Antisemitism

[[File:Yellowbadge logo.svg|thumb|right|165px|The yellow badge used to identify Jews during the Holocaust.]]
{{antisemitism}}
{{cquote|The anti‐Semite has chosen [[Bigotry|hate]] because hate is a [[faith]]; [[Bad faith|at the outset he has chosen to devaluate words and reasons]]... If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him.|||Jean-Paul Sartre.<ref name=jps>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151010062724/http://abahlali.org/files/Jean-Paul_Sartre_Anti-Semite_and_Jew_An_Exploration_of_the_Etiology_of_Hate__1995.pdf ''Anti-Semite and Jew'' by Jean-Paul Sartre (1995 [1948]) Schocken Books. Translated by George J. Becker. ISBN 0805210474.</ref>{{rp|13}}}}
{{cquote|If my [[theory of relativity]] is proven successful, [[Germany]] will claim me as a German and [[France]] will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.|||[[Albert Einstein]]<ref>[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein Albert Einstein] - ''Wikiquote''</ref>}}

'''Antisemitism''' is the [[prejudice]] against, the hatred of, or the [[discrimination]] against [[Jews]] as an ethnic, [[religious]], or racial group, and is widely recognized as a form of [[racism]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150709020128/https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/53/133 Measures to combat contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance] Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly (1 March 1999) ''United Nations''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141111175559/http://www.ecaj.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2014_antisemitism_report.pdf Report on Antisemitism in Australia] (2014) ''Executive Council on Australian Jewry'' (archived from November 11, 2014).</ref> While the term antisemitism might, by parsing the word into its component parts, appear to mean prejudice against all Semitic peoples and religions — Arabs, Assyrians, [[Samaritans]], Jews, Christians, Muslims, Yazidi, Druze, and other groups who are associated with the Semitic family of languages and culture — the term refers exclusively to anti-Jewish bigotry and prejudice, reflecting the historical origins of the term as a [[euphemism]] for the German ''Judenhass'' (literally, "Jew-hatred").{{efn|While this may be confusing, language is notoriously inconsistent; for example, "inflammable" and "flammable" are synonyms.}} Broadened usage despite historical meaning, though sometimes done out of ignorance rather than [[bad faith]], is frequently associated with bad faith as a derailing or erasure technique to derail legitimate criticisms or historical documentation of anti-Jewish prejudice emanating from non-Jews of other Semitic groups.

Antisemitism has taken on a number of different forms over the centuries, with severity that ranges from hateful or inflammatory discourses that paint Jews as embodying particular [[Evil Jew|stereotypical and malignant characteristics]], to the outright organized mass [[genocide]] of Jews with the overt goal of depleting their populace regionally or even globally. Historically, antisemitism has had a long-standing presence in [[Blood libel|Christian and Muslim communities alike]], and the unprovoked stirring of antisemitic animosity against the Jewish people has been undertaken (to a varying degree, at different times and in various nations) by both [[Passion_Play|church]] and [[Nazism|state]], sometimes to a sufficient extent (over the decades and even centuries) as to climax into the outbreak of [[Pogrom|pogroms]] directed against the Jews.

While the accusation of antisemitism ''is'' occasionally used as a [[snarl word]] to dismiss valid criticisms of [[Zionism]] and of [[Israel|Israeli]] foreign policy,<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2012/01/19/the_smear_campaign_against_cap_and_media_matters_rolls_on/ The "anti-Semitism" smear campaign against CAP and Media Matters rolls on: A campaign to disparage progressive writers makes a shameful comeback] by Glenn Greenwald (January 19, 2012 2:59PM UTC) ''Salon''.</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Moser | first=Benjamin | title=Anti-Zionism isn’t the same as antisemitism. Here’s the history. | website=Washington Post | date=Jan 2, 2024 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/02/anti-zionism-antisemitism-israel-jews-came-first/ | access-date=Jul 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Weisman | first=Jonathan | title=Is Anti-Zionism Always Antisemitic? A Fraught Question for the Moment. | website=The New York Times | date=Dec 10, 2023 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/us/politics/anti-zionism-antisemitism.html | access-date=Jul 13, 2024}}</ref> it can be aptly applied to many cases of anti-Zionist [[crank]]ery — typically involving variants on the [[International Jewish conspiracy]] theory, the [[Zionist Occupation Government]], or other nonsense involving ''[[The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion]]''. [[Holocaust denial]] also embodies one of several modern [[Pseudohistory|pseudohistorical]] outlets of antisemitic sentiment, as do various [[conspiracy theories]] regarding allegedly malevolent [[Rothschild family|Jewish banksters]].

