Where is all the hate are coming from?

Question

Well I have to admit that I do not like the politics of the "State of Israel" but that does NOT mean that I have anything against Israelis/Jews.

Question: Why are so many people of different nationalities can not get along with Jews? What's behind this? Look at Jews living in former Russia, East Europe, Germany etc. Why was it that the majority never liked them? Even way before the state of Israel was created.

I would like to know why many nationalities did not like Jews even before they had their own state.

Please let me know your point of view.

Please, I do not ask this to offend anybody, okay?

edit: Brightblonde:

It's mind over matter,
I don't mind because
You don't matter.

Answer 1

I guess my answers were rude, so my account got deleted. I opened this new one, and will try to be nicer (though it is sometimes so hard)

It is a mystery to me as well. I guess the only way I explain it for myself is that Jews have always been the outsiders for the nations they lived among.
They always had very organized way of life. Often native communities saw Jews as a threat (and rightfully so in many cases). Sometimes, when you don't understand something, you choose not to like it instead of learning about it.

Germans, in tsarist Russia, have been in the similar situation, you know. They too experienced pogroms. Why? Because they were better employees, and their work ethic far exceeded a work ethic of your average Russian. So, people got together and went on a killing and stuff-breaking spree under the slogan "Germans take our jobs!" when the reality was "Germans do our jobs much better then us, and we would be smart to learn from them, but we choose to be stupid and hateful."

Take a bad German person and compare him to a bad Jewish person - they are both pieces of crap.
Take a really nice German person, and compare him to a really nice Jewish person - they both are good people.

Jews are no worse and no better then the rest of the people. Most Jews are afraid to be labeled as greedy, and are acting in the opposite direction to that label, but it still doesn’t save them.

I do have another theory as to why Jews are always hated, and I know you will probably think it is silly, but I'll say it anyway - Jews are meant to be Jews. People start hating Jews the most when Jews forget who they are, and try to blend in with the others. That is when anti-Semitism wakes up, and shows its ugly teeth.

In other words, I think that anti-Semitism is G-d's way of keeping us Jewish.


Respect.



P.S. To all those that accuse Christianity or Islam: anti-Semitism started long before Jesus' death, and definably long before Mohamed had his beef with the Jews.

Answer 2

It's very easy to understand why jews are hated. Anti semitism is endemic in Christianity, because this religion teaches, to this day, that the Jews killed Jesus.

But in fact it was the Romans who crucified Jesus, and this has even been stated by more than one Pope. Nevertheless I know for a fact that in many churches, across numerous countries, this lie is still perpetrated and it results in a very deep-seated resentment towards Jewish people.

I have many Christian friends who agree with this theory.

Of course, in Muslim countries, it's a slightly different story. In their nations, Jews were always second class citizens and had no rights whatsoever, and were then expelled en masse.
Not only Jews but all non Muslim groups are regarded as 'infidels' and are thus disliked.

Answer 3

The bible itself offers an explanation that I find interesting:
"Then Haman said to King Xerxes, 'There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king's laws; it is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will put ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business'" (Esther 3:8-9 KJV).

Just like some posters said, people are afraid of the unknown. The Jews, who lived in closed communities that didn't fit the majorities' religion, language (sometimes) and culture- were a great "unknown".
Additionally, anti-Semitism has a lot to do with politics, and many times the Jews served as a scapegoat due to social changes in the societies in which they lived (e.g. the Christian Church used to gain power by spreading anxiety with Jewish blood libels).

These reasons don't apply to the Jewish people only. Any sort of racism and phobia originates from this small defect in the human nature.

