Anti-Semitism: Why the hate? - Opponent:Jewish

I will be arguing against antisemitism - whilst providing reasons as to why it exists. Note that some of these aren't my opinions exactly, but rather the opinions of people throughout the past 2000+ years that expressed antisemitic views. Opening Argument: Firstly, it's important to define what a 'Jew' actually is. Generally people consider a Jewish person to be a.) an individual belonging to the Jewish faith, and b.) a Jewish individual who ethnically identifies as 'Jewish' and has been born of generations of Jews. Overall, both 'a' and 'b' correspond with another and a person that is referred to as a 'Jew' is usually done so because they are religiously Jewish, and, have a Jewish heritage. As is fairly well-known, Jews formulated their religion in ancient Israel - this is supposed to be the Iand that God gave them, and the land that they lived in for around 2000 years - until, they were expelled by the Romans after years of not being able to politically govern themselves. Prior to Roman occupation, the Jews did govern themselves - they had their own set of kings, their own political/legal rules, and had full autonomous rule over Israel. Then the Romans invaded, and that political control was lost. The Jews were still able to practice their religion and have their own religious ruling bodies (known as the Sanhedrin and Pharisees), but they couldn't make any *domestic* decisions relating to their country and if they rebelled against the Roman occupation, they were killed. Eventually, the Jews did rebel en-masse and tried to re-take their country, but they were deaf rated by the Romans - this is what caused the Jewish dispersion, and is primarily why many Jews settled in Europe. Now, to answer why their religion and the early beginnings relate to antisemitism, one has to outline two things - with the first one being the claim to God that the Jewish people made, and the second being the death of Jesus - these, were major components in why people were/are antisemtic. The Jews claim to have a special connection with God, in the Hebrew bible, it states that the Jews are 'Gods chosen people' - which, obviously excludes others as being his first choice of people. In regards to the second factor, the Jews have historically been blamed for the death of Jesus Christ, as it was the Sanhedrin (Jewish ruling body) that disapproved of him - as he was, from their perspective, a blasphemer who was falsely claiming to be the Messiah and attempting to change certain Jewish practices. He was found guilty of this and given to the Romans - who executed him for political rebellion.When Christianity became the main religion in Europe, Jews received much blame and were largely mistrusted by most non-Jews. They were expelled en-masse from countries such as Spain and Portugal, and had to endure continual accusations, which led to numerous episodes of violence and pograms in almost every European country. The Jews had settled in large numbers in the Russian Empire - in countries such as Poland, the Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania - and of course, Russia itself. The Balkans (Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, etc.) also had prominent Jewish communities. Some Jews migrated further west to countries like Germany and France - which although generally more advanced, also used to subject Jews to persecution at various points, namely in Medieval times, and the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. It was not unusual for Jews to be accused of blood libels, to be killed now and then, etc. The working class Jews, were usually the most vulnerable. Countries in the Russian empire in the 18th and 19th century would be a fine example of this - Jews were often killed because they were blamed for negative things that happened - such as when there was not enough money. Poorer Jews suffered because this, as they received very little help from their Russian neighbors and were more or less expected to fiend for themselves during hard times. It's been said that at times, entire Jewish families within the East, had to share one pair of shoes during the harshest winter months because they had such little money - it was this that actually led to Jewish interest in communism within the Russian Empire, as it appeared to be the only hope. On the other hand, there were Jews (namely further west in Germany and France) who were fairly wealthy - these Jews were associated with capitalism and greed, which was a major part of Nazi propaganda. The Germans thought it was unfair that Jews be wealthy, while so many of them were suffering; naturally, this doesn't defend what later happened, but it was contributing factor in why Germans believed in propaganda used by the Nazis and blamed the Jews for their economic issues.