469), the Marranos were denounced as a danger to the existence of Christian
Spain." Suspected Marranos were tortured until they confessed to practicing
Judaism, and then were burned to death en masse at an auto-da-fe (An act of faith -
A day set apart by the Inquisition for the examination of “heretics”). After some
fourteen years of torture and death by burning, in 1492, by edict, the Spanish Jews
were given the choice of exile or baptism. Almost all Jews chose to leave at this time.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) founded a
new Christian faith, Protestantism, in the
16th century. He had been an ordained
priest, but disputed Church policy with
respect to the sale of indulgences (a
partial remission of the punishment for a
sin). Once a supporter of the Jews, hewas frustrated by their unwillingness to embrace his own religion. Martin Luther
became one of the most intensely bitter Antisemites in history. His writings described
Possible Activities:Jews could respond in 4 different ways tothis type of Christian Antisemitism.
• Give up Judaism completely
• Give up Judaism publicly but carry on secretly as a Jew
• Stay Jewish and suffer if necessary
• Stay Jewish and flee the country Which would you choose?
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Jews as the anti-Christ, worse than devils. Jews were poisoners, ritual murderers,
and parasites, he preached, and they should be expelled from Germany. His view
was that synagogues should all be burned to the ground, and all Jewish books
should be seized.
Pagan Antisemitism was based on Jews being different. Christian Antisemitism had
this basis too but additionally resented Judaism for its rejection of Christianity,
blamed Jews for the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus. In addition as Christianity
developed from Judaism and claimed to be a successor and replacement of Judaism,
which was deemed no longer relevant and rejected by God. The continued existence
of Judaism and the flourishing of Jews, threatened this concept.
The character of Modern Antisemitism (dating from 1688) was different from
Classical or Christian Antisemitism in that it was based on racist rather than religious
considerations. Antisemitism flourished despite the intellectual liberation of the
Enlightenment period. It was enhanced by nationalistic sentiments in reaction to
groups such as the Jews, which practiced a culture and spoke a language at variance
with the native populations.
Modern Antisemitism was based not on religious practices of the Jews but on the
theory that Jews comprised an inferior race. A Jew was a Jew not because he or she
practiced any particular religion, but because it was a character of his or her blood.
During the Enlightenment, there was a rise in nationalistic feelings. People with a
shared culture, language, history, race and value systems, bonded together into
political, economic, and social entities with distinct continuous geographical
boundaries which we refer to today as nations. A nation was a group of people
united politically and militarily under a single flag and a single leader to ward off the
domination of foreigners. The group had a shared loyalty to the nation. Jews, as
outsiders who did not share the common language, culture, religion, and values,
were seen as a threat by extremists in the nationalist movement. As such, they
became the targets of Antisemitic persecution.
Racial theorists in the 19th
century were the first to use the term ‘Aryan’ Aninfluential racial theorist was Arthur de Gobineau (1816-1882), who used
anthropology, linguistics and history to formulate a theory in which race explained
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virtually everything in the human experience. In his "Essay on the Inequality of the
Human Races," Gobineau argued that he and his fellow French aristocrats were
superior to the French masses by virtue of their pure Aryan stock. The decisive
events of history are determined by the iron law of race, he asserted, and human
destiny is decreed by nature and expressed in race. "History shows that all
civilization flows from the white race," and the jewel of this race is the Aryan, which
survived as a superior race, he maintained. However, he warned that cross-breeding
and race-mixing were threatening its very survival.
Jews were blamed for the severe economic depression of 1873. In the same year,
Wilhelm Marr, a journalist who coined the term "Antisemitism," wrote a pamphlet,
"The Victory of Jewry over Germandom." It was very successful, going through
twelve editions in six years. Using ideas of race and Vilkisch nationalism, Marr argued
that Jews had become the "first major power in the West" in the 19th century. He
accused the Jews of being liberals, a people without roots who had Judaized
Germans "beyond salvation." In 1879, he founded the League for Antisemitism.
In the late nineteenth century, political parties in Europe, especially in Germany,
used Antisemitism in their party platforms. In 1879, the historian Heinrich V.
Treitschke began writing that "the Jews are our misfortune," and that an
unbridgeable chasm existed between the German and Jewish spirit. In 1881, the
philosopher Eugen Karl Dîhring wrote The Jewish Question as a Racial, Moral and
Cultural Question, in which he argued that Jews were causing Germany's decline,
and that they constituted a "counter-race" which neither conversation nor
assimilation could change. His influence among university students was considerable.
In 1893, 250,000 voters sent 16 deputies (out of 397) pledged to Antisemitic
measures to the Reichstag, the German legislature. In 1900, H. S. Chamberlain, an
Englishman who settled in Germany, wrote The Foundations of the Nineteenth
Century, in which he idealized the German "race-soul," which made Germans honest,
loyal, and industrious. By contrast, Jews were materialistic, legalistic, and devoid of
tolerance and morality. These two peoples were locked in a struggle, in which the
Jews must be defeated. This book gave Nazis the text for their racial myth and had
enormous sales success in Germany.
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During World War I, when the German war effort began to deteriorate, a new cycle
of Antisemitism was the response as Jews became the popular scapegoat. They were
accused of profiteering, not participating in combat, and causing food shortages.
Antisemitic literature proliferated. Germany's military defeat in 1918 was blamed onthe Jews and the Socialists. The destructive hyper-inflation, the harsh terms of the
Versailles Treaty which set the terms for peace after the war, and widespread misery
created in concert an atmosphere which promoted Antisemitism. In 1920, the Nazi
party issued its 25-point platform, asserting that no Jew could ever be a member of
the German Volk. In 1930, Alfred Rosenberg, who brought The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion to Germany and to Hitler's attention, wrote "The Myth of the
Twentieth Century" which emphasized the superiority of the Nordic race and the
creation of a German national church based on race and purity of blood. In the same
year, the Nazi party polled over six million votes, giving it 107 seats in the Reichstag,
making it the second largest party in the country.
Since modern Antisemitism was racial, there is no escaping it. A Jew can’t convert.
He will always be Jewish, which explains why Nazi policy was to murder all Jews,
regardless of conversion, assimilation or other factors.
Contemporary Antisemitism (post-holocaust) is invariably an updated form of one of
these three traditional forms of Antisemitism or an amalgam of more than one.
Consider examples from your own experience. Which type of Antisemitism are they?
The exception to this is Muslim Antisemitism. Muslim Antisemitism did not really exist
prior to the Zionist movement and the establishment of Israel. Before then Jews
living in Muslim countries were generally treated well and though not considered to
be equal to Muslims still had a protected status as a monotheistic people of the book.
Since that time however a form of Antisemitism has arisen which draws from all the
earlier forms of Antisemitism and adds Islamic and anti-Zionist elements. Obscure
textual references have been raised in importance such as
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews
(killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones
and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and
kill him .”
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Attributed to Mohammad and widely used among Muslim Antisemites.
Materials Required:
Texts (Appendices 2, 3 and 4) below
Method:
Divide into three groups. Give each group one of the texts below on Christian, Pagan
and Modern Antisemitism. Give them some time to read the material.
The groups should present (in chronological order):
• The main features of their form of Antisemitism
• Time in history when it was most prevalent
• Some of the major instances of it
Discuss:
• What are the differences between the different forms of Antisemitism with regard
to their motivations not actions? What is the difference between how each one
sees ‘the Jew’?
• What is the difference between Antisemitic acts by each type? How does the
different act reflect the different ideology behind it?
• Modern Antisemitism undoubtedly still exists. Do the other forms still exist? Can
you think of examples?
• What about Muslim Antisemitism. Where do people think this fits into the
classification and chronology? Is it a new form or a variation on an old one?
Additional Resources:
Handouts Appendices 2,3 and 4
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Appendix 2
Pagan Antisemitism
The Tenach is full of examples of Pagan Antisemitism, where the surrounding
cultures persecuted the Jews because of their failure to conform to the practices of
majority. In Megillat Esther, the Jews, as group, are targeted due to the failure of
one individual (Mordechai) to bow down to Haman. Mordechai refuses to bow down
to Haman as it violates his religious practice. The reason for the conflict is Judaism’s
distinctness from the mainstream culture. In the Chanukah story, Jews again refuse
to conform to the mainstream culture. Those who did were spared by the Hellenist
rulers but those who refused and adhered to their own practices enraged the
Hellenists. The story of Hannah and her 7 sons who were all put to death forrefusing to bow to the king is remarkably similar to the story of Mordechai and
Haman.
The Jewish religion is full of laws and practices designed specifically to separate Jews
from surrounding cultures in order to strengthen and sustain the Jewish community.
For example:
•
Jews observed strict dietary laws. Thus they could not, according to their law,share a meal in their neighbours' homes.
• People who observed minority religions were, for the most part, quite willing
to make sacrifices to the gods of their host countries, even as they
worshipped their own gods. With only few exceptions, Jews refused to do so.
• Also according to Jewish law, Jews were not supposed to marry outside their
faith, and most did not. Intergroup marriages often served as a bond in
ancient times to promote intergroup harmony. This refusal also retarded any
assimilation which would have narrowed the differences between the Jews
and their host communities.
• Jews maintained their traditional dress and did not adopt the dress of
surrounding cultures. The result was that Jews became more easily identified
as a stereotyped culture, which had ramifications beyond religious
differences.
