“The Oldest Hatred” – Origins of Anti-Semitism

As the world stood on the brink of the Second World War, tensions were escalating, and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany was on the verge of making a fateful decision that would lead to one of the darkest chapters in human history. In January 1939, Hitler addressed his Parliament, the Reichstag, with a chilling speech, assisted by his notorious propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. In this speech, Hitler warned of annihilating European Jews, setting the stage for the Holocaust, during which the Nazis would ultimately murder 6 million Jews.

However, it’s crucial to recognize that the origins of this hatred, anti-Semitism, are far older than the events of the 20th century. Throughout history, anti-Semitism has taken various forms, with Hitler’s genocide being one of the most horrifying manifestations.

Anti-Semitism, often referred to as the oldest form of discrimination, has deep historical roots. In every era, it manifested differently, with Hitler’s extremism being one of the most virulent examples.

In the early Roman Empire, and this was before Christianity, so the Roman subjects were pagans. They believed in a number of gods and forces, but Jews did not. Like today, they were monotheistic, believing in just one God, so the Romans were suspicious. Everything about the Jews seemed like a red flag to them. They wouldn’t intermarry; they observed the Sabbath, and they circumcised their young.

Today, if you don’t understand something, you learn about it, but this was the first century BC. If you did not understand something, you vilified it, and that’s what happened to the Jews. You can find examples in many Roman writings. Cicero talked about how Jews always stick together and how they had power in assemblies.

All classic anti-Semitic tropes. Things became worse after the death of Jesus Christ. Now we know who crucified Jesus; it was the Romans. But Christian propaganda hid that for a long, long time. Jesus was crucified in the year 33 AD; the Romans did it years later in 70 AD. The Romans destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem; it was like a watershed moment. Christians and Jews saw it as Divine punishment. The New Testament reflected that, instead of blaming the Romans, it now blamed the Jews.

Jews were depicted as killers of Jesus; it’s a myth, an absolute falsehood. But back then, people believed it. In fact, even today, many people believe it. Such sentiments led to a religious rivalry, Christians versus Jews, and the church played a key role in this. They taught all kinds of anti-Semitic things, like Jews had no reason to exist anymore; their whole job was to prepare for Jesus Christ’s arrival, and since that was done, Jews had nothing more to do; their existence was seen as an anomaly.

Many of them were forced to flee. Fleeing did not mean a life of freedom. Anti-Semitism followed them. In 312, Rome moved closer to Christianity. Their Emperor Constantine converted, and pretty soon, the Roman Empire became Christian. So the church now had more power; it could influence the Emperor. As a result, new laws were created. Jews were shunned to the margins of society. They were also denied basic rights and freedoms. In some places, Jews had to wear markers like a yellow badge or a hat called Huden Hat. The idea was to identify and stay away from them.

Remember, all this was over religion because the Jews refused to accept Christianity, and propaganda played an important role in this hatred. I’ll give you some examples. In 1144 AD, a 12-year-old boy was found murdered; his name was William. There was no evidence of who killed him, no leads, so the case was a dead end. But four years later, a monk turned up in Norwich and said the Jews had killed William, and because of that allegation, everyone pointed fingers at Jews. They were accused of blood-killing Christian boys and using their blood for rituals.

Another example is from the Black Death, the plague in the 14th century. Christians said it was the work of the devil. What’s more, the devil had a partner; no prizes for guessing, the Jews. They were accused of poisoning the wells in Europe, and none of this is backed by proof, but enough people said it, so it became a fact, much like propaganda.

Today, in most of these cases, there was a logical explanation. The whole thing about Jewish money lenders; they were shown as evil and cunning, as holding more and more wealth. Even writers of this time fell for the trope. Like William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Merchant of Venice.’ It has a Jewish lender, Shylock, who lends money to the Christian protagonist. He gives it on one condition: if the money is not repaid, he will take a pound of his flesh. And guess how the play ends? In Shylock’s defeat, he ends up converting to Christianity.