Much less commonly, antisemitism can also be used to refer to prejudice against speakers of Semitic [[language]]s or adherents of [[Abrahamic religion|Abrahamic religions]].<ref>{{wpa|Antisemitism#Usage|Etymology of Antisemitism}}</ref>

==Origin of the term==
"Antisemitism" was coined in the late 1800s by [[Austrian]] Jewish scholar Moritz Steinschneider to describe racist views about Semitic peoples. This was then narrowed by others into meaning bigotry toward Jews. It replaced the more colloquial term for anti-Jewish racism, ''Judenhass'', or "Jew-hatred." At that time, antisemitism had become a coherent political movement that succeeded in founding political parties and winning local elections. Most famously, the [[populist]] leader {{wpl|Karl Lueger}} was elected mayor of Vienna on an explicitly antisemitic platform. These movements, their leaders, and their members proudly referred to themselves as "antisemites" and there was little stigma attached to the term. This explicitly political antisemitism eventually led to the rise of the [[Nazi Party]], which expanded antisemitism into an all-encompassing racist [[worldview]] that saw the Jewish people as an almost [[metaphysical]] form of [[evil]], eventually leading to the [[Holocaust]].

==History==
{{cquote|It would be futile to deny that the Nazis built a vast mass of evil on a vast mass of prejudice. It would be equally futile to deny that strong prejudices against the Jews existed among [[Christians]] during the centuries before the Shoah.{{efn|Shoah is a synonym for the Holocaust.}} Since, moreover, the childhood of the [[European]] nations was passed under the tutelage of the clergy, we should not be surprised that these prejudices were, in part, ecclesiastically inculcated.|||Mark Riebling, US historian.<ref>[https://markriebling.blogs.com/files/jesus-jews-shoah.pdf Jesus, Jews, and the Shoah] by Mark Riebling (January 27, 2003) ''National Review''. Book review of: ''A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair'' by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen.</ref>}}
[[File:Antisemitic caricature 1873.jpg|thumb|165px||right|Your friendly neighborhood [[Evil Jew]] (Cartoon from Vienna, [[Austria]], home of [[Hitler]], 1873.)]]
Hatred of Judaism and the Jewish people is quite ancient. In Jewish tradition, antisemitism first appears in the [[Book of Esther]], in which the evil Haman plots to annihilate the Jews of [[Persia]] because their traditions and laws are different from others. The ancient Jewish historian [[Josephus]] Flavius wrote an entire work, "Against Apion" that sought to refute the claims of ancient antisemites such as Manetho, the eponymous Apion, and others. Ancient writers like [[Tacitus]] also wrote about the Jews in highly negative terms. In general, pre-Christian antisemitism portrays the Jews as savage, barbaric ([[circumcision]] was particularly frowned upon), warlike, fanatical, anti-social, in at least one case ritual [[Cannibalism|cannibals]] (i.e., [[blood libel]]), and in all cases without mixing in religion except for their refusal to participate in [[Paganism|Pagan]] ceremonies and to honor such deities.

