The Causes of Anti Semitism Throughout History

throughout human history Jews have been subject to religious discrimination genocide and pogroms ranging from the ancient world to 2022 anti-Semitism has been prevalent and it begs the question why it has happened constantly throughout human history the purpose of this video is to investigate the history of anti-Semitism its causes and why it's still happening today in 2022 to answer this we're going to analyze the most significant moments of Jewish persecution in history and to see exactly why Jewish people have been targeted you're watching all things humanities thank you before analyzing why anti-Semitism has existed we need to understand what anti-Semitism is in short it is the hostility or prejudice against Jewish people or a Jew the most important factor of anti-Semitism is to mistreat a Jewish person for the fact that they are Jewish this is important to note because it's what makes anti-Semitism notable this is because discrimination exists on the grounds of culture and ethnic identity while there are many moments throughout human history that show the persecution of Jews the purpose of this video is to determine if Jews were persecuted for their Jewish identity and ethnicity this is worth noting because many groups have been persecuted throughout human history for example Africans and even Christians and the point here is to find why specifically Jewish ethnicity has been targeted this makes the claim of anti-Semitism worthwhile and significant otherwise claims of discrimination can be applied to all cultures one of the earliest and most significant persecution against Jews was the Babylonian captivity where a large number of Jews were held captive in Babylon following the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem interestingly enough this moment spurred the creation story in Genesis 1 as it acted as a sign of Hope for the Jews following their persecution if you look at why this happened it was because the Jews refused to pay taxes to Babylonia following their occupation however this theme is very common throughout human history so it's hard to claim that the Babylonians were intentionally out to persecute the Jews for their Jewish identity after all the Americans leading up to the war of independence revolted over their tax obligations to the British so you can see the point here this is the same with the salukid persecution against the Jews when Judea fell under the silica Empire hellenization and great cultural dominance was enforced by law this meant that Jewish religious practices were prohibited including sabbaths feasts and circumcision once again great Powers will do this to smaller competitors to demoralize and eradicate their culture it's much easier for a great power to exist and function if everyone is of the same beliefs and culture the Romans also did this to the religious leaders of the Celts who were The Druids killing them to decimate Celtic culture nevertheless while Jews were persecuted by the salukids it was not because they were Jews rather it was because they were a competitor to the Greeks and the Greeks sought to dominate them in other words the Sulu kids did not treat the Jews for the fact that they were Jewish yes the Greeks did believe that their religion and way of life was superior but they were not intentionally Conquering the Jews on the grounds of their culture or for a hatred of them it's worth noting that Greek authors in the 3rd Century BC who wrote about Judaism did so positively and perhaps the Greeks did see Jewish culture as a threat to the supremacy of Greek or Hellenistic culture and it was a reason why they imposed such policies we can conclude from these two ancient examples of Jewish persecution that Jews were not targeted for the sake of their ethnic or cultural identity rather Jewish people lived in a region of the world and they faced the wrath of great power struggles of that world Jewish culture had been subject to persecution but it's not clear that this is because they were Jewish in the early Roman Empire Jewish people were subject to expulsion from Rome Tiberius thought that the Jews caused continuous disturbances in ad70 the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the emperor Titus following anti-roman protests by the Jews this is another example of Jews unwilling to comply with cultural oppression and showing their resilience and toughness for what they believe in during the reign of Hadrian sabbaths Jewish festivals and circumcisions were prohibited Hadrian aimed to annihilate Jews from his Empire and even so the Jews were very faithful strong in their beliefs and were not willing to succumb to Roman culture and dominance perhaps this is why the Romans persecuted them for they were not willing to comply with the intrusions on their culture I think we can conclude that throughout the ancient world Jews are very strong in their religious and cultural beliefs and it seems that the Jews were willing to fight and stand up for what they believe in Against All Odds the resilience and toughness of Jewish culture perhaps made them a target for they failed to comply with the culture and traditions of foreign powers in the medieval period or the Middle