Answer 4

It seems to me that the basis of most hate towards Jews begins with a feeling of rejection. The same story seems to unfold. Person A brings some culture/religion to the world which they deem better hoping to attract Jews, Jews reject Person A, Person A gets pissed and kills Jews. The first instance is Antiochus Epiphanes from the story of Hannuka. He brought Hellenism which to his mind was far superior to Judaism. When the Jews refused to adopt this culture/religion, he tried to force them (the Jews then rose up from his oppressive tyranny and defeated him). The second instance I would point to is the birth of Catholicism. The Church comes along with NEW and Improved Judaism, Jews don't buy it, the Catholic church persecutes them mercilessly as 'christ-killers' and any other stereotype around today. Next person: Muhammed, also creates a NEW and Improved Judaism, Jews don't buy it, he exterminates the Jews living in Saudi Arabia. And lastly, Martin Luther, who also comes up with his own brand of NEW and Improved Judaism (really new and improved catholicism, but he still wanted the Jews), once again the Jews stick to their beliefs, Martin Luther belts out some of the most anti-Semitic lines ever, and incites genocide. That seems to be the source for all the stereotypic hate.
It seems that things are affected by poverty and other such things as well.

Answer 5

I'm fed up with every form of discrimination there is. Really, I dont even CARE where it started, it needs to end. This is the 21st century and our planet will never evolve if we can't learn to work together.

Did you ever think, that if all the great masterminds of the world worked together, we would get so much more done? We could be finding other planets like ours by now! But no. People are too busy going to war, discriminating against race, religion, and gender, and even making fun of other people in high school to get anything worthwhile done.

Morrie Schwartz once said, "Love always wins." My question is, why can't people understand that? Why can't we be peaceful enough towards each other to accomplish the inevitable?

That's just what I think.

Answer 6

I am not sure where all of the hate comes from but hate is wrong, correct? I notice that many people that hate another culture are jealous of them-----such as hating the Jewish and hating the Americans. Pure jealousy of the most successful people of earth, I think.
You also could have changed this question to "Why are so many people of different nationalities not getting along with the Palestinians?" This to me is another valid question since I am around so many people------other Arabs, Westerners, and Asians that voice this all of the time.

Answer 7

h, very good question! I have several hypotheses:

1) as gratvol pointed out, Jews have traditionally maintained their culture and traditions wherever they have lived and have often lived apart from the local population (either by choice or by force- usually by force). jews were viewed as foreign, as different. in many European countries, jews were not considered to be citizens until the 19th century. before then, they were considered as second-class residents of the country.

2) jews have traditionally been very well-educated and also successful in business. traditionally, part of the influence of the church in Europe has rested on the fact that if you are a good, pious Christian, that you will go to heaven. so for a group of non-Christian (Jews) to be so successful, this created a very strong counter-point to their claims about the rewards of being a good Christian. this led to the Churchs' creation of various anti-Semitic myths/ideologies (i.e., that Jews killed Jesus).

3) i think in the Muslim/Arab world it has to do with matters of pan-Arab nationalism. perhaps you may feel differently, but i believe that many people in this corner of the world are fervently ethnocentric and xenophobic. for an ethnic minority to immigrate, en masse, to such an ethnically/religiously homogeneous place, touches nerves the wrong way. there could also be some religious component within Islam that may contribute to hatred of Jews.

Answer 8

One of my best friends since Kindergarten is Jewish...and he and his whole family are some of the coolest people I've ever known...
But it wouldn't matter what their heritage is...
I'd still love 'em...
It probably just boils down to border disputes...Europe is a crazy shape, with a lot of different people all trying to draw a line in the proverbial sand...
Mother Earth has no borders, however, except the sky...
Maybe one day, everyone will realize that, and all the killing will stop...
And we'll all get along as neighbors and friends...
(sigh)

Answer 9

I will give you a straight forward answer


People fear what they do not know.

The Jews in Europe as well in the Middle East and North Africa. Maintained a culture as well as religious practices that were different from those around them.

It did not matter if they were rich or poor, Socialists or Capitalists. They were feared and thus hated because they were different.

The same thing happened to the Gypsies, people attack what they do not know. Simply out of fear of the unknown.

Answer 10

Israel is a very sensitive topic. While I completely support Israel, many Arabs believe, and are somewhat justified in believing so, that Israel shouldn't occupy their land, as they saw it as a repercussion of the holocaust. That led to widespread anger and humiliation among Palestinians, which lead to terror attacks. Americans, meanwhile, like to believe that, "why would terrorists attack us?". Therefor, they blame Israel for inciting the terror against them. Additionally, anti-Semites, and good old fashioned politics play parts. Not that Israel is infallible; it certainly is and that too plays a part.