Have you ever experienced or seen anti-semitism?

Question

We've been talking about different prejudices in one of my classes, and anti-semitism has come up. I'm not Jewish, and I guess the people in my hometown weren't either, so I'm not familiar with anti-semitism except for historical examples like the Holocaust. Have you experienced it?

Wow. I had no idea. I grew up in a small town with a gorgeous old synagogue--it was like a town monument--I can't imagine someone spraying swastikas on it. That's really horrible.

Now I understand what my Jewish classmate was talking about with anti-semitism. Thanks so much for all your responses--I wasn't sure I'd get any responses at all.

I'm sorry for those of you who are experiencing that discrimination--or any discrimination, for that matter. Homophobia is rampant where I live, so I've experienced that. I guess bigotry hurts, no matter what kind it is. :(

Answer 1

Yes, sadly I have both experienced it and witnessed it.

I am Jewish, and I went to a mixed faith school. That was great, as I enjoyed learning about other religions and cultures. But on two days a week, all the religions had separate assemblies, so everyone knew who was Jewish or Catholic etc.

I was eleven at the time, when a girl in my year suddenly rushed up to me - in the women's loos! - pinned me up against the wall and said, and I remember the words to this day: 'I'm going to kill you, you f----g yid!'

That was my first experience of anti semitism.

Over the years, I experienced it another few times. It comes in different shapes and forms. The example I gave above is in some ways the least dangerous, because we can all recognise it for what it is. But when I began at University for example, I had to fill in a questionaire and my tutor was ticking off details etc. It came to categorising my religion and he glanced at me, clearly noted my fair skin and stated,
'Well, clearly you're not Jewish. Are you Christian? Catholic?'

This was not anti semitism, because he wasn't being nasty. I just relate the incident to show that even in this day and age, people have such firm ideas about 'what Jews look like' etc.

We are, though, just people, just like everyone else.

At the moment in the UK, there is a lot of anti semitism. In Manchester, Jews have to have a police escort when they walk to synagogue because there have been so many physical attacks and also numerous threats of violence.

I do hope this answer helps a bit and I wish you good luck with your project. It's great that you study things like this.

:)

EDIT, TO CLARIFY

Jews and Arabs are both 'semitic'. But 'anti semitism' has been a term used specifically for anti Jewish feeling for many years. Not sure why, but it just has.

Answer 2

Personally I feel that parts of the New Testament (the gospels) , unfortunately, are anti-semitic. Some of those gospels are read every year around Easter in Christian churches unfortunately reinforcing anti-semitism. I also feel that Mel Gibson's movie was anti-semitic.

I have also heard over the years a number of ministers take the anti-semitism of the gospels to an extreme, that is, inside a non-profit church the ministers would say something very close to the Jews are too stupid to understand the scriptures.

I felt like tossing rotten tomatoes at the preachers.

The anti-semitic remarks made me think a little less of the preachers.

Regarding what preachers can say, I also have heard a non-profit minister essentially rant about Harry S. Truman dropping atomic bombs on Japan. He was all upset that the USA would do such a thing as if he never understood that Japan ruthlessly attacked Pearl Harbor and if they had their way along with Hitler and Mussolini, western democracies and freedoms would be wiped away.

It's kind of shocking what can be said inside some non-profit churches in the United States it seems to me.

I've also heard that similar type of rants on various topics can come from lots of non-profit preachers including people like Pat Robertson (anti-gay/anti-lesbian rants) and Lewis Farrakhan (anti-white rants).

So it's kind of amazing the idea of Bush, Jr. White House supporting non-profit faiths-based religions which can cuss out the Jews, the gays, the whites, and so on. Of course it seems the Democrats rant about the Republicans and the Republicans rant about the Democrats on a regular basis.

Non-profit religions as usual. Politics as usual. Culture in America - land of Homer Simpson.

