What is antisemitism?

[DeniseNY]

Your response was—and this is the first time I’ve used this word seriously not in the context of joking it quotation, so note it—cringeworthy.

Agreed

8675309

 

[Beryllos]

Wow! This thread has really plumbed the depths! Time to lift it up…

The OP asked for a “truly relevant definition/description” of antisemitism. I think we could begin with the idea of the dignity of the human person.

The CCC reminds us that “The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God” (1700); “The divine image is present in every man” (1702); “All men have the same nature and the same origin” (1934); “Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that ‘everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as another self’ […] a brother” (1931).

We fail to respect the human person when we think of others as Them.

Is that what antisemitism is?

If so, what sets it apart from all of our other prejudices and divisions? I am having some difficulty answering that without reference to some form of “Them,” but perhaps others have clearer insight.

 

[DeoVindice1863]

An anti-Semite used to mean somebody who disliked Jews. Now it means somebody Jews dislike.
Criticizing Israel is NOT “anti-Semitism”.

 

[DeoVindice1863]

Free Palestine.

 

[Rhubarb]

I don’t consider the criticism of Israeli political policy as being anti-semitic. Just as I don’t consider the criticism of Saudi political policy as islamophobic.

But at least in the US, we have 60 years of history with the nation of Israel, and, lobby groups have very purposefully and successfully linked criticism of Israel as equivalent to criticism of Judaism.

 

[StephenBales]

Aw shoot. Can’t attack that impenetrable logic!

Thanks for your automatic contradiction of whatever the opposition says, we were missing that.

 

[StephenBales]

Um.
I’m not touching that ridiculous notion. Anyone else game?

 

[HopkinsReb]

Reminds me of a Family Guy joke where a crowd is chanting “free Tibet!” Peter says, “I’LL TAKE IT!”

 

[Sarcelle]

You could say the same thing about the Chinese.

Growing up in Southeast Asia, the Chinese are a minority yet they dominate economically and academically. They are often treated with suspicion and sometimes outright violence.

They kept to themselves, married only each other and spoke a different language.

Now with Communist China on the ascension they are regarded with even more suspicion.

Kind of reminded me of the Jews in the West.

 

[HopkinsReb]

You could say the same thing about the Chinese.

Growing up in Southeast Asia, the Chinese are a minority yet they dominate economically and academically. They are often treated with suspicion and sometimes outright violence.

They kept to themselves, married only each other and spoke a different language.

Now with Communist China on the ascension they are regarded with even more suspicion.

Kind of reminded me of the Jews in the West.

Somebody’s been reading Thomas Sowell…

 

[Sarcelle]

I am not familiar with Thomas Sowell.

 

[ltwin]

The fact that there are states passing laws that require loyalty oaths to Israel, and that Congress has introduced legislation that prohibits criticism or boycott of Israel, is very alarming.

It’s not a “loyalty oath” to Israel. Some states have simply said they do not want to hand out contracts to companies that refuse to do business with Israel. No one is forced to do business with Israel, they just can’t join the divestment movement and still expect to receive state contracts. You can disagree with that policy, but let’s be clear what is actually happening.

On the matter of divestment, the fact that so many people on the Left demand divestment and boycott of Israel is revealing. Who demands divestment from Saudi Arabia or Pakistan or China or any of the other countless regimes that commit horrible human rights abuses? Why is Israel alone in the world uniquely called out for divestment among the people who claim to be fighting for social justice?

But any criticism of the state of Israel automatically gets the Thought Police on your case.

She didn’t criticize Israel. She criticized Jews for having mysterious Jew powers that are able to control the world–a longstanding anti-Semitic tactic. Let’s look at what she said:

“I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is O.K. for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”

You can interpret this as her referring to the pro-Israel lobby, though being pro-Israel is not in itself any different from being pro-Palestinian, which Omar most definitely is.

Or you can interpret this as a reference to the “dual loyalty” myth that has haunted Jews for centuries. Jews can’t be trusted because they are really not loyal citizens to their nation–Israel (or the Jewish community at large) comes first. They are the Other in our midst and will turn on us at any moment.

“Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

How has Israel hypnotized the world? With their mysterious Jew powers, of course. That’s another common anti-Semitic trope. Jews somehow, despite being a despised and persecuted for thousands of years, have been able to control the world with their sneaky Jew abilities.

Even Omar acknowledged this was anti-Semitic and apologized for it.

 

[ltwin]

Too many Christians, especially in America, bow to the golden calf that is Israel. What have they done for us? Before our alliance with them, we had little to no enemies in the Middle East.

No. We have enemies in the Middle East because we meddled in its affairs and often inadvertently gave life to Islamic extremist groups. Iran is a perfect example. The CIA overthrew a legitimate government and helped the Shah take power. The Shah is overthrown and replaced with an Islamic Republic. Now Iran hates us, and we hate them.

Afghanistan is another. The Taliban was at one time supported by the US government as it attempted to resist the Soviet invasion of its nation.

That would have happened with or without US support for Israel.

I do not hate Jews simply for being Jewish.

So, hating them for other reasons is ok?

But the fact that the Holocaust happened does not make them immune to criticism.

