What did the Jews ever do to you?

I’ve had a number of people ask me over the past month, during the turmoil in Lebanon, why the Israelis, as well as Jews in general, or so hated around the world. I’ve got to tell you, I’ve done some research, and I get no single, believable answer, even as bigoted or discriminatory as it might be. I am not Jewish, so I’d like to think I approached getting an answer to this question fairly and honestly.

Do some research and I believe you will also come to the same conclusion that I did, Jews are simply an excuse for hatred, violence, and killing.

I found the following list at SimpleToRemember.com - Judaism Online and feel it’s a great summary:

Link is here ...


Economic
"We hate Jews because they possess too much wealth and power."

Chosen People
"We hate Jews because they arrogantly claim that they are the chosen people."

Scapegoat
"Jews are a convenient group to single out and blame for our troubles."

Deicide
"We hate Jews because they killed Jesus."

Outsiders
"We hate Jews because they are different than us." (The dislike of the unlike.)

Racial Theory
"We hate Jews because they are an inferior race."


Of course, all of these “reasons” are absurd. The site then goes on to say:

As we examine the explanations, we must ask -- Are they the causes for anti-Semitism or excuses for Anti-Semitism? The difference? If one takes away the cause, then anti-Semitism should no longer exist. If one can show a contradiction to the explanation, it demonstrates that the "cause" is not a reason, it is just an excuse. Let's look at some contradictions:

Economic:
The Jews of 17th- 20th century Poland and Russia were dirt poor, had no influence and yet they were hated.

Chosen People:
a) In the late 19th century, the Jews of Germany denied "Choseness." And then they worked on assimilation. Yet, the holocaust started there.
b) Christians and Muslims profess to being the "Chosen people," yet, the world and the anti-Semites tolerate them.

Scapegoat:
Any group must already be hated to be an effective scapegoat. The Scapegoat Theory does not then cause anti-Semitism. Rather, anti-Semitism is what makes the Jews a convenient scapegoat target. Hitler's ranting and ravings would not be taken seriously if he said, "It's the bicycle riders and the midgets who are destroying our society."

Deicide:
a) the Christian Bible says the Romans killed Jesus, though Jews are mentioned as accomplices (claims that Jews killed Jesus came several hundred years later). How come the accomplices are persecuted and there isn't an anti-Roman movement through history?
b) Jesus himself said, "Forgive them [i.e., the Jews], for they know not what they do." The Second Vatican Council in 1963 officially exonerated the Jews as the killers of Jesus. Neither statement of Christian belief lessened anti-Semitism.

Outsiders:
With the Enlightenment in the late 18th century, many Jews rushed to assimilate. Anti-Semitism should have stopped. Instead, for example, with the Nazis came the cry, in essence: "We hate you, not because you're different, but because you're trying to become like us! We cannot allow you to infect the Aryan race with your inferior genes."

Racial Theory:
The overriding problem with this theory is that it is self-contradictory: Jews are not a race. Anyone can become a Jew - and members of every race, creed and color in the world have done so at one time or another.

Every other hated group is hated for a relatively defined reason. We Jews, however, are hated in paradoxes: Jews are hated for being a lazy and inferior race - but also for dominating the economy and taking over the world. We are hated for stubbornly maintaining our separateness - and, when we do assimilate - for posing a threat to racial purity through intermarriages. We are seen as pacifists and as warmongers; as capitalist exploiters and as revolutionary communists; possessed of a Chosen-People mentality, as well as of an inferiority complex. It seems that we just can't win.


If you look at the profile of those who hate them, you see some common themes:

+ Non-democratic countries
+ Islamic countries
+ Impoverished countries (or where all wealth is controlled by a privileged few)
+ Morally bankrupt countries
+ Violent countries
+ Theocracies

The bottom line here is that the Jewish people have proven that one can have a democracy in a country that is 80.1% (based on 2002 population numbers) one religion. The problem with the Jew-hating leaders of the Jew-hating countries is that their main argument is that democracy is contrary to their religion. The reality is that this is an ignorant, moronic excuse. Why? Because if they considered supporting the notion that you can have a country that’s almost 100% one religion that’s also a democracy, they’d lose power because they stay in control with force, murder, and the threat thereof.

Turkey is much like Israel in that 98% to 99% of the country is Muslim (based on Turkish government numbers, although the actual percentage may be a bit lower, but not much), yet they are a representative democracy. They have a secular government. The rest of the Muslim world must fear what’s developed in Turkey over the centuries. The examples of Israel and Turkey prove that a democracy can thrive, even in an environment where almost 100% of the population is of one faith. Turkey is especially intriguing in that it’s a Muslim democracy. Care to throw in a Christian country that makes this work? Try Italy's population: 98% (or so) would call themselves Catholic.

Wow! Maybe George Bush is right after all. Maybe Iraq can become a shining democratic star in a nascent constellation of democratic stars in the middle-east. Just maybe …