Christianity made antisemitism into religious doctrine through blaming the Jews for rejecting the revelation of [[Jesus]] and then engineering his [[crucifixion]] (even though, as Christians believe, that crucifixion ''was necessary for our [[salvation]]'').  Besides, it's not as if the state religion of the Roman Empire(s) would want to shift the focus away from the ''Romans'' who tortured and executed the man.  Church doctrine held that the Jews were a cursed people doomed to walk the [[Earth]] for eternity due to their [[sin|sins]] against [[God]]. Over the centuries, this led to considerable discrimination, prejudice, and violence. In Europe, Jews were often confined to ghettos, exiled, forced to convert, killed en masse, and accused of nefarious crimes and rituals, most infamously, the blood libel, which holds that the Jews kill Christian children and consume their blood in a ritualistic manner. The rise of [[Protestantism]] did not help matters, as its founder, [[Martin Luther]], became a ferocious antisemite after the Jewish community failed to convert to his new form of Christianity.

The [[Enlightenment]] and the growth of [[secularism]] did away with much of this, allowing the Jews to become free and semi-equal citizens in many areas of Europe. However, it also created new problems, not to mention resulted in a large amount of backlash. Jews were often asked to choose between their Jewish identity and the deracinated civil identity, as demanded by the new, modern nation-states. At the same time, opponents of modernity saw the Jews as the symbol and primary beneficiaries of the new order they despised. This led to a new, political form of antisemitism that saw the Jews as undermining civilization in order to assert Jewish control over the non-Jewish world. The most famous expression of this was the ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'', a notorious fraud that remains popular among [[neo-Nazis]] and other antisemites and has become a bestseller in the [[Muslim]] world. These issues eventually led to the creation of the Zionist movement, which sought to solve the "[[Jewish question]]" by achieving self-determination in a Jewish nation-state.

The new political antisemitism eventually merged with a distorted form of [[social Darwinism]] and [[racialism|racial determinism]], forming the antisemitism eventually embraced by the Nazi Party, which saw the Jews as a parasitical disease that was destroying the 'master race', i.e., '[[Aryan]]' white Europeans. This led directly to the murder of six million Jews in the Nazi [[Holocaust]].

The Muslim world historically had been more tolerant of Jews than of Christians, but not universally. The [[Quran]] contains several anti-Jewish passages, including one saying that the Jews are sons of apes and pigs who will be killed on the [[apocalyptic]] [[Judgement Day|day of judgement]].<ref>{{wpa|Islam and antisemitism}}</ref> [[Muhammad]] himself conquered the Jewish tribes of the Hijaz and, in several cases, committed atrocities against them, such as slaughtering all the male members of the Banu Qurayza.<ref>{{wpa|Invasion of Banu Qurayza}}</ref> 

Under Islamic law, the Jews and Christians were placed under a system that allowed them to practice their religions and retain their autonomy as second-class citizens, though they faced numerous restrictions, were forbidden from owning weapons or joining the military lest they become ''capable'' of rebelling, were generally barred from government or any position that would give them higher status than a Muslim, were usually required to humiliate themselves in some form, and were required to pay a hefty [[tax]] ([[Dhimmi]]). This status changed, however, depending on the political and religious atmosphere in any given part of the Islamic empire. For example, the Jews of [[Yemen]] were expelled several times,<ref>{{wpa|Yemenite Jews}}</ref> the Jews of North Africa were subjected to forced conversion,<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Jews_in_Arab_lands_%28gen%29.html Jews in Islamic Countries: The Treatment of Jews] (September 2011) 'Jewish Virtual Library''.</ref> and female Jewish children were often forcibly taken from their parents and raised as Muslims.

With the rise of Zionism, a number of Jews began to immigrate to the Holy Land. Around this time, [[Arab nationalism]] began to flourish. There were a minority of {{wpl|Muslim supporters of Israel|Arab nationalists who sought to ally}} with the Zionist groups, seeing them as "fellow Arabs" with skills that could be used to modernize the Arab world without being placed under the European [[colonial]] boot. Obviously this did not pan out, as the Zionists' vision of separate Jewish state controlled by Jews and the Arab Nationalists' vision of a giant pan-Arab state controlled by Arabs were in the long term incompatible, and with things such as the betrayal of the British and the Balfour Declaration, Jews began to be viewed as a 5<sup>th</sup> column. With the Arab world carved up by Britain and France, [[propaganda]] by a certain German group became rather popular.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050717014610/https://jcpa.org/phas/phas-kuntzel-s05.htm National Socialism and Anti-Semitism in the Arab World] by Matthias Küntzel (2005) ''Jewish Political Studies Review'' 17:1–2.</ref> Even the Jews that had been living in the Arab world since before the Arabs themselves arrived became viewed with suspicion, and life grew steadily worse.