This separation often created resentment and was at the root of most Pagan
Antisemitism. Evidence for this Antisemitism is not only found in Jewish sources but
also in other writings of the time. Evidence of Antisemitism has been found in the
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writings of those who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, in the 4th century, B.C.E. In the first
century C.E., Apion, a writer from Alexandria, wrote the "History of Egypt" which was
the source for many of the false accusations about Jewish religious rituals, which
have plagued Jews throughout later history. Isolated incidents of persecution against
the Jews were recorded in the first century. As many as 4,000 Jews were deported
to the island of Sardinia during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The first
recorded pogrom took place during the reign of the Roman Emperor Caligula in 38
C.E. Classical Roman writers such as Cicero and Ovid wrote about the differences
between Jewish observances and those of the Romans in less than flattering terms.
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Appendix 3
Christian Antisemitism
Christianity didn’t begin as Antisemitic. Jesus was himself a Jew who practiced his
Judaism and didn’t seek to separate himself for the Jewish community. Even after
Jesus’s death the nascent Christian leadership were Jews. Non-Jewish converts were
on the periphery until Paul’s mission to covert the gentiles changed the composition
of the early Christians. The Christians and Jews gradually grew further and further
apart. After the destruction of the Temple many Jews supported the revolt of Bar
Kochba, believed by many to be the Messiah. The Jewish Christians naturally did not
support Bar Kochba and were therefore distanced even further from mainstream
Judaism. In the second century, theologians and church fathers became more
concerned with "making the break" with anything Jewish, beginning to take an
uncompromising posture of theological and political opposition. Blanket policies
condemning Jews began to colour New Testament interpretation. Some examples
are:
the promises of blessing to Israel in the Hebrew scriptures are now the
exclusive property of the Church (Parkes, p. 98);
God has cursed and rejected Israel, and now the Church is the "true" or
"new" Israel; and
the Jews killed Jesus; all Jews everywhere forever are responsible for his
death.
With the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire by
Constantine in the fourth century, Christianity soon began to enjoy a position of
superiority over Judaism, which caused serious consequences for Judaism. The new
"Christian" empire began to enact such changes as:
The removal of former religious and governing privileges
The curtailment of Rabbinical jurisdiction
Prohibition of missionary work
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• Jews were no longer allowed to hold high offices or have military careers
(e.g. legislation in 537 C.E. which prohibited local Jewish people from serving on
municipal bodies).
Negative theological attitudes began to abound, such as the idea that Jews had lost
their right to exist; Jews only exist as a testimony to the truth of Christianity; Jews
are suffering justly at the hands of the Gentiles because God is angry with them, etc.
Various church councils drew up damaging anti-Jewish legislation such as:
• banning contact with Jews
• the forbidding of the reading of the Torah exclusively in Hebrew (553 C.E.)
(see Parkes, 251ff, 392).• confiscation of Jewish property and the prohibition of the sale of Christian
property to Jews (545 C.E.).
Subsequent writings by church fathers (and church leaders throughout church
history) condemned Jews, accusing them of being idolaters, torturers, spiritually
deaf, blasphemers, gluttons, adulterers, cannibals, Christ-killers, and beyond God's
forgiveness. Church Father John Chrysostom in particular pushed the idea of Jewish
sensuality, gluttony, stubbornness and rejection by God. The Justinian Code negated
civil rights for Jews. It meant that Jews in the Roman Empire could not build
synagogues, read the Bible in Hebrew, gather in public places, celebrate Passover
before Easter, or give evidence in a judicial case in which a Christian was a party.
Anti-Jewish legislation continued throughout the next centuries where Christianity
maintained legal and political power. In the Middle Ages from 1096-1272 the Catholic
Church launched a series of holy wars. The purpose of these wars was to march to
the Holy Land of Palestine and liberate it from Moslem "infidels." Along the way, thecrusaders massacred all "infidels" in their path who refused to be baptized on the
spot to Christianity. Thousands of Jews were massacred in Germany and France.
The Inquisition was a tribunal established in the Middle Ages (13th Cent.) by the
Catholic Church in Rome designed to suppress heresy. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX
formally established the papal Inquisition and sent Dominican friars to South France
and Northern Italy to conduct inquests. The Dominican order had set as one of their
goals the conversion of Jews to Christianity. This aim, backed by the power of the
Inquisition, brought on a wave of persecution.
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A further Inquisition was established by Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain in 1478. "For
centuries, the Jewish community in Spain had flourished and grown in numbers and
influence, though Antisemitism had from time to time made itself felt and pressure to
convert was brought to bear on the Jews. Nominal converts from Judaism werecalled Marranos (Jews who had been baptized under duress, but were believed to be
still surreptitiously practicing Judaism). After the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella
(1469), the Marranos were denounced as a danger to the existence of Christian
Spain." Suspected Marranos were tortured until they confessed to practicing
Judaism, and then were burned to death en masse at an auto-da-fe. After some
fourteen years of torture and death by burning, in 1492, by edict, the Spanish Jews
were given the choice of exile or baptism. Almost all Jews chose to leave at this time.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) founded a new Christian faith, Protestantism, in the 16th
century. He had been an ordained priest, but disputed Church policy with respect to
the sale of indulgences (a partial remission of the punishment for a sin). Once a
supporter of the Jews, he was frustrated by their unwillingness to embrace his own
religion. Martin Luther became one of the most intensely bitter Antisemites in history.
His writings described Jews as the anti-Christ, worse than devils. Jews were
poisoners, ritual murderers, and parasites, he preached, and they should be expelled
from Germany. His view was that synagogues should all be burned to the ground,
and all Jewish books should be seized.
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Appendix 4
Modern Antisemitism
During the Enlightenment, there was a rise in nationalistic feelings. People with a
shared culture, language, history, race and value systems, bonded together into
political, economic, and social entities with distinct continuous geographical
boundaries which we refer to today as nations. A nation was a group of people
united politically and militarily under a single flag and a single leader to ward off the
domination of foreigners. The group had a shared loyalty to the nation. Jews, as
outsiders who did not share the common language, culture, religion, and values,
were seen as a threat by extremists in the nationalist movement. As such, they
became the targets of Antisemitic persecution.
Racial theorists in the 19th century were the first to use the term ‘Aryan’ An
influential racial theorist was Arthur de Gobineau (1816-1882), who used
anthropology, linguistics and history to formulate a theory in which race explained
virtually everything in the human experience. In his "Essay on the Inequality of the
Human Races," Gobineau argued that he and his fellow French aristocrats weresuperior to the French masses by virtue of their pure Aryan stock. The decisive
events of history are determined by the iron law of race, he asserted, and human
destiny is decreed by nature and expressed in race. "History shows that all
civilization flows from the white race," and the jewel of this race is the Aryan, which
survived as a superior race, he maintained. However, he warned that cross-breeding
and race-mixing were threatening its very survival.
Jews were blamed for the severe economic depression of 1873. In the same year,
Wilhelm Marr, a journalist who coined the term "anti-Semitism," wrote a pamphlet,
"The Victory of Jewry over Germandom." It was very successful, going through
twelve editions in six years. Using ideas of race and Vilkisch nationalism, Marr argued
that Jews had become the "first major power in the West" in the 19th century. He
accused the Jews of being liberals, a people without roots who had Judaized
Germans "beyond salvation." In 1879, he founded the League for Anti-Semitism.
In the late nineteenth century, political parties in Europe, especially in Germany,
used Antisemitism in their party platforms. In 1879, the historian Heinrich V.
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Treitschke began writing that "the Jews are our misfortune," and that an
unbridgeable chasm existed between the German and Jewish spirit. In 1881, the
philosopher Eugen Karl Dîhring wrote The Jewish Question as a Racial, Moral and
Cultural Question, in which he argued that Jews were causing Germany's decline,and that they constituted a "counter-race" which neither conversation nor
assimilation could change. His influence among university students was considerable.
In 1893, 250,000 voters sent 16 deputies (out of 397) pledged to Antisemitic
measures to the Reichstag, the German legislature. In 1900, H. S. Chamberlain, an
Englishman who settled in Germany, wrote The Foundations of the Nineteenth
Century, in which he idealized the German "race-soul," which made Germans honest,
loyal, and industrious. By contrast, Jews were materialistic, legalistic, and devoid of
tolerance and morality. These two peoples were locked in a struggle, in which the
Jews must be defeated. This book gave Nazis the text for their racial myth and had
enormous sales success in Germany.
During World War I, when the German war effort began to deteriorate, a new cycle
of Antisemitism was the response as Jews became the popular scapegoat. They were
accused of profiteering, not participating in combat, and causing food shortages.
Antisemitic literature proliferated. Germany's military defeat in 1918 was blamed on
the Jews and the Socialists. The destructive hyper-inflation, the harsh terms of the
Versailles Treaty which set the terms for peace after the war, and widespread misery
created in concert an atmosphere which promoted Antisemitism. In 1920, the Nazi
party issued its 25-point platform, asserting that no Jew could ever be a member of
the German Volk. In 1930, Alfred Rosenberg, who brought The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion to Germany and to Hitler's attention, wrote "The Myth of the
Twentieth Century" which emphasized the superiority of the Nordic race and the
creation of a German national church based on race and purity of blood. In the same
year, the Nazi party polled over six million votes, giving it 107 seats in the Reichstag,
making it the second largest party in the country. Since modern Antisemitism was
racial, there is no escaping it. A Jew can’t convert. He will always be Jewish, which
explains why Nazi policy was to murder all Jews, regardless of conversion,
assimilation or other factors.
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CC A AUUSSEESS OOFF A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM
Aims:
• To examine the contexts in which Antisemitism has arisen throughout history and
in doing so to determine the conditions that lead to Antisemitism
• To discuss the question of Antisemitism as an inevitability
Background:
Robert Wistrich called Antisemitism "the longest hatred". It has been around as long
as the Jews.