News flash–“the Jews” are not a monolithic group. There are individuals who are Jewish. Some of these Jews are Americans, others Israelis, and others live in nations all around the world. It is this tendency to treat “the Jews” as a single entity that lies at the heart of what anti-Semites do. They assign to Jews collective blame for everything they think “the Jews” are at fault for.

 

[ltwin]

Criticism of bad behavior is not hatred.

So what have “the Jews” done to you that is so bad?

 

[HopkinsReb]

I am not familiar with Thomas Sowell.

African-American Stanford sociologist, has a long essay on that topic – what he refers to as “middleman minorities” – in his book, “Black Rednecks and White Liberals.”

 

[ltwin]

I’m not saying I agree with anti-Semites, but there are a lot of accusations involving them.

??? There are a lot of allegations about the Catholic Church. There are allegations about the Illuminati. There are Big Foot photos that I can show you right now.

the Jews have been kicked out of 109 countries throughout human history.

Yeah, that just goes to show you that they are hated.

the Jews have encouraged relativism, multiculturalism, race-mixing and open borders to get people to abandon their own race or ethnic heritage (while simultaneously insisting on preserving Jewish identity and an ethnostate).

But we don’t need Jews for this. Plenty of non-Jews promote these ideas willingly.

The Jews have promoted pornography, usury, left-wing politics, feminism, and white guilt

You know why Jews are blamed for “promoting usury”? Because in the Middle Ages, the good white Christians passed laws barring Jews from other types of work. Since Catholics were forbidden from charging most forms of interest, Jews were often the only people around who could provide loans. Therefore, they became wealthy bankers. And then good Christians would get jealous of their wealth and often come up with excuses to kill them or kick them out of their countries in order to expropriate their wealth.

The Jews have an inappropriate amount of influence within business, government, media, entertainment, etc., given their small population.

So what? It’s a free country.

 

[Sarcelle]

Is this criticism of Israel as a nation or criticism of the Jews as a monolithic whole?

They’re not the borg with a single hive mind regardless of what others say.

They’re a collection of individuals.

 

[OneSheep]

An anti-Semite used to mean somebody who disliked Jews. Now it means somebody Jews dislike.
Criticizing Israel is NOT “anti-Semitism”.

Hmmm. When you say “Jews dislike”, would you distinguish JVP from ADL? Like many have said here, “The Jews” are not a monolithic opinion.

Thanks for the definition, at least what antisemitism is “not”.

Wow! This thread has really plumbed the depths! Time to lift it up…

I appreciate that!

The CCC reminds us that “The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God” (1700); “The divine image is present in every man” (1702); “All men have the same nature and the same origin” (1934); “Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that ‘everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as another self’ […] a brother” (1931).

We fail to respect the human person when we think of others as Them.

Thank you so much for this! A wonderful starting point. Would you say, then, that antisemitism is the prejudgment of holding a person’s Jewish ethnic/religious background against their human dignity? What sets antisemitism apart is that we associate it with being anti-Jewish, (even though Arabs are also Semitic if I remember right).

Antisemitism is an unclean spirit…

Are you saying that no one is prejudiced against Jewish people?

 

[OneSheep]

But she does not seem to have been pounded down, as she has been saying antisemitic things for quite some time.

Do you have an example of something she has said that is antisemitic? Maybe that will help clarify your definition.

The fact that there are states passing laws that require loyalty oaths to Israel, and that Congress has introduced legislation that prohibits criticism or boycott of Israel, is very alarming. I don’t care one way or the other about Israel vs. its enemies. But any criticism of the state of Israel automatically gets the Thought Police on your case.

On a thread about anti-BDS legislation here in the US, many posters stated that it was un-American to disallow companies to boycott whatever they wished. None of the posters agreed with anti-BDS legislation, and they were coming from a great variety of standpoints.

Do you really not care that people from Israel and Palestine are killing each other?

Being successful is a crime, don’t you know?

Well, it’s not a crime, but given that humans naturally want “their fair share” and are naturally prone to wanting what others have, jealousy develops. No one is immune to this. In addition, when you add the layer of ingroup/outgroup impulses, “us and them” becomes “good v. evil” I think.

Of course, since success often leads to material wealth, and material wealth leads to power, one can see that the ingroup/outgroup phenomenon becomes very ugly when there is a wealth/power differential. Imagine what the vitriol would be like in America if Mexican-Americans controlled large financial institutions here. We would have much worse than an anti-immigrant sentiment. There would be flat-out jealousy and virulent hatred. And to some degree it happens in some areas where skilled immigrants out-compete the native-borns.

Prejudice does not just “pop us out of nowhere”, right? Victimhood is very real, and people develop resentment against perceived persecutors.

I’m not “excusing it”. I’m saying that it is human, and we Catholics need to address prejudice and its roots. Jesus calls us to love beyond our nature, to love our enemies, to forgive.

I do not hate Jews simply for being Jewish

Do you resent or hate Jewish people? What do you think of CCC 1700, 1702, and 1931?

 

[HopkinsReb]

Do you have an example of something she has said that is antisemitic? Maybe that will help clarify your definition.

See ltwin’s post above, referencing her comments about how Israel has hypnotized the world. Years ago, and she admitted it was antisemitic.