Then came the [[civil war]] in the Mandate of Palestine, culminating in the founding of Israel. This was ''not'' a good time to be an Arab; [[ethnic cleansing|ethnic cleansings]] occurred, and hundreds of thousands of [[Palestinians]] were displaced.{{efn|"The ultimate question that [[leftist]] opponents of Zionism like to hurl at liberal Zionists, the one the former believe the latter cannot answer, is, to use Finkelstein's formulation: 'How does one excuse ethnic cleansing?' If one is a liberal, committed to [[human rights]], how can one justify the expulsion and dispossession of Palestinians in 1948 as Israel was born? [Ari] Shavit’s answer comes in the form of the two chapters that sit at the heart of the book. First comes 'Lydda, 1948,' a meticulously assembled account of the three July days when soldiers of the new Israeli army emptied that city of its Palestinian inhabitants and, according to Shavit, killed more than three hundred civilians in cold blood and without discrimination. Piecing together the testimony of those who did the killing, Shavit writes: 'Zionism carrie[d] out a massacre.'"<ref>[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/08/14/liberal-zionists/ The Liberal Zionists: The cause of Zion once served as a bridge between Jews and the liberal left. These days it drives them apart.] by Jonathan Freedland (August 14, 2014) ''The New York Review of Books''. Book review of: ''My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel'' by Ari Shavit.</ref>}} Local Jews were blamed, and in retaliation riots broke out, and Jews throughout the Arab world were cleansed in response. The only Muslim countries with Jewish populations of note are [[Turkey]] and [[Iran]], though most Jews left during the Iranian revolution. Whereas Israel was eager to absorb the Jews into their population, the Arab world was not so eager to do the same with the Palestinians, keeping the issue alive. Life has steadily gotten worse for most of the refugees, and since violence breeds more violence, well, today Jews do not win any popularity contests in the Arab world. And as long as the issue remains open, with Palestinians stuck in camps for decades and the Israelis and Palestinians unable (or unwilling) to settle it peacefully, it's unlikely to get better.

==General prejudice==
[[File:Happy-merchant.gif|thumb|right|165px|The "Happy Merchant," a racist caricature of a Jewish man popular in [[alt-right]] circles, conceived by anti-Semite Nick Bougas, aka "A. Wyatt Man".]]
Most such beliefs feed off of [[ignorance]] and prejudice that arises from [[historical]] interpretations of Christianity and its teachings. It has traditionally been fanned with accusations of [[heresy]] and obvious [[cultural]] differences, as well as [[Biblical]] associations of Jewish leaders (often referred to simply as 'the Jews', or that perennial sign of [[Nazi]] beliefs, 'the Jew', by the ignorant and those who tend to misspeak), with the death of [[Jesus]]. Antisemitism also pops up among Muslim communities, often combined with banking conspiracies and [[9/11 conspiracy theories]].

Antisemites frequently claim that Jews [[conspiracy theory|secretly control/controlled]] [[Federal Reserve|banks]]/[[government]]s/the [[mainstream media|media]]/the [[Treaty of Versailles]]. It is similar to racism in that it frequently applies a [[stereotype]] or stereotypes to all members of a diverse group. Nazism took antisemitism to horrific extremes, resulting in the Holocaust. Modern antisemitism frequently takes the form of [[Holocaust denial]] or mass media/governmental conspiracy theories such as the 'Zionist Occupation Government' (ZOG), beloved of [[white supremacists]], but classic antisemitic tracts including the infamous 19<sup>th</sup> century [[Russian]] forgery ''The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion'' have become increasingly popular in the [[Middle East]]. Some lunatic antisemites may think that almost every person he/she doesn't like (especially if they're rich and/or are doctors) is Jewish, even when they aren't.