But have you wondered why Jews ended up as money lenders in the first place? Because Christians refused to do it. In early Christianity, lending for interest was forbidden, but someone had to do it, and that someone was the Jews. It wasn’t some devious plan to conquer the world; it was just economics. But European leaders never understood that. They feared and persecuted the Jews; they were banished from European kingdoms.

In the year 1290, Jews were expelled from Britain; in 1306, from France; in 1348, from Switzerland; and in 1394, from Germany. An entire religious group expelled. In many ways, Anti-Semitism was a convenient tool; you could use it anywhere. Children going missing, blame the Jews. Christians not getting rich, blame the Jews. A deadly plague wiping out your population, again, blame the Jews. So anti-Semitism became the answer to Europe’s problems, an easy and hateful answer.

Things improved slightly in the 1700s. This was the Age of Enlightenment, also the time of the ‘French Revolution,’ so freedom and science were the catchphrases. As Jews were emancipated, they became citizens for the first time. Yet anti-Semitism persisted. Citizenship did not guarantee equal rights for Jews; in many places, they were second-class citizens. And until now, anti-Semitism was based on religion. It was Christianity versus Judaism.

But in 1859, that changed. Charles Darwin published his book on Evolution; it talked about the survival of the fittest. Now, Darwin’s theory was about organisms, some beat their surroundings to reproduce, others perished. That’s what he said. But some thinkers applied Darwin’s Theory to race; they said some races are superior, others like the Jews are not. They were not fit to survive. It was around this time that the word Anti-Semitism emerged. Until then, Jewish hatred had no single term.

It was first used by a German journalist, Wilhelm Marr. He represented a new sort of Jewish hatred. It wasn’t just about killing Christ or kidnapping Christian children; his hatred was rooted in race. He believed Jews could change the racial structure of Germany, and Hitler used this theory later on. Such beliefs led to violence across Europe. Take the Russian Revolution, for example. It was followed by the deaths of hundreds of Jewish pilgrims, and 70,000 Ukrainian Jews were killed, the same in Poland and Belarus.

He transformed anti-Semitism into a systematic campaign of extermination, what he infamously called the “final solution to the Jewish Problem.” After 1939, the policy shifted from marginalization to extermination, leading to the mass murder of millions of Jews.

Hitler’s scapegoating of Jews for Germany’s defeat in the First World War and his vision of a pure Aryan Germany fueled these policies. Jews were gradually marginalized, fired from government services, and their businesses were shuttered. However, the turning point came in 1939 when Hitler’s regime fully committed to extermination.

Despite the horror of the Holocaust, some efforts have been made to address the historical injustices. The Catholic Church exonerated Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and Pope John Paul II played a significant role in this outreach. He visited a synagogue in 1986 and established the Vatican’s relationship with Israel. Later, the Pope visited Israel’s Holocaust Museum and denounced anti-Semitism as anti-Christian.

Unfortunately, anti-Semitism still persists in the modern world. In 2017, neo-Nazis marched through the streets of Charlottesville, USA, carrying Nazi flags and chanting anti-Semitic slogans. Anti-Semitism has become a rallying cry for far-right movements in the Western world, particularly during times of conflict involving Israel. It’s essential to note that criticizing Israel is not inherently anti-Semitic, but when that criticism is rooted in race or religion, it can take on an anti-Semitic character.

Looking back on the Holocaust, it is a painful reminder of the atrocities committed in the name of hatred. It is a lesson that everything different is not wrong, and we must strive to understand and appreciate diversity. The world should work towards embracing these differences rather than stigmatizing them, in tribute to the millions of Jews who suffered. In doing so, we can ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated, and we can honor the shared humanity that unites us all.

Team Profile

Saman SheikhNews Writer

Saman Sheikh, with a passion for unravelling the complex web of global events and their implications, brings a unique blend of expertise and dedication to the world of journalism. She is dedicated to keeping readers informed about the ever-evolving landscape of global politics, economics, and diplomacy, making sense of the world's most pressing issues. Saman is known for her expertise in deciphering global rivalries and shedding light on diplomatic intricacies.

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