The birth of the Jewish nation and religion dates back to the exodus from Egypt and
receiving the Torah. Then, at the very birth of the nation we hear of Amalek coming
out to destroy the Jewish people. In the hagaddah we read ‘in every generation they
have risen up to destroy us’ .
Following are some of the reasons that are attributed to this persistent hate without
logic.
The Moral Code of Judaism
Judaism contains a basic moral code of life. The command to be a light unto the
nations introduced morality to the world. There are those who resent this morality
and seek to destroy.
Jealousy
Antisemitism has often arisen out of personal jealousy. My neighbour is successful
and also Jewish. I am jealous of him and therefore despise him. I extend this to
apply to all Jews.
Choseness
The bible raises the idea of the Jews as the chosen people. This idea is found in both
Christianity and Judaism. This issue of ‘choseness’ has led to resentment and
jealousy and can also lead to accusations of arrogance.
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Religion
Christian Antisemitism was based on the resentment that the Jews rejected Jesus
and Christianity. Modern times have seen a rise in Muslim Antisemitism most
specifically since the creation of Israel.
Scapegoating
When things go wrong people often look to blame others. The Jews were a
convenient distinct group.
Separateness
Judaism imposes rules designed to keep Jews separate from others in society e.g.
Kashrut. This may lead to resentment at the idea that they think they are better than
us and to fear of the unknown.
Activity Ideas:
Read the section from the Hagadda in Vehe Sheyamda (in Hebrew and your own
language)
In every generation there have been those who have risen up to destroy
us
)àéäÄ åÀãÈ îÀ òÈ LÆäeðéúÅ Éåáà ìÇeðìÈ åÀ?ãîÇ òÈ ãáÈ ìÀ aÄ ãçÈ àÆ àÉlLÆeðéìÅ òÈeðúÅ ÉålëÇ ìÀ(,ìëÈ aÀ LÆ àlÈ àÆ
eðéìÅ òÈ íéãÄ îÀ Éåò øÉåãåÈ øÉåceðúÅ ÉåìëÇ ìÀ
Discuss:
•
Do you think Antisemitism is an inescapable historical inevitability as the quotesuggests?
• Do you believe there will always be Antisemitism?
• What do you imagine will be the situation in the future?
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R R EEOOCCCCUUR R R R IINNGG MM Y Y TTHHSS A ANNDD SSTTEER R EEOOTT Y Y PPEESS
Aims:
• For participants to become familiar with the main Antisemitic myths that reoccur
(e.g. blood libels, Shylock Jew, protocols)
• For participants to learn about the history and roots of these stereotypes/myths
• For participants to see new forms of the old pictures
Background:
Throughout the centuries Antisemites have used many myths and stereotypes to
express and inspire hatred for Jews. Many of these myths are contradictory, though
this has never been a problem for most Antisemites. Many myths reoccur under
different guises. Even in the 21st century we see the reappearance of the old myths,
most of which originated in medieval times.
Blood Libels
The blood libel is the most common of Antisemitic myths. The traditional blood libelheld that the Jews would kidnap an innocent Christian child and kill him in a ritual
murder. They would then drain him of all of his blood and use the blood to make
matzot at Pesach time. Since Peasch and Easter generally fall around the same time
of year the killing of the child was seen as a re-enactment of the killing of Christ. To
this day many Jews use white wine at seder night as a hangover from a time when
they sought to avoid the accusation that they might be drinking blood. The first
blood libel occurred in 1144 in Norwich in England. The Jews were accused of
murdering a boy called William for his blood. The boy was canonised (made a saint)
and many people made pilgrimage to his tomb. It was common to turn the victims of
the so-called ritual killings into Saints. The leaders of the Jewish community were
executed. This was also a common response. Blood libels remained common
throughout the Middle Ages despite the study commissioned by Pope Innocent IV in
1247 CE, which found that the myth was a Christian invention used to justify
persecution of the Jews. Four other Popes also vindicated the Jews but this didn’t
stop the accusations, trails or executions continuing. Blood libels have continuedeven into the twentieth century.
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Some of the major instances of blood libels have been:
1144 CE: Jews in Norwich, England were accused of the ritual murder; Jewish
leaders in the area were executed.
1171: Jews in Blois, France were accused of ritual murder. All of the Jews in
that town (34 men, 17 women) were tortured and burned alive.
1181: More accusations at Bury, St. Edmund, England
1183: More accusations in Bristol, England
1192: More accusations in Winchester, England
1244: London Jews were accused of ritual murder and fined heavily.
1250: Jews in Saragossa, Spain, were accused of ritually killing a child, San
Domenichino de Val.
1255: The body of a little boy, Hugh, was found in a cesspool near the
house of a Jew in Lincoln, England. The Jew was tortured and he
confessed that he had engaged in ritual murder. He was then dragged
through the streets, and finally hung. 100 Jews were transported to
London and charged with ritual murder. One was acquitted; 2 were
pardoned; the rest were hanged, either with or without a trial.
1283-5: Following a series of ritual murder charges, 10 Jews were murdered
by a mob in Mainz; 26 were executed in Bacharach, 40 in Oberwellil,
and 180 in Munich.
1431: After ritual murder charges, several Jewish communities were
destroyed in southern Germany: Ravensburg, Uberlingen and Lindau.
1840: An elderly Italian monk-priest, Padre Tommaso, disappeared in
Damascus, Syria, after having visited the Jewish quarter in the city. 12
Jewish leaders were arrested and tortured. Four died from the
mistreatment; most of the rest confessed involvement in a ritual
murder.
1881: A Roman Catholic journal, Civilta Cattolica , started a series of articles
which attempted to prove that ritual murder was an integral element
of the Jewish religion. They argued that the ritual murders occurred at
Purim rather than Passover. "It is in vain that Jews seek to slough off
the weight of argument against them: the mystery has become known
to all ."
1911-3: An allegation of ritual murder, the Beilis case, surfaced in Kiev, Russia.
The story formed the plot of novel, "The Fixer " by Bernard Malamud.
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1930's +: Hitler re-used the blood-libel myth as justification for the Holocaust.
The Nazi periodical, Der Stürmer , often published special issues
devoted to allegations of ritual murder by Jews. Hitler had asked that
a film be made of the 1840 Damascus case. World War II ended
before it could be made.
2000's: The Jewish blood-libel myth continues to circulate among many
Muslim countries.
Host desecrations
The host is a wafer used during the Roman Catholic mass. At a certain point during
the ritual, it is believed to be converted into the actual body of Jesus Christ, just as
the wine becomes Jesus' actual blood. These elements of the mass are then eaten
by the believers.
A variation of the blood libel myth developed in Europe early in the 11th century.
Instead of accusing the Jews of killing an innocent child, they were accused of
desecrating the host. Sometimes they were accused stabbing pins into the host, or of
stepping on it. Other times, they were accused of stabbing the host with a knife until
Jesus' blood leaked out. Sometimes, they were accused of nailing the host, in a
symbolic replay of the crucifixion.
1243: All Jews in Berlitz, Germany were burned alive for allegedly torturing a
stolen host.
1308: The Bishop of Strasbourg charged Jews in Sulzmatt and Rufach with
host esecration. They were burned alive.
1370: Jews in Brabant, Belgium, were accused of defiling the host and were
burned alive.
1389: Jews in Prague were accused of attacking a monk carrying a wafer. All
of the Jews in the city were offered the choice of conversion to
Christianity or death. They were all killed.
1399: A rabbi and 13 elders in Posen, Poland, were charged with stabbing
the host and tossing it into a pit. They were slowly roasted to death.
Some townspeople believed that the host had bled.
Like the blood libel myth, host desecration makes no logical sense. Being Jews, they
would not believe in the Christian doctrine of transubstantiation - that the host
during mass becomes the actual body of Jesus. To them, the host is just a simple
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wafer with no religious significance. Unlike the basic Blood Libel myth, rumours of
host desecration by Jews appear to have died out in the Middle Ages.
The Black Death and Well PoisoningThe Bubonic Plague, a.k.a. the Black Death, struck Europe in 1347. Jews were
accused of causing the plague through poisoning wells in France, Spain, Switzerland,
and elsewhere. It was suggested that Jews were not dying of the plague and had
therefore caused it. Jews did die from the Plague but if there were lower instances of
sickness it is likely that this was because Jewish ritual practices led to higher levels of
hygiene than were common among the general populace at that time. Regular
attendance at the mikva (ritual baths) for example, would have meant that Jews
washed far more frequently. As a result of the well poisoning accusation however in
excess of 20,000 Jews were murdered across Europe.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The infamous Protocols first appeared at the very end of the 19th century. They
purport to be the minutes of a meeting of Jewish leaders laying out their plan for
world domination. Some editions claim that the protocols were first read out at the
first Zionist Congress in 1897 in Basle (perhaps the first example of Antisemitism
masquerading as anti-Zionism). The Protocols have been exposed as a hoax – they
are often described as a forgery but this implies that there was an original
documents and that these are a forged version of it – apparently by Russian émigrés
in France, with clear Antisemitic intents. This has not stopped them being used
throughout the twentieth century to justify Antisemitism from Stalinist Russia to Nazi
Germany. They even made their way to America where Henry Ford published an
American version of the Protocols between May and September of 1920 in a series
called ‘The International Jew: the World’s Foremost Problem" in his newspaper The
Dearborn Independent. The articles were later republished in book form with half a
million copies in circulation in the United States, and were translated into several
foreign languages.
