Antisemitism Is Still Around…And It Must Be Confronted

    Antisemitism is considered to be the oldest form of discrimination. For over 2,000 years, Jews have been harassed by other religious groups, political groups, conspiracy theorists, and hate groups. These groups of people have been creating myths that Jews are greedy, disloyal, and dangerous. Because of this, Jews have been controlled, threatened, rejected, and even physically injured since ancient times, rooting back to Egypt around 200 B.C. More recently, 90% of American Jews have reported this crisis to rapidly worsen since 2023.

Why the Jews? Confronting Antisemitism

Modern antisemitism, as seen on social media and in the news today, can be traced to one or more of three primary sources: the historical religious disagreements between Jews, Arabs, and Christians which can be examined by looking at the ancient history of Judea and the modern Zionist movement in Palestine (Israel) as a representation of the Jewish people as a whole; the mischaracterization of the State of Israel as a “Jewish state”; and the use of Jewish people as a scapegoat for the economic disparities experienced by many Americans. While these forms of antisemitism have deep historical roots, it is from these three sources that much of modern antisemitism emerges.  

The earliest conflicts between Jews and Christians started right after the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazarath. Early Jews and early Christians were very similar however, basic philosophical disagreements caused the two groups to separate into distinct ideologies. Jews didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah and considered it blasphemy calling him God. Early Christians were persecuted violently by the Romans but after 300AD when Constantine adopted Christianity as the new Holy Roman Empire Jews became a target of the state. Over the next thousand years Jews across the Roman Empire would be persecuted for various reasons. Rumors such as Jews killing Christian children and using their blood for a ritual called “Blood Libel”were some of the grotesque lies told. These myths and others like it have historically led to severe violence against Jewish communities. Examples of systemic attempts to eradicate the Jewish People would be The Spanish Inquisition and the Nazi Germans. 

The conflict between Jews and Arabs is more modern. Historically, Jews and Arabs got along great and had many centuries of cohabitation and trade. However, in response to systemic racism and anti-semitism in Europe over the last few centuries in the 19th century the Zionist movement became very popular. Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that sought to establish and support a Jewish homeland through colonization in the region of Palestine, which roughly corresponds to the Land of Israel.  Zionists wanted to create a Jewish state in Palestine with as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible. The arrival of Zionist settlers to Palestine during this period is widely seen as the start of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Zionist claim to Palestine was based on the notion that the Jews' historical right to the land outweighed that of the Arabs. It was like how the Americans kicked out the Native Americans from their home lands.  Recently, the news has been flooded with the violence between Arabs and Jews especially between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Iran. While some Jewish people identify with Zionism and others do not, antisemitic rhetoric often ignores this diversity, treating all Jews as responsible for the actions or policies associated with the movement. This oversimplification fuels hostility and reinforces stereotypes.  

The second source of modern antisemitism in my opinion, is the mischaracterization of the State of Israel as a “Jewish State”. As we just discussed the history Israel is founded on complex ethno/tribal land feuds. While Israel identifies as a Jewish state in terms of national identity, it is also a complex political entity with diverse populations and viewpoints. The reality is that Israel is less of a “Jewish State” and more of an arm of the military industrial complex. The military–industrial complex describes the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving factor behind the relationship between the military and the defense corporations is that both sides benefit, one side from obtaining weapons, and the other from being paid to supply them. Since the founding of Israel, Western Nations like Britain, France and particularly, The United States, have used Israel as a buffer state between the oil rich Arab countries of the Middle East and the West. In doing so Israel has been massively fortified and supported militarily by Western Nations and multinational arms dealers and covert tech. Calling Israel a “Jewish State” would be like calling the United States a "Christian Nation”. In reality, the conflation blurs the line between legitimate political critique and prejudice. It is unfair to hate on all Jews when there are different groups with different beliefs. You can’t claim that America is a Christian country because there is so much diversity here as there is in Palestine and Israel.   

The third source is the tendency to use Jewish people as scapegoats for economic hardship. Throughout history, Jewish communities have been unfairly blamed for financial crises or inequality, a pattern that continues in modern forms of conspiracy thinking. In times of uncertainty, such narratives can gain traction by offering simple explanations for complex problems, even though they are rooted in falsehoods and bias. We shouldn't hate on the Jews for something that everyone is capable of doing. For example, Jews were falsely blamed for the economic crisis, and the Nazi propaganda in Germany used these myths to fuel hatred. In modern times, similar theories are used that claim Jewish individuals secretly control banks, governments, or global events. These claims are not based on facts and continue to spread through social media spreading misconduct over these people.   

While these forms and antisemitism have deep historical roots, their modern manifestations are shaped by contemporary technologies and global interconnectedness. Addressing antisemitism today requires not only understanding its historical origins but also recognizing how it adapts to new environments. Education, critical thinking, and responsible media consumption are essential tools in countering the spread of misinformation and fostering a more informed and inclusive society. Everyone needs to work together and own up to their wrongs instead of trying to blame it on someone else.