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 8 of 33, was the first of four posts discussing the consequences of Jewish separateness.

Preview of this post.

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

1. Separateness and its consequences

1. People naturally fear the outsider

People naturally fear those that are different. They fear the stranger, the odd, the freak. Nature has given us that fear as a self-defense mechanism: don’t trust someone until you are sure they will not harm you. It is instinctive in all animals. People generally project their faults that lie hidden inside them onto outsiders and strangers^[1].

People did not (and do not) trust the outsiders, they feared that those outsiders had loyalties to others that may conflict with the needs of the society and if there was conflict there was fear that the outsiders would reject the society and side with the other laws. This led to mistrust and actual hatred – anti-Semitism.

Preview of the next post.

The next post, post number 10 of 33, is the third of four posts discussing the consequences of Jewish separateness.

^[1] Shakespeare’s Macbeth projected the evil which was really in his own heart and to which he was already predisposed, onto the witches.