The Protocols can still be found on sale in many places around the world. They have
especially been widely circulated in Arab and Islamic countries. They are even
available to purchase on Amazon.com and other reputable bookstores.
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Modern versions of the old hoax can be found in “new world order” and other
conspiracy theory myths, which suggest that there is a group of people who control
the world. The large number of prominent Jews in politics, media and economic
spheres, such as head of the US Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, is given as
evidence. After the attacks on the World Trade Centre accusations circulated,
especially on the internet, that the attacks were orchestrated by Jews to incriminate
others and destabilise the economy.
The Shylock Jew
Shakespeare’s Shylock is a typical stereotype that has perpetuated over many
centuries. According to this image the Jew is mean, devious and amoral. This image
has origins in Christian Antisemitism where the Jew is the anti-thesis of good
Christian values. Shylock declares that he hates his enemy because he is a Christian.
The source of this myth is in the medieval profession of money lending. Other
professions were closed to Jews so as a result many became moneylenders which
was forbidden by Christianity.
In modern times this image of the mean and devious Jew has persisted even when it
is no longer based on Christian Antisemitism.
Stereotypes and Myths today – some examples
• This is not unusual for the Jews who have connections with the Zionists.
Their history is full of devising conspiracies, even against the countries in
which they live, whose citizenship they bear and whose benefits they enjoy.
U.S. President Clinton is acquainted with the example of the destructive role
played by the Jewish lobby in the U.S. Anyone interested in documents from
World War I can learn about the role German Jews played in organizing
conspiracies to undermine Germany, harm its economy and weaken its
capabilities, which deteriorated to the extent that it led to its defeat. Whoever
studies these documents can also understand why the hatred of Jews
consequently increased so severely." - September 2, 1998 Damascus Radio
• "Monica is a Jewess, the lawyers who volunteered to defend her were Jews,
Monica's friends who recorded the hot phone conversations between her and
President Clinton were Jewesses and the 'Washington Post' newspaper which
published the affair for the first time is a Jewish newspaper. Is it mere chance
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that Lewinsky kept the blue dress with the stain for almost two years and
presented it as evidence of the connection with the President? The scheme
was planned carefully from the beginning until the present. Her goal was to
embarrass President Clinton, to blackmail him and weaken his status beforeNetanyahu's government." - August 24, 1998 Tishrin Al-Usbu'a
• "... 'Netanyahu's Plan' completely matches the foundations of the greater
Zionist plan which is organized according to specific stages that were
determined when the Protocols of the Elders of Zion were composed" from an
article in the official PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, November 30, 1997
• "Israeli authorities infected by injection 300 Palestinian children with the HIV
virus during the years of the intifada." - Palestinian representative Nabil
Ramlawi at a session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in
Geneva (Jerusalem Post, March 17, 1997)
• "Israel is distributing food containing material that causes cancer and
hormones that harm male virility and other spoiled food products in the
Palestinian Authority's territories in order to poison and harm the Palestinian
population." -- PA Deputy Minister of Supplies Abdel Hamid al-Qudsi in a
newspaper interview, Yediot Aharonot, June 25, 1997
Materials Required:
Cut up examples of myths and stereotypes from today
Large sheets of paper and markers
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Method:
Divide into groups of about 6-8 people. Ask each group to draw on a large sheet of
paper an Antisemite’s version of a Jew. Tell them to incorporate all the myths and
stereotypes that they can think of.
Display all the drawings and get each group to explain theirs.
As they are doing so write up a list of the myths and stereotypes that are being
mentioned. (e.g. Mean, powerful, blood libel)
Read out the list and ask if there are any other myths/stereotypes that people have
forgotten to mention and would like to add. Make sure that all the ones mentioned in
the background material are included.
Go down the list and make sure that everyone knows what each one is. Ask
someone to explain them and ask people for examples from history. Supplement
information yourself if things aren’t mentioned.
Myths and stereotypes are often based on some subverted truth. What is the basis of
each of these myths/stereotypes. e.g. Jews being mean – Jews were money lenders
traditionally as this was one of the few professions open to them. What is the source
(whether true or not)
Hand out modern examples of myths and stereotypes. Some examples are included
above. You can collect more yourself. Ask each person to describe or read what he
or she has. Ask what traditional myth/stereotype it is an example of. Are their any
differences to the older form?
Conclude by reviewing what we have learned and what was said in discussion.
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CCOONNTTEEMMPPOOR R A AR R Y Y
A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM
‘In the current political climate, what is the worst thing of which we can
accuse the Jews?" The answer: Racism, Apartheid. Genocide. Colonialism.
Is it true? It doesn't matter. Let the Jews worry about whether it's true. The
paradox of anti-Semitism is that it is invariably up to the Jews to explain away
the charges. The anti-Semite simply has to make them.’
Jack Schwartz, National Review
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A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM OOR R A ANNTTII--ZZIIOONNIISSMM
WWHH A ATT IISS TTHHEE DDIIFFFFEER R EENNCCEE??
Aims:
• To examine whether Anti-Zionism is the same as Antisemitism
• To examine if there are differences between Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism and
what they are
Background:
With the conflict in the Middle East escalating in September/October 2000, campuses
around the world have also seen an increase in Antisemitism. The question many
students ask is what is the difference between Antisemitism and anti-Zionism, if
indeed there is one.
Anti-Semitism: “discrimination against, or prejudice or hostility towards Jews.”
(Definition according to Webster’s dictionary.)
Anti-Zionism: Zionism is “a worldwide movement for the establishment and
development of the state of Israel” (Webster’s dictionary). Therefore anti-Zionism
must be the opposition to the establishment or development of the state of Israel.
According to these definitions it seems that anti-Zionism is Antisemitism. We live in a
world built on the nation state. If we accept that structure of the world, in which the
French are ruled by the French and the Germans by the Germans etc., then to seek
to deny the right to self-determination to one nation alone i.e. the Jews, is
Antisemitism. It is discrimination against the Jews to seek to deny them what we
allow to others. Some of the hostility that we see today is based on the idea that the
Jews have no right to be in the Land of Israel/Palestine, some of the hostility
suggests that Jews have somehow less rights than other inhabitants. Either of those
two opinions can be classed as Antisemitism.
However is being anti-Israel, always anti-Zionism? Can a person oppose the actions
of the State of Israel, without denying its right to exist? The answer appears to beclearly yes. Many Israelis oppose actions of the Government. Many Knesset
members, academics and religious leaders in Israel speak out against state policies.
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However they are loyal citizens who not only support Israel’s right to exist, but serve
in the army, pay taxes and dedicate themselves to public service.
However this still leaves us a large grey area.
A world leader outspoken in his condemnation of Israeli military actions in the
territories but silent in the face of terrorism that targets innocent civilians. Is s/he
anti-Zionist? Is s/he Antisemitic?
A journalist who is willing to believe without question or investigation in Israeli
atrocities and who declines to retract when the accusations are later proved untrue.
A journalist who gives a much harder time to Israeli interviewees than Palestinian
ones. Are they anti-Zionist, are they Antisemitic?
A human rights activist who imposes and expects different standards of behaviour
from one side, than from the other. Is s/he anti-Zionist, is s/he Antisemitic?
A Palestinian who supports the idea of a two state solution but also demands an
unlimited Palestinian right of return to pre-1948 homes within sovereign Israel. Is
s/he anti-Zionist, is s/he Antisemitic?
There are no clear answers. Opposition to Israel may be honest and legitimate. It
may however be thinly veiled Antisemitism. The motives of a person are also
important. It is unhelpful to assume that anyone who disagrees with Israel is
Antisemitic. This arouses great resentment. A few clues to look for however might
be.
• Does the person/institution say Jew when they mean Israeli? Do they target Jews
regardless of their nationality? Do they attack Jews, as Jews? In this case we can
include physical or verbal attacks on Jews around the world. Attacks on
synagogues or other Jewish sites unrelated to Israel. The Hamas rhetoric, which
frequently uses the term Jew in place of Israeli. The bombing of a seder in
Netanya, or attacking Israel on Yom Kippur in 1973, which attacks not just the
state but targets the religion. Questioning the loyalty of Diaspora Jews to their
state and suggesting that Jews can’t be loyal citizens.
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• Does the person/institution impose unequal expectations on Israel than on other
states or individuals? Expecting Israel to absorb terrorist attacks without
affording her the right to respond. Calling for different moral standards from the
Israelis than from the Palestinians. Calling for different moral standards from the
Israelis than from other states around the world. Disproportionate criticism of
Israel as compared with regimes around the world. Israel certainly has flaws and
makes mistakes but it is a democracy and can’t be compared with Syria, or North
Korea or Indonesia or other human rights abusing dictatorships.
NB. It is important to note that Jews often have expectations that Israel behaves in a
certain way when equal expectations are not expected from other countries. A belief
in one of the founding values of the state that Israel should be a ‘light unto the
nations’ Having higher expectations of oneself is one thing but having higher
expectations of another is unreasonable.
• Does the person/institution use Antisemitic stereotypes or myths in their criticism
of Israel? Suggesting that Israel poisons Palestinian water supplies or injects
AIDS into babies is a modern twist on old blood libel and well poisoning
accusations. Pure blood libels have also been known to occur. Suggesting that
Israel unduly influences American foreign policy through rich American Jews, who
are acting against America’s interests and for Israel’s revisits the idea of the
protocols of the elders of Zion. Likewise blaming the World Trade Centre attacks
on a Mossad plot smacks of Jewish conspiracy theory. Suggesting that America
wouldn’t be attacked but for support of Israel likewise ignores reality and seeks
to blame Israel/Jews for the problems of other people, as was done every time
Jews were accused of bringing misfortune to society during the Middle Ages.Equally expecting Israel to be the victim is a hang over from years of history -
attacking her if she fails to fill that role suggests support conditional on fulfilment
of a stereotype (We can support Jews as holocaust survivors but not as soldiers).