Ages ranging from 500 to 1500 Jews were persecuted on the grounds of religion many Christians during this period And even today thought that as a collective group the Jews were responsible for the killing of Jesus Christ for these reasons other cultures and civilizations particularly Christian cultures have used this to justify the mistreatment of Jews the view is insane but it has been a reason why Jews have been mistreated throughout the medieval period Jews were massacred and exiled across Europe during this time in 1096 for example German and French Christians massacred Jews during the Rhineland massacres this was part of the First Crusade and once again it was because Christian groups attributed Jews for the crucifixion of Christ Jews were also blamed for economic Misfortune and Jewish wealth was targeted as a result as early as 1100 Jews could only live where the rulers allowed them to and practice only certain trades and professions that were generally shunned by the rest of the population there was some blood libels or even blood accusations which falsely accused Jews of murdering Christian boys to use their blood in the performance of religious rituals this is important because murder is strictly prohibited in Judaism but this belief still remained prominent in the world during the 14th century Europe and Africa were faced with the Bubonic plague fear Superstition and a lack of a scientific understanding of diseases meant that someone was to blame for the pandemic as a result Jews were blamed for poisoning Wells and spreading the disease and in Germany in Austria it is estimated that 100 000 Jews were burned alive for this as a result Jews often engaged in trade and banking which led to negative stereotypes that Jews care only for money and engage in Shady business practices Jews may have had to rely on merchandising and trade to protect themselves after all Jews have been nomadic for a long time and have not had a Homeland since ancient Israel interestingly enough this gave incentives for a Jewish homeland in Palestine with the case being argued by Theodore hertzel in his work the judenstat at this time the church was the dominant power in the west and Jews were not allowed to own land Additionally the church did not allow Christians to loan money for profit Jews had few Alternatives but now became money lenders and once they had became associated with the Forbidden trade of usury which means the practice of lending money and charging High interest a new set of stereotypes involved around Jews being hungry for money and also greedy this has prompted an attitude of jealousy and hatred towards Jews regardless of whether they've worked so hard to gain such positions of wealth and influence heading into the modern period many German Jews fled Eastward bringing with them a particular dialect possibly of Bavarian origin this leads into modern forms of anti-Semitism particularly the Holocaust Hitler saw Jews alongside Communists as a roadblock to the rebuilding of Germany following the failure of World War One and the Weimar Republic the anti-Semitism of the 20th century can be categorized as economic anti-semitism Nazi ideology posed that Jews controlled World finances and they've also been accused of dishonest labor seeking financial and world domination Nazis who regarded Jews as a dangerous cancer on the planet would destroy the German people during the 20th century Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party believe that Jews were antithetical to Nazi ideals Nazi belief system suggests that Aryan people were Superior and that Jews were a demonic force that aspired to dominate the world the Nazis propagated that the Jews were behind bolshevism and exploitative capitalism generated by the stab in the back myth believing that Jews were part of Germany's downfall anti-jewish feelings became so intense that they were perceived as demonic leading to the final solution to the Jewish question to exterminate all Jews from Europe this video shows that anti-Semitism has happened throughout human history in ancient periods competing civilizations and cultures struggled to dominate Jewish culture the Jewish people have been firm in their beliefs despite great powers like the Greeks Egyptians and Babylonians aiming to dominate them in the medieval period anti-Semitism was born out of the idea that Jews ought to be collectively responsible for the death of Jesus Christ these opinions push Jews out of standard economic life encouraging them to take positions as bankers and Money Lenders hatred and jealousy for their successes prompted negative stereotypes towards Jewish people promoting one of the worst genocides throughout human history we can see that anti-Semitism becomes very significant and targeted in the beginning of the Middle Ages and then throughout the modern world with even issues of anti-Semitism existing with Kanye West at the moment thank you for watching this video I hope you found it interesting and insightful if you did consider subscribing and liking the video for more content like this

Channel: All Things Humanities

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Length: 11min 16sec (676 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 22 2022