it has been said that the history of almost all of the Jewish holidays
can be summed up succinctly: "They wanted to kill us; we won. Let's
eat." Why has anti-Semitism been so pervasive in so many countries, in
so many time periods and for so many reasons? (One begins to wonder.
Perhaps there is something wrong with the Jews and Judaism? After all,
there is an old Yiddish saying -- "If one person calls you a donkey,
ignore him; if two people call you a donkey, buy a saddle.")

Between the years 250 CE and 1948 CE - a period of 1,700 years - Jews
have experienced more than eighty expulsions from various countries in
Europe - an average of nearly one expulsion every twenty-one years.
Jews were expelled from England, France, Austria, Germany, Lithuania,
Spain, Portugal, Bohemia, Moravia and seventy-one other countries.

Historians have classified six explanations as to why people hate the
Jews:

1. Economic -- "We hate Jews because they possess too much wealth
and power."
2. Chosen People -- "We hate Jews because they arrogantly claim
that they are the chosen people."
3. Scapegoat -- "Jews are a convenient group to single out and
blame for our troubles."
4. Deicide -- "We hate Jews because they killed Jesus."
5. Outsiders, -- "We hate Jews because they are different than
us." (The dislike of the unlike.)
6. Racial Theory -- "We hate Jews because they are an inferior
race."


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:

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

2. 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 Moslems profess to
being the "Chosen people," yet, the world and the anti-Semites
tolerate them.

3. 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."

4. 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.

5. 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."

6. 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.

Now we know what are NOT the reasons for anti-Semitism.

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

sticking it to stupid ''Politcal Correctness'' since 2008