• Does the person/institution accuse Israel of Nazism, compare the army to the SS
or the leaders to Hitler? Accusing Israel of being the same as those who
murdered 6 million Jews, not only shows massive insensitivity and is not only
inaccurate, (Even if Israel were guilty of half the things she is accused of there is
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no comparison to a systematic, genocidal regime), but exposes an Antisemitic
subtext. Jews as Nazis is massively offensive.
• Does the person/institution seek to lay all blame for the situation on one side? It
is all Israel’s fault. Only Israel can solve the crisis. Only Israel is expected to take
action. Terrorism is understandable, as they have been forced into it by the
occupation and have no other choice. It is inconceivable to think that Israel is
totally responsible for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and equally that
Israel alone can being about peace.
These are some, though by no means all, indications of latent Antisemitism
masquerading as honest criticism of the Israeli Government. One of the best
examples of all of these is the Durban conference on Racism, Xenophobia and
related intolerance. The conference was hijacked into attacking Israel and blatant
Antisemitism, all the more ironic given the intent of the conference. Some of the
things that happened were:
• The Jewish community of South Africa felt targeted and at risk from the hatred
that enveloped the conference
• Antisemitic cartoons were displayed and published
• Israel was compared to Nazi Germany
• Israel received disproportionate criticism. The NGOs that attacked her felt no
need to criticise other far worse offending Governments
• Only Israel was blamed for the crisis. The Palestinians were portrayed as
blameless victims
These were all indications that what happened in Durban wasn’t merely anti-Zionism
but Antisemitism.
Materials Required:
Israel critical news stories – try to find virulent examples that question Israel’s right
to exist. It shouldn’t be that hard. We have provided one example. (Appendix 5)
Pens and paper
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Method:
Ask each person in the group to come up with an example of an Antisemitic incident
that they experienced, witnessed or heard about and write it down with the heading
Antisemitism
Ask each person in the group to come up with an example of an anti-Zionist incident
that they experienced, witnessed or heard about and write it down with the heading
Anti-Zionism
Collect in the papers then pass them round again and get people to read out the
incident but not the title.
Ask the group which category it was from.
Ask: “Do any of the incidents from one category fit into the other category?” “Do any
apply to both?”
Discuss:
• What do we mean by Antisemitism? (give specific examples)
• What do we mean by anti-Zionism? (give specific examples)
• Is it possible to be anti-Zionist without being Antisemitic
Hand out the examples of Israel critical news stories. Ask:
Do these contain anti-Zionism (give examples)
Do these contain Antisemitism (give examples)
Note to facilitator: One example of such a story is attached as appendix 5. You
should try to find other recent examples from your own national media.
Discuss:
• Do you believe the media in our country is Antisemitic/anti-Zionist?
• In 1975 (repealed 1991) the UN declared Zionism to be Racism. Do you consider
this to be Antisemitic/anti-Zionist?
• As a Jew on campus you may be attacked for supporting Israel. Do you consider
this to be Antisemitic/anti-Zionist?
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• With the benefit of further discussion re-put the question “Is it possible to be
anti-Zionist without being Antisemitic?”
• How should we respond to anti-Zionism? How should we respond to
Antisemitism. Is it the same?
Conclude by summing up the discussion. Stress that the answer to the question is
not clear. There is no single response and much grey area. Tell participants that they
must trust their own judgement.
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Appendix 5
Israel simply has no right to exist
Peace might have a real chance without Israelis' biblical claims
Wednesday January 3, 2001
Several years ago, I suggested in my students' union newspaper that Israel shouldn't
exist. I also said the sympathy evoked by the Holocaust was a very handy cover for
Israeli atrocities. Overnight I became public enemy number one. I was a Muslim
fundamentalist, a Jew-hater, somebody who trivialised the memory of the most
abominable act in history. My denouncers followed me, photographed me, and even
put telephone calls through to my family telling them to expect a call from the grim
reaper.
Thankfully, my notoriety in Jewish circles has since waned to the extent that recently
I gave an inter-faith lecture sponsored by the Leo Baeck College, even though my
views have remained the same. Israel has no right to exist. I know it's a hugely
unfashionable thing to say and one which, given the current parlous state of the
peace process, some will also find irresponsible. But it's a fact that I have always
considered central to any genuine peace formula.
Certainly there is no moral case for the existence of Israel. Israel stands as the realisation of a biblical statement. Its raison d'être was famously delineated by
former prime minister Golda Meir. "This country exists as the accomplishment of a
promise made by God Himself. It would be absurd to call its legitimacy into account."
That biblical promise is Israel's only claim to legitimacy. But whatever God meant
when he promised Abraham that "unto thy seed have I given this land, from the
river of Egypt unto the great river, the Euphrates," it is doubtful that he intended it
to be used as an excuse to take by force and chicanery a land lawfully inhabited and
owned by others.
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It does no good to anyone to brush this fact, uncomfortable as it might be, under the
table. But that has been the failing with Oslo. When it signed the agreement, the
PLO made the cardinal error of assuming that you could bury the hatchet by
rewriting history. It accepted as a starting point that Israel had a right to exist. Thetrouble with this was that it also meant, by extension, an acceptance that the way
Israel came into being was legitimate. As the latest troubles have shown, ordinary
Palestinians are not prepared to follow their leaders in this feat of intellectual
amnesia.
Israel's other potential claim to legitimacy, international recognition, is just as
dubious. The two pacts which sealed Palestine's future were both concluded by
Britain. First we signed the Sykes-Picot agreement with France, pledging to divvy up
Ottoman spoils in the Levant. A year later, in 1917, the Balfour Declaration promised
a national home for the Jewish people. Under international law the declaration was
null and void since Palestine did not belong to Britain - under the pact of the League
of Nations it belonged to Turkey.
By the time the UN accepted a resolution on the partition of Palestine in 1947, Jews
constituted 32% of the population and owned 5.6% of the land. By 1949, largely as
a result of paramilitary organisations such as the Haganah, Irgun and Stern gang,
Israel controlled 80% of Palestine and 770,000 non-Jews had been expelled from
their country.
This then is the potted history of the iniquities surrounding its own birth that Israel
must acknowledge in order for peace to have a chance. After years of war, peace
comes from forgiving, not forgetting; people never forget but they have an
extraordinary capacity to forgive. Just look at South Africa, which showed the worldthat a cathartic truth must precede reconciliation.
Far from being a force for liberation and safety after decades of suffering , the idea
that Israel is some kind of religious birthright has only imprisoned Jews in a never-
ending cycle of conflict. The "promise" breeds an arrogance which institutionalises
the inferiority of other peoples and generates atrocities against them with alarming
regularity. It allows soldiers to defy their consciences and blast unarmed
schoolchildren. It gives rise to legislation seeking to prevent the acquisition of territory by non-Jews.
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More crucially, the promise limits Israel's capacity to seek models of coexistence
based on equality and the respect of human rights. A state based on so exclusivist a
claim to legitimacy cannot but conceive of separation as a solution. But separation is
not the same as lasting peace; it only pulls apart warring parties. It does not heal old
wounds, let alone redress historical wrongs.
However, take away the biblical right and suddenly mutual coexistence, even a one-
state solution, doesn't seem that far-fetched. What name that coexistence will take is
less important than the fact that peoples have forgiven and that some measure of
justice has been restored. Jews will continue to live in the Holy Land - as per the
promise - as equals alongside its other rightful inhabitants.
If that kind of self-reproach is forthcoming, Israel can expect the Palestinians to be
forgiving and magnanimous in return. The alternative is perpetual war.
Faisal Bodi is a Muslim journalist.
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A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM:: TTHHEE R R EE A ALLIITT Y Y
“The taboos that had reigned since World War II, where it was rare to see a Jew
attacked or a synagogue torched, are gone. The Middle East conflict is fanning the
fires of hatred across Europe and many Jews are scared.”
The Jerusalem Report, May 6 2002
Avi Beker, secretary general of the World Jewish Congress, has branded the end of
April “the worst Antisemitic days in the history of Europe since the end of World War
II”
A collection of recent Antisemitic incidents:
Belgium
On the seventh day of Passover, dozens of immigrant youths stormed a Hasidic
synagogue in Antwerp throwing petrol bombs and pounding the windows with bricks.
Tunisia
A cooking gas truck exploded outside a historic synagogue on the island of Djerba in
Tunisia, suspected by German and Israeli governments as being a terrorist attack
despite government claims that it was a traffic accident. The road the truck took was
a dead end with nothing there but the synagogue.
The Ukraine
50 Ukrainians shouted ‘Kill the Jews’ and attacked the central synagogue in Kiev,
hitting people with stones, hurling bottles and shattering windows.
Australia
Unidentified vandals smashed a window in Sydney’s Parmatta synagogue and tossed
a Molotov cocktail inside.
Western Canada A firebomb destroyed the library in the 150 family Conservative synagogue in
Saskatoon.
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Norway
The government closed the road in front of the Israeli embassy after reports that
Muslims in a local mosque had volunteered for suicide missions against Israeli and
Jewish targets.
France
A gang of 15 young French Muslims, armed with iron bars and clubs, attacked
members of a local Maccabi soccer team during a training session in the Paris suburb
of Bondy.
Germany
Young Arabs beat up a pair of religious American Jews in the street.
Britain
A synagogue in London and one in Wales are vandalised and Torah scrolls destroyed.
