Anti-Semitism, Anti-Catholicism and Truth
DONALD DEMARCO I approached this essay by reading Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair (2002) in conjunction with its polar opposite, Eugenio Zolli’s Why I Became a Catholic (1953). Zolli was the chief rabbi in Rome during the entire Nazi presence in World War […]
Where the Word ‘Anti-Semitism’ Comes From
Hatred of Jews has been around for centuries, but only in the 1800s did it begin to be referred to as ‘anti-Semitism.’ By Richard Levy (Getty Images) Hatred of Jews has been a feature of world history for centuries. But only in the late 19th century did a new specific word emerge to describe it. What […]
How to Fight Anti-Semitism
Kenneth S. Stern It is much easier to describe how anti-Semitism works than what works against it. Anti-Semitism is a hatred. At heart, it is a conspiracy theory positing that Jews conspire to harm non-Jews. Like most conspiracy theories, it provides easy answers to difficult problems. Of course, the world’s problems are rarely simple. Neither […]
Henry Ford Invents a Jewish Conspiracy
In 1927, Ford’s anti-Semitism brought him, for one of the few times in his life, to humiliation. Michael Feldberg (Ford Motor Company/Wikimedia) Henry Ford, the industrial genius who perfected the mass production of motorcars before World War I and thereby revolutionized the way we live, was a reclusive man who brooked no opposition or criticism. […]
Anti-Semitism on the Internet
Communications technology has long enabled the spread of hatred, but the internet and related tools have expanded the reach of anti-Semitism by orders of magnitude. Aryeh Tuchman In recent decades, the internet and its associated communications tools have both revolutionized and democratized the ability of committed anti-Semites to promote hatred of Jews. Anti-Semites have always […]
Who Killed Jesus?
From the Gospels to Nostra Aetate, how Jews were accused of deicide. Martin I. Lockshin In 1965, as part of the Vatican II council, the Catholic Church published a long-anticipated declaration entitled Nostra Aetate, offering a new approach to the question of Jewish responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus. The document argued that modern-day Jews […]
Anti-Semitism in America
Prejudice against Jews has always existed in the United States, but American anti-Semitism differs from its European precursor in fundamental ways. Jonathan Sarna Antagonism toward Jews in America has been evident almost as long as Jews have lived there. In 1654, the Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant, singled out Jews as “deceitful” and “very repugnant” and […]
What Were Pogroms?
Anti-Jewish violence sweeping the Russian Empire in the late 19th century spurred many Jews to emigrate and organize politically. By Hila Ratzabi The word pogrom comes from a Russian word meaning “to destroy, to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.” The term was first used to refer to outbreaks of anti-Jewish violence by non-Jewish street mobs in […]
Passover and Blood Libels
The accusation that blood was used to make wine or matzah for Passover was a pretext for attacks on Jews. Larry Domnitch When Passover night arrives, the cups of wine are filled and the prayers and songs of the holiday are joyfully chanted. In today’s times, Passover has often become synonymous with vacation, as newspapers are filled […]
Antisemitism 101
What you need to know about the world’s oldest hatred. By My Jewish Learning Antisemitism is the term used to refer to prejudice or discrimination directed against Jews. The term was coined in the 19th century and the phenomenon itself reached its apex in the Nazi era, when racially based hatred of Jews, rooted in dark […]