Answer 3

I had a friend in high school who went off the rails in recent years. She joined a group of Neo-Nazis. I had the misfortune of meeting them once. They were nice enough to me since, in their words, I was "Anglo". However, they were remorselessly Anti-Semitic. I asked two of them why they hated Jewish people and they answered politely-but-nonsensically. To this day I don't understand their staunch belief in the answer they gave, but I do remember that it was steeped in quotations from Mein Kampf and (surprise, surprise) the New Testament. Needless to say, I didn't exactly think they were reliable sources. Also, another friend, Elliot, sometimes acts like an Anti-Semitic Jew. I once questioned him how he could praise Hitler's politics when they'd led to the deaths of six million of his people, including some of his relatives. His answer? They should have gotten out of Germany faster. In this case, however, I believe there may have been some desrie to shock and gain attention rather than genuine belief in what he'd said.

Answer 4

Anti-Semites is all around us from Muslims that believe they are Chosen ones! the world experience it during World War 2 as well when the Nazi's slaughtered 6 Million Jews for no reason and I don't believe that "Germany" as whole has paid off that debt at all To have them reconcile new factions of the old Germany as legal ARE wrong to world and should be ostracize for it!! with public hangings of wrong doer's!! and I'm not Jewish ether just plain folks look in to right a wrong!!
Human Right's everywhere is the Right thing to do!!

Answer 5

I'm Jewish, and yes, I have. It's ugly, and unnecessary. One of the nastiest situations recently was the painting of Swastikas on a Jewish family's vehicles near me. Many synagogues have to clean anti-semitic graffiti off their walls on a regular basis; it's just a fact of life.

And of course, in July 2006, there was a shooting at the Jewish Federation office in downtown Seattle; it left one woman dead, and several very seriously injured, including a pregnant woman. As a result of that, every single Jewish member agency in Seattle ended up spending HUGE amounts of money on increased security both for armed officers in the wake of the shootings, and additions to their buildings such as security systems and bullet-proof glass - money that could otherwise have gone to help people.

The woman who died was the director of the center; she was a convert to Judaism, and had spent MANY years of her life helping others through the various programs there. She was a member of my synagogue, and she is very much missed.

Answer 6

Yes. In two distinctly different ways. One I was wearing a shirt with a logo that kind of looked like a start of David and someone at a coffee shop called me a "jew b*tch" and it took me quite a while to figure out why.

The other is more persistent and perhaps less overt but in my opinion worse. I was a closet atheist for years and went to church because of my mother. I was always uncomfortable with the anti jewish undertones of the church.

It was actually the backlash against jews caused by the Mel Gibson movie in 2004 that made me tell my mother I had had enough and I wasn't going to pretend any longer. It really became nasty and hateful in my mother's church when the movie was in theaters.

Answer 7

Since I'm not Jewish, I've never experienced it. I have seen it. I went to school on the East Coast. Back in the 80's, some friends and I were denied entrance into... umm... call it "an entertainment establishment with music and liquid refreshments" in Philadelphia because some of the women in the group were Jewish. For the doubting among you, we were carded at the door, and it appeared to be the last names (Golden and Schwartz among them) that got us barred.

Answer 8

yes. I live in a small city and my mother grew up in a small town, and still lives not far from there. She heard my daughter was dating a jewish boy and said to me "what's the name of that JEW she's dating?"

I was shocked. I never grew up around jewish people and had no preconceived notions of them, but Mother obviously has some.... I don't even know where she's been exposed to them!

I kindof laughed in that way to ease the tension because I know I looked at her strangely and said "Mother, you mean Jewish boy.. Jewish" she begged me to not tell my daughter what she said. shocked me.

Flash, you're off the charts. Try asking our WWII veterans what they saw in Germany then come back here and say you don't believe in the Holocaust. Child.

Answer 9

i think you'll find that every jewish person has experienced it directly.

my childhood congregation, a small community one that we had in a small shop in a strip mall, was painted with swastikas and other anti-semitic slogans once. we showed up for services and found it.
and once when i was driving someone cut me off, i opened my window and yelled at him about it, and he started calling me all kinds of names and screaming other things about me being jewish.
there are big examples where thousands or millions were killed, like the russian and ukranian pogroms, the inquisition, and the holocaust. but little examples still happen every day.

i'm sure african-americans and other minority groups have similar experiences.

Answer 10

Ask a question about islam that could be considered critical in any way of islam, and (even if the question has nothing to do with Christianity of Jewdiasm) you will experience/witness massive amounts of anti-semitism and anti-Christianity.

Sweet