Italy
The daily paper La Stampa published a Page 1 cartoon: A tank emblazoned with a
Jewish star points its gun at the baby Jesus, who pleads, "Surely they don't want to
kill me again”.
Greece
Jewish graves were desecrated in Ioannina and vandals hurled paint at the Holocaust
memorial in Salonica.
Holland
An anti-Israel demonstration featured swastikas, photos of Hitler, and chants of "Sieg
Heil" and "Jews into the sea."
Slovakia
The Jewish cemetery of Kosice was invaded and 135 tombstones destroyed.
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A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM:: DDIILLEEMMMM A ASS A ANNDD CCHH A ALLLLEENNGGEESS
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TTEELLLLIINNGG TTHHEE DDIIFFFFEER R EENNCCEE BBEETTWWEEEENN A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM A ANNDD PP A AR R A ANNOOII A A
Background:Jews are often accused of paranoia when it comes to Antisemitism. Seeing
Antisemitism in every innocent remark. History has made us sensitive to it but an
over eagerness to declare people Antisemites fuels resentment and perpetuates a
self image of victimization.
When someone tells a ‘Jewish joke’ do we get offended. Do we react to Irish or
Polish jokes in the same way? What about when the ‘someone’ is a popular Jewish
comedian like Jackie Mason? Is the Merchant of Venice an Antisemitic diatribe or are
we being too sensitive? When a non-Jewish friend you have known for many years
makes a comment about Jewish meanness is he exposing latent Antisemitism or is
he just comfortable enough to joke with you.
How do we react proportionately to events that occur on our campuses and in our
societies?
The line between legitimate complaint and paranoia isn’t clear because Antisemitism,
like racism is subjective. There are some objective parameters but there is a lot of
grey area. It is based on whether an individual finds something offensive but
individuals react differently to different things. People find different things offensive.
A Jewish joke might offend one person, but not bother another.
Likewise the source is important. A white man using the term nigger is racist, but
arguably for a black man it is legitimate.
If kids at a Jewish school are beaten up in the street is it Antisemitism, or is it just
another inter-school rivalry like ones that exist all over the place.
The article (Appendix 6) by Abraham Foxman attached (reprinted from the Forward
August 2 2002) deals with some of these difficult issues.
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Method A
Divide into groups of 6-8 people. Give each group one of the following scenarios.
• A university lecturer includes a joke in his lecture that refers to Jews being mean.
If a Jew said it wouldn’t be offensive but you know the lecturer is not Jewish.
• An article is published in the newspaper about a fraud case. The person on trial is
Jewish and the paper mentions this a number of times and refers to his Jewish
experiences.
• Kids from a large Jewish school are attacked outside the school by other kids
from a local school. There is a long-standing rivalry between the schools. In the
fight occasional comments such as ‘yid’ are made
• At a football match fans of one team shout out ‘yids’ at the other team which is
known to have a large Jewish fan base.
Half the group should take the position that the incident is Antisemitic. Half the
group should take the position that it isn’t Antisemitism and others are being too
sensitive. Give each half of the group 10 minutes to prepare their case. Let the
groups discuss the cases in roles.
Bring everyone together and read out the scenarios. For each example ask for one
person who thinks this is an Antisemitic incident (out of roles now) to explain why
and one person who thinks it isn’t to do likewise.
Discuss
• Are we oversensitive to Antisemitism?
• How can we tell if we are being paranoid?
• How can we react proportionately to incidents that occur on our campuses
Conclude by summing up the discussion.
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Method B
Read the following case scenario.
Mr. Weinberg, lawyer lives with his family in the prosperous suburbs of a West Coast
city in the USA. Many of his neighbours are successful businessmen , rather than
professionals like himself, and belong to a nearby country club which has a non-
Jewish largely, business fraternity.
When Mr. Weinberg applies for membership, no-one will second his application and
he is turned down and the grounds that “the club is not accepting new members at
present” He has no means of versifying if this is indeed the reason he was rejected,
but he did overhear one club member over a drink at the bar. “Surely they’re happier
with others of their own kind?”
Mr. Weinberg decides to go to court to challenge the decision on the grounds of
Antisemitism.
Divide the group into two. One side should represent prosecution (Mr. Weinberg),
the other side is defence (The club)
Give each group time to prepare their argument and then enact a court case
between the two groups.
Method C
Jewish jokes. Funny or Antisemitic?
G-d goes to Italy & asks the citizenry, "Would you like to receive my Commandments?"
The Italians respond, "Give us a sample of what they contain."
When G-d says, "Thou shall not kill," they say, "Sorry - can't handle that, so we'll pass."
G-d goes to Spain & asks, "Would you like to receive my Commandments?"
The Spaniards respond, "Give us a sample of what they contain."
When G-d says, "Thou shall not steal," they say, "Sorry - can't handle that, so we'll pass."
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G-d goes to France & asks, "Would you like to receive my Commandments?"
The French respond, "Give us a sample of what they contain."
When G-d says, "Thou shall not commit adultery," they say, "Sorry - can't handle that, so we'll pass."
G-d goes to to the Jews & asks, "Would you like to receive my Commandments?"
The Jews respond, "How much do they cost?"
When G-d answers, "They're free of charge,"
The Jews say, "Fine, we'll take ten."
Points for Discussion:• Do you find jokes of this nature offensive or Antisemitic?
• Can the same joke be offensive or not depending on who tells it?
• What else can this depend on?
Method D
In the American TV series West Wing (episode one, series one) we witness a scene
between two of the programs characters Toby and Josh (who are Jewish) some
members of the Christian Right.
One of the Christians refers to “New York sense of Humour”
Josh replies by saying he is from Connecticut but Toby interrupts to say she didn’t
mean New York, she meant Jewish. She is calling us New York Jews.
See if you can get hold of this clip and show it to the group.
Questions for Discussion:
• Do you think Toby is right in accusing the woman of Antisemitism?
• Do you think he is being paranoid or Antisemitic
• Why does he think she is being Antisemitic
• Have you had similar experiences?
• How can you respond to such subtle Antisemitism and how does it vary to
responses to more overt forms.
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Appendix 6
When Is a Crime Against a Jew Antisemitic?
By ABRAHAM FOXMAN
Two Jews are murdered at the El Al counter in the Los Angeles International Airport.
Another Jew is murdered outside a popular kosher pizzeria in Toronto. Were these
antisemitic acts? Why are the authorities slow to label them hate crimes? How does
one define an action as antisemitic?
What happened in Los Angeles and Toronto recently were highly public events that
received much attention and scrutiny. Yet, people come to us at the Anti-Defamation
League from all over the country with private complaints — they lost their jobs,
something was said, an attack took place — all attributed to one motive:
antisemitism. Our job is to take each case seriously; the first step being to assess the
information to ascertain whether, in fact, antisemitism is the determining factor or
something else is involved. We undertake this responsibility knowing that the Jewish
community and others view our conclusions seriously.
Obviously, when an antisemitic expression is used in connection with an act, judgment is easy. Vandalism with a swastika or hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric are
common examples. Also fairly simple is when Jewish institutions are attacked. If
tombstones in a Jewish cemetery are overturned, if a synagogue is vandalized, then
even without any articulation of the motive it is safer to categorize it as an anti-
Jewish act.
Things get stickier when the motives are not self-evident. In our extensive work on
the subjects of prejudice and hate crimes, we have always been careful to oppose
the notion that simply because something bad happens to an individual who belongs
to a minority that it must be because of prejudice. A Jew mugged on a street in New
York is not necessarily the victim of a hate crime. Indeed, we believe the tendency to
cast everything in racial, ethnic, and antisemitic terms undermines the important
efforts to combat and rally support against true manifestations of hatred.
Nor should the Jewish community expect law enforcement to rush to judgment when
there is legitimate doubt about whether a crime was indeed an antisemitic hate
crime.
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What was so disturbing about the way law enforcement handled the Los Angeles
airport case was not the hesitancy to quickly call the murders terrorism or a hate
crime, but the statements they made unnecessarily that there was no evidence that
the attack was a hate crime. The very fact that an Egyptian national came to one of the nation's largest and busiest airports and selected the counter of Israel's national
airline to kill as many people as possible, at a time when vicious anti-Israel terrorism
and incitement are the order of the day, should have led law enforcement to say that
there is every reason to suspect that this was a hate crime or terrorism, but they
would wait for further evidence before coming to a definitive conclusion.
In other words, credibility can be undermined in two ways: by calling every act
against a Jew antisemitism, and by denying the obvious motivation of Jew-hatred
when it does exist.
Why does it matter? The answer lies in the fact that a crime against a Jew because
he or she is a Jew — an act of antisemitism — traumatizes the entire Jewish
community. When Jews across France face a rash of synagogue burnings, vandalism
of Jewish institutions and personal attacks on individuals, while French leaders refuse
to label these crimes what they obviously are — antisemitism — Jews face a double
hit. The trauma of the incidents themselves is coupled with the unwillingness of
officials to acknowledge the antisemitism and, hence, to act on the understanding
that Jews are in jeopardy.
In this time of crisis for world Jewry, we have before us a classic challenge to stand
up with all our strength to explore and counter the manifold old and new
manifestations of antisemitism, while not succumbing to the temptation to see every
action affecting Jews adversely as antisemitic.
Abraham Foxman is national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
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Aims:
• To get people to examine the role of Antisemitism in their Jewish identity
• To assert a need for a Jewish identity built on positivity
• To consider how to respond to Antisemitism with out being define by it
Background:
Philosopher Emil Fackenheim posited that in light of the Holocaust we now have a
614th commandment. “Do not grant Hitler a posthumous victory” During the
Holocaust 6 million Jews were murdered but since the Holocaust many millions have
disappeared through assimilation which leads people to say that we are doing Hitler’s
job for him.
