Understanding Antisemitism

Question

After the conversion of my grandparent to the Christianity, my family goes to church. I grow up reading the christian new testament. There, orthodox Jews are depicted as evil hypocrites. But when I observe orthodox Jews, all I see is a group of harmless people who love to study Torah and share it with other people! I cannot understand why Jesus said that orthodox Jews are demonic. Why is Christianity so hostile to Judaism?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    I will try to offer a logical explanation, although I personally believe there is a mystical reason as well.

    Many different forms of Jew-hatred spring up from time to time. Several different reasons lie behind them. These include:
    1) Jealousy towards us for having the original Bible
    2) Anger at our continued resistance to being converted
    3) Ideological clash

    But why is it so universal? Why are the Jews always the bad guys? Other nations and religions guilty of the same “crimes” are not victim to this hatred to the extent that we are.

    To trace the roots of anti-Semitism we must journey back over 3,300 years to the revelation at Mt. Sinai.

    Before presenting the Torah to the Jews, God offered it to all the other peoples of the world. It was up for grabs, yet every nation turned the offer down. They simply weren’t willing to change their lifestyles in order to accommodate the Torah into their daily living.

    When the Jews accepted the Torah, the jealousy of the nations was aroused. “They now have an advantage that we neglected and we can never forgive them for it.”
    We have something that the other nations lack. We were chosen for the task to be G-d’s “emissaries” to the rest of the world. Exemplary, Torah-true lives should impact on others and cause them to draw closer to God.

    Nobody likes being told what to do, and the flag that we wave flaps irritatingly in their faces. We represent a threat to them, an irritating reminder that maybe they should be striving for higher things.

    This hatred frequently lies dormant in the subconscious, flaring up when an excuse can be found. Often it’s intensified at times when we enjoy material success. The Jew in the Mercedes “runs them down”! Not only do we have the audacity to advocate a Torah; we also have the chutzpah to live luxurious lives.

    The State of Israel especially is a thorn in the side of many of our enemies. From the brink of annihilation in the Holocaust we have risen to become a modern, relatively wealthy nation with a powerful military.

    The paupers from the shtetl are now high-tech tycoons.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team