Anti-Semitism

This a series of posts explores anti-Semitism, its origins, the motivations behind it, its various manifestations, its consequences, and its possible future. The series also proposes a method for determining when an act or statement is anti-Semitic and concludes with some suggestions for remedying the consequences of anti-Semitism. A series of discussion questions is also included.

Review of the previous post.

The previous post, post number 7 of 33, was the the second of two posts discussing Jews’ fear of assimilation as being one reason for the rise of anti-Semitism and focuses on the Biblical teaching of remaining separate

Previews of this post.

This post, post number 8 of 33, is the first of four posts discussing the consequences of Jewish separateness.

Separateness and its consequences

1. Separateness saved the Jewish Religion from death by assimilation.

The laws and stories were written in order to discourage and prevent the people from assimilating into the societies of their new homes. The Bible was more than a simple law, it represented what God wanted from His people. Therefore, violation of the laws and rituals presented in the Bible was a sin. The sin is made even more heinous since the people were monotheistic and believed that their god was the only god, and sinning against the only god would be mortal and beyond redemption. These laws were presented in the Bible, for example, in Leviticus. The rituals and laws of Judaism that contributed to the image of the Jew as a separate entity thus might be viewed as having their birth in the desire to keep the Jews separate from the society in which they lived.

This process contributed to keeping the Jewish nation in tact during exile and Diaspora. However, it also required the Jews to remain separate from the societies in which they lived. This separateness and the Jews’ insistence that their god was the only god bred distrust and contempt from the other people in the societies.

It might be concluded from the above that in order to save Judaism, the authors of the Bible, in particular the P author, provided biblical rules for Jews to follow that would maintain them separate from the societies in which they lived during exile and thus prevent them from being assimilated into those societies. This approach proved effective because the Jewish nation survived exile and Diaspora. But this proved to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Jews did not assimilate into the societies in which they lived; but on the other hand, Jews thus remained different from everyone else. Jews were feared and hated because they were different. Jews did not assimilate, but the roots of anti-Semitism were sprouted. Jews were hated because they refused to conform and “be like everyone else.”  Jews cannot convert to new religions. Jews ask questions. Jews are outsiders. As stated by Leon Pinsker in “Auto-emancipation” in 1882: “This is the kernel of the problem, as we see it: the Jews comprise a distinctive element among the nations under which the dwell, and as such can neither assimilate nor be readily digested by any nation.”

Preview of the next post.

The next post, post number 9 of 33, is the second of four posts discussing the consequences of Jewish separateness.