A common educational response in the Jewish community has been to teach young
people to stay Jewish out of guilt. People died in the Holocaust for your sake.Rejecting Judaism is betraying them. As Fackenheim suggests we must stay Jewish
because of what Hitler did to us, not in spite of it. We are Jewish because other
people attack us for it. The Israeli law of return is based on this principle. The
definition of a Jew according to this law is not the halachic definition from the Torah,
but the definition of Antisemites. If one grandparent being Jewish was enough for
Hitler it should be enough for us to.
As an educational method guilt has some success. Some people don’t marry out
because they feel guilty. Others will keep Shabbat or other commandments out of
guilt. The image of the stereotypical Jewish mother who uses guilt is well
entrenched. However in the big picture guilt is flawed as an educational tool and
staying Jewish because people hate us, isn’t proving to be effective in the long term.
As assimilation continues to grow Jewish educationalists and community leaders are
looking to make being Jewish a positive experience and not as a result of a negative
one. Programs such as Birthright, which aims to take every young Jewish person toIsrael on an organised program are examples of these new directions. Birthright aims
to combat the problem of assimilation in the Diaspora through inspiring and
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enthusing young people with Israel and Judaism. Other outreach organisations like
Aish HaTorah and Chabad/Lubavitch work in the same way.
We all know that when there is a problem for Jews on campus those are the timesJews come out of the woodwork. Rather than hide away people are enthused by the
fight and join up. Membership in Jewish societies increases when local Islamic
societies try and ban the J-soc or when large anti-Israel demonstrations are held on
campus. As activists it is hard for us to not want to exploit these opportunities.
Perversely Antisemitism can be good for the Jews. However as responsible Jewish
activists we must seek to build our Jewish activities on positive rather than negative
aspects.
Materials Required:
Coloured paper
Envelopes
Scissors
Statements (Appendix 7)
Method:
The following statements are placed around the room:
I am Jewish because… I believe in Judaism
I am Jewish because… my family would be upset if I wasn’t
I am Jewish because… my mother / father is
I am Jewish because… someone has to support Israel
I am Jewish because… other people say I am
I am Jewish because… I like bagels
I am Jewish because… of the Holocaust. I don’t want Hitler to succeed.
I am Jewish because… I like the festivals
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I am Jewish because… because I face Antisemitism
I am Jewish because… I identify with the Jewish people
Below each statement is an envelope filled with circles 6cm approx in diameter. Each
envelope should have circles of a different colour, which have been slit as in the
diagram.
Each participant is asked to choose 4 statements which most answer for him/her why
s/he is Jewish. The next step is to assemble the circles together to form a pie chart
with each section being the size they feel is appropriate. You may wish to select
‘warm’ colours (red, orange, yellow etc) for the positive aspects in warm colours and
‘cool’ colours (blue, green etc) for the negative aspects.
Each person is then asked to explain what they chose and why.
Discuss:
• Ask how important do you consider Antisemitism in your Jewish identity.
• Emil Fackenheim the philosopher claimed that “Do not grant Hitler a posthumous
victory” is the 614th commandment. How do people respond to this?
• Jew have remained Jewish for hundreds of years because other people wouldn’t
let them forget what they were. When Antisemitism doesn’t exist Jews assimilate.
Antisemitism is good. Discuss.
• What is the danger of a Judaism built around Antisemitism?
Divide into groups of 3-4 people. Give each group a different scenario of an Antisemitic incident. You can make these up or use real examples from your own
campus. Some ideas of incidents might be.
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• Antisemitic graffiti on campus
• Mezuzot stolen from the Jewish centre
• Jewish society receives an abusive letter
• Holocaust denier comes to speak on campus
Ask each group to come up with at least two responses that the Jewish society could
make. Try to make them positive as opposed to defensive. Concentrate on
educational options.
Get the groups to present their scenarios and responses.
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Appendix 7
I am Jewish because… I believe in Judaism
I am Jewish because… my family would be upset if I
wasn’t
I am Jewish because… my mother / father is
I am Jewish because… someone has to support Israel
I am Jewish because… other people say I am
I am Jewish because… I like bagels
I am Jewish because… of the Holocaust. I don’t want
Hitler to succeed.
I am Jewish because… I like the festivals
I am Jewish because… because I face Antisemitism
I am Jewish because… I identify with the Jewish people
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WWEE A AR R IINNGG Y Y OOUUR R IIDDEENNTTIITT Y Y OONN Y Y OOUUR R HHEE A ADD??
Aims:• For participants to be able to discuss their fears of displaying their Judaism
publicly
• For participants to understand the implications of displaying their Judaism
publicly and the implications of concealing it
• For participants to gain the tools to make the decision for themselves and as
activists to help other students with the dilemma
Background:
In the Western world a person shows respect by removing their hat. In the Jewish
world the opposite is true. Many religious Jewish men, and some women, wear a
kippa, or Yarmulka on their head. A kippa indicates an awareness that there is a
force in the universe above man. There is no Jewish law that dictates the wearing of
a kippah or other head covering (for men) either in the Torah or in the Talmud. It is
entirely custom. However the tradition has become widespread among orthodox
circles at least and has therefore obtained the status in the community’s eyes of law.
In addition many Jews wear Magen David’s on chains around their necks or T-Shirts
with Jewish slogans. At certain times in history Jews were forced to display their
Jewishness publicly, so that people would know who they were. Today there is no
external compulsion to do so, however many people chose to do so through wearing
kippot, or Magen Davids or other identifying marks. People do this out of pride in
their identity. However increasing today we find places and environments where to
be so public about your Jewishness places you at risk. Where it is no longer safe to
wear a kippa. All over Europe and North America we have examples of Jews who
have been attacked, beaten up or even killed for being overtly Jewish.
Unlike blacks or other groups that face racism, we can hide our differences, thereby
protecting ourselves from attack. The question is – should we.
As a Jewish activist on campus, you must not only answer the question for yourself.
You must also help your members to deal with the dilemmas that they face.
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Method A
Materials Required:
Questionnaire (appendix 8)
Ask each participant to fill in the following questionnaire. Each person should have
the opportunity to realise for him/herself in what why s/he expresses their Judaism
publicly or not
Each student can their share their results if they choose.
Questions for Discussion:
• Have you had any personal experience of being attacked because of the symbols
you are wearing?
• Do you fear being attacked of you wear a kippah/magen david in public
• Are their places you would or wouldn’t go to wearing a kippah or magen david?
• Have you found yourself displaying these symbols less recently?
• As Jews we are meant to light Chanukah candles in the windows of our homes so
that passers by can see. We are meant to put a mezuzah on the outside door to
declare this is a Jewish home. We are meant to wear a kippah in public to display
our Jewishness. Why do you think this is the case?
• What are the positive and negative implications of wearing our symbols in public?
• What are the positive and negative implications of hiding/removing our symbols
in public?
• What can the Jewish society/community do, to make these dilemmas easier for
its members?
Method B
Show a screening of the movie ‘School Ties’.
• Why does the character choose to hide his Jewish
identity?
• In which way does he do this?
• Can you understand his decision?
• Do you agree/disagree with it?
• Have you found yourself in a similar position?
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Appendix 8
Questionnaire
Do you…..? At Home /In a Jewish environment On Campus
Wear a t-shirt withobvious jewish symbols
/ lettering?Wear a kippa?
Wear a Magen David orsimilar Jewish jewelry?
Read a JewishNewspaper?
Discuss Israel?
Other…
Total
Score one point for each box that you have ticked.
• Are your points in both columns the same? If not, what
does this mean? Are you more comfortable to show
your ‘Jewishness’ at home or in a Jewish environment
than you are on campus?
• Do you find yourself ‘hiding’ your identity on campus?
Note to Facilitator: You can add your own examples to the Questionnaire based on
your own community’s experiences
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A ANN A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM R R EESSPPOONNSSEESS SSIIMMUULL A ATTIIOONN GG A AMMEE
(adapted from Antisemitism Guide for Madrichim, The Pedagogic Centre, Kiriat
Moriah, Jerusalem)
A dramatic rise in racism and antisemitism tendencies throughout Europe has led to
the question of how to effectively respond. The purpose of this simulation is to
address the question in the context of the modern era.
Method:
The coordinator of the programme should open by welcoming the participants and
explaining, using the provided materials, that there has been an alarming increase in
antisemitism in Europe, and that the purpose of the game is to consider how best to
respond to the new situation. Moreover, it should be explained that the examples of
antisemtism given are based on reality, and that historically Jews have always been
uncertain how best to respond to persecution.
The group should be divided into six lobbies, each party with an alternative response
to antisemitism. The lobbies are as follows:
1. The Zionist Party
2. The Party of Assimilationists
3. The Religious Party
4. The Jewish Action Party (activists)
5. The Israeli Emmigrants’ Movement (traditional, conservative)
6. The Next Generation
7. The Universalist Party
Students should examine the policies for their respective part. (Appendix 9)
They are told that five antisemitic events are scheduled to take place in the next
month. A community meeting is being held to discuss how best to respond to the
occurrences.
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a. Revisionist Symposium
In other three weeks, the revisionists will be holding a symposium entitled: “The
Holocaust in Historical Perspective.” Speaking at the symposium will be a number of professors of European history, the majority of whom are known Holocaust
revisionists. The seminar is being organised by a racist student group, which is overly
antisemitic as well as hostile to overseas students.
b. Racist Demonstration
In two weeks, the National Party will be organising a demonstration and march
against unemployment. The National Front is a racist organisation which has a
history of violent attacks on immigrants and their property. The National Party
regards immigration as the cause of unemployment and is supporting the
introduction of legislation to limit the number of immigrants allowed to enter the
country and the new laws on citizenship. The Jews of the former Soviet Union are
among those whose immigration the National Party opposes most vociferously.
You have been approached by a number of organisations representing different
ethnic groups to participate in a counter demonstration. You must decide how to
respond. Your position is complicated by the fact that many of the organisations that
have approached you also consider Zionism as a form of discrimination.
c. Growing antisemitic attacks
There has been an increase in antisemitic related incidences in your area. Jewish
cemeteries have been desecrated with swastikas and gravestones smashed.
Synagogues have had racist slogans daubed on them. There has been an increase in
the number of violent attacks on Orthodox Jews in your community. Anitsemitic
leaflets alleging a Zionist World conspiracy have been distributed in your local
shopping parade and over twenty kosher butchers have had their windows broken.
The Jewish community in your area is increasingly feeling under siege.
d. Anti Zionist film on national television
A national television channel will be showing the film On our land next week. This
film is violently anti Israel and negates the existence of a Jewish State. The national
television channel will air the film during prime time and therefore will receive a
maximum audience.
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e. Plans to construct a supermarket on the grounds of a former concentration camp.
A supermarket and commercial centre are planned to be built on the grounds of a
concentration camp. The plans are already well under way and in a few weeks the
bulldozers will begin breaking the ground.
3. Campaign participants should decide on a suggested response campaign to each
of the events according to their policy. Students must be clear about their party’s
policy towards each event and should prepare for the community meeting. Each city
is holding a meeting to discuss how best to respond to the occurrence.
Representatives of each party should be present at each community meeting.
4. Community Meeting
All community meetings should be held in separate rooms. Each party delegate
should try to influence their assigned community of the benefits of their party’s
platform. Each community should decide how best to respond to each antisemitic
incident and organise a campaign in response to the incident in their city – each
group can choose which incident is most relevant to them. The campaigns can
include stickers, posters, strategy, tv/radio commercials, etc
5. Presentation
All the different communities come back together and present their separate
campaigns to the group as a whole. One speaker from each should explain why their
choice of campaign is the most effective way to combat antisemitism.
6. Conclusion
Discussion of proposed campaigns and their potential to succeed and how the
students can use the ideas in their own battles against Antisemitism. Look at each
method in turn and at the values held by each ‘party’. Although all realistic, are they
all valid as options. How does your particular Jewish Student group deal with / plan
to deal with instances of Antisemitism? How do you as Jewish Student Activists deal
with / plan to deal with incidents of Antisemitism?
Appendix 9
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The Zionist Party
You believe that the National Homeland for all Jews in its historic, national and
religious homeland in Eretz Israel. Moreover, you hold that your Jewish community isliving an artificial existence in the Galut (exile) and that a full Jewish life can only be
achieved when Jews return to Israel.
The promotion of Aliya should be the major concern for Jewish organisations.
Antisemitism reflects the ambivalence of Judaism in the ‘Galut’. Although not
opposed to fighting antisemitism in your country, your party believes that all efforts
must be placed in encouraging Jews to return home to Israel. You view with
disapproval the immigration into European countries of Jews as there is Israel now
which welcomes all Jews as citizens.
The Assimilationist Movement
You believe that a major reason for the growth of antisemitism is that the Jewish
community brings too much attention upon itself. Silence is the best means for
defeating racism. Jews should try to assimilate into their society. The tendency for
Jews to live a separate existence, apart from their countrymen, attracts attention,
resentment and racism. To combat antisemitism, Jews need merely integrate into
the larger culture of their community. You view with great discomfort the attention
given in recent years to the immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel as well as the past
operations of Ethiopian Immigrants. In your opinion these examples threaten the
existence of Jews in each country.
The Religious Party
Your party consists of ultra orthodox Jews. You believe that racism and persecution
are the means by which G-d warns Jews to follow His commandments. Jews have
brought upon themselves antisemitism by neglecting their religious commitments
and by being distracted from their studies of Torah. Your party believes that fighting
racism can only be accomplished on an existential level. Following the
commandments is the only means to stem the tide of growing racism in your
country.
Jewish Action Party
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Antisemitism, you believe, can only be combated by action. Jews must organize,
campaign, fight antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs. Our history has
shown us that if we Jews do not fight for themselves, nobody else will fight on our
behalf. You believe that your Jewish community must organise itself and prepare a
militant campaign. Demonstrations must be planned, leaflets produced and fascism
defeated. Never again shall Jews be led to the slaughter. Never again shall
antisemitism triumph. Activism is the only way to stem the growth.
The Israeli Emmigrants Movement
You are the first generation of Israelis to come to Europe seeking better life
conditions. You refuse to be involved in most communal activities. You see the
racism and antisemitism around you, but find it difficult to believe the alarmists in
Israel who would like to convince you that another Holocaust awaits. Anyway, you
are only in Europe for a few years to make enough money to return home. Should
the worst come to the worst, you will always be able to go back to Israel.
The Next Generation
This party is made up of the daughters and sons of Holocaust survivors. You have
learnt directly from your parents what can result from antisemitism. You believe that
racism must be fought, but in a way that dignifies those who perished in the
Holocaust. Education must be considered the main tool in fighting prejudice, so you
believe that your community has to organize an educational campaign. You are
opposed to those who wish to remain silent in the face of growing antisemitism. You
see the controversary around ‘foreigners’ as a trend that must be opposed.
The Universalist Party
The universalists believe that the problem of antisemitism is a part of a wider
problem: namely the growth of racism in Europe. You believe that the only way to
counter antisemitism is to organise an educational campaign against racism.
Antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem, but a symptom of a larger malaise caused
by nationalism and religion. Both ideologies cause artificial separation and hatred. It
is only by campaigning against racism, nationalism and religion, that antisemitism
can be defeated Racism should be seen as part of a worldwide struggle for human
rights.
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A ANNTTIISSEEMMIITTIISSMM OONN CC A AMMPPUUSS
WWHH A ATT DDOO Y Y OOUU DDOO??
DO In general
• Notify Campus authorities
• Notify Jewish community leadership/security organisation
• Notify Jewish student Union
• NOT attempt a personal confrontation
Antisemitic mail or e-mail
• Keep copies of all mail received. Do not destroy it. It is evidence
• Contact the police
• Do not handle mail too much. You may be destroying evidence
• Also keep envelopes
• In the case of e-mail it can sometimes be traced. If it has been received through
the university network ask university authorities to try and trace it. Most
universities forbid the improper use of the network and will ban people who send
Antisemitic mail
Antisemitic comments from people in authority e.g. university lecturers
• Keep a record of what was said. Write down the exact words.
• Write official letters of complaint to the relevant department head.
• Be specific in your complaint.
• Keep copies of all correspondence
• Seek help from your student union. It is their job to represent you against
discrimination.
• If the comment is genuinely Antisemitic and the department are unwilling to take
action you can use the power of public pressure through the media (student
newspaper for example). You are advised to do this only in coordination with
your national Jewish student leadership
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Vandalism
• Contact the police immediately
• DO NOT touch anything until the police arrive. Do not wipe out offensive slogans
until they have been recorded
• Take photographs.
• Apply for additional funding (from union or Jewish community) for security
equipment and cameras.
Threatening or abusive phone calls
• Make a precise record of the call. Write down exactly what was said and the
exact time of the call. If you receive regular calls keep a diary recording eachone. You might also try to record the call.
• If a message is left on an answer phone save the tape.
• Contact the police. Relay the nature of the threat to them. Ask for increased
security at sites/events if you feel it is needed
• If the message is not merely abusive but threatening try to get as much
information from the caller and specific details on the nature of the threat. Keep
talking to get more information. People might unintentionally give things away.
• Contact the phone company. Offensive calls are against the law and the phone
company will probably have a department to deal with these complaints. They
will advise you and may be able to trace calls.
Antisemitic violence
• Report violence to the police immediately!
Educational Response
Students on campus may feel scared or upset because of such incidents. There are a
few things you can do to help people understand what is happening. Even a student
who is not personally attacked may feel victimised. Victims need to feel like they
have control.
• Hold a meeting for people to discuss how they feel about the situation. Get a
victim counsellor to facilitate the meeting
•
Invite campus authorities/Jewish security authorities/police to talk about securitymeasures that are being taken
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• Take proactive measures. A poster campaign or a petition that alerts non-Jewish
members on campus to the problem. Perhaps a peaceful demonstration against
Antisemitism
• Respond educationally. If mezuzahs were destroyed run an activity on the
importance of the mezuzah and a fundraising campaign to buy more. Don’t react
like victims. Take pride in your identity and run positive, Jewish affirming
activities.
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Bibliography
“How Bad is It?” Time Magazine, June 17 2002
“Target: Jews” The Jerusalem Report, May 6 2002
“The Canary in Europe’s Mine” The Boston Report, April 28 2002
SICSA Report: Newsletter of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of
Antisemitism (Summer 1989)
Gary M Grobman: Modern Anti- Semitism – The Holocaust: A Guide for Teachers
Gary M Grobman:, Classical and Christian Anti Semitism – The Holocaust: A Guide for
Teachers
A simulation Game adapted from Current Events and Response by Neil Lazarus,
Barbara Weill and Esther Carriente
Websites
www.virtualjerusalem.com
www.adl.org
www.religioustolerance.org