Both the left and right are guilty of antisemitism. Ruth Fischer, a [[communist]] leader of Weimar-era (1919-1933) Germany, called for "[[The Evil Jew|Jewish capitalists]]" to be hanged from lampposts (despite being half-Jewish herself); [[ironic]]ally, her contemporary, [[Hitler]], considered Communism to be a Jewish plot — but he also liked the stereotype of the Jewish banker. Some antisemites (including the Nazis) have claimed that both communism ''and'' [[capitalism]] are Jewish plots.

==How antisemitism differs from plain old racism==
[[File:Great and Powerful Wizard of Debt.png|thumb|right|300px|A [[Ben Garrison]] cartoon modified to claim that [[International Jewish conspiracy|Jews control the global monetary system]].]]
{{cquote|Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by [[Soundness|sound argument]] but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past. It is not that they are afraid of being convinced. They fear only to appear ridiculous or to prejudice by their embarrassment their hope of winning over some third person to their side.|||Jean-Paul Sartre<ref name=jps/>{{rp|13-14}}}}

While most racists believe that the victims of their hatred are ''inferior'' to them (e.g. no white supremacist thinks that black people secretly control the world), antisemitism is almost unique in that it ascribes some traits of "superiority" to its victims. In the mind of the antisemite, "the Jews" own or control "the money", "the media", and are behind capitalism, communism, or both. The idea that Jews naturally have traits that allow them to rise to the top of society (ergo, the "real" "Master Race") is not in itself a ''complete'' contradiction with (insert-race-here) Supremacy; rather, in order for a Supremacist to make their race the new "master", [[Final solution|the Jews would need to go]]. Also characteristic for antisemitism and rarely found in other forms of racism{{efn|The only other set of contradictory stereotypes of a major group would be Hispanic immigrants being simultaneously "lazy" while "stealing jobs".}} is completely contradictory stereotypes about Jews. Jews are simultaneously so prudish they need a sheet separating the men and women to have sex or are impotent with small penes, but are also perverts creating depraved pornography. Jews that are [[poor]] are a drain on the welfare system, but Jews that are rich 'control the banks' and are '[[Usury|usurers]]'. Jews are pathetic athletes, but when Jews dominated the basketball court in the 1930's, it was because their "naturally dodgy" personalities made them excel at such sports. While many antisemites grant that Jews are (supposedly) more intelligent than average people, they are again accused of using that intelligence for their nefarious schemes.

Antisemitism does not necessitate the presence of Jews. In [[Japan]], for example, there is virulent antisemitism within the [[right wing]], but there are hardly any Jews to be found. The same is true for much of the Muslim world, although that animus is driven by some legitimate anger over [[Zionism]] and [[Palestine]]. And even more surprisingly, antisemitism may indeed work while never uttering the word "Jew". Some simply replace "Jews" with "Zionists" (see below), while others use the evil bankster trope without ever saying or implying that the "banksters" are Jews. (Hint: If your opponent starts quoting the ''Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion'', they ''might just'' be a ''tad'' antisemitic.) This kind of antisemitism has also infected mainstream political culture in [[Malaysia]] to some extent.<ref>{{wpa|Mahathir Mohamad#Antisemitic comments}}</ref> And it can be found to some degree or other around the world.

===Khazar myth===
{{main|Khazar myth‎}}
Some antisemites attempt to discredit Israel and the ethnic origin of many Jews by claiming that Ashkenazi Jews (i.e., those whose ancestors lived in central and eastern Europe) actually descended from the Turkic Khazar Empire and therefore are not the 'real' Jews. This [[myth]] has no evidence behind it. Although Jews did settle in the Empire and the Khazar ruling class adopted Judaism, Jews had already inhabited Europe ''long before'' the Turkic Khazar Empire came about. There is historical and [[genetic]] evidence that discredits this pseudohistorical 'theory', too.<ref>[http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/front-page/the-khazar-myth-and-the-new-anti-semitism/2007/05/09/ The Khazar Myth and the new antisemitism] by Robert Plaut (May 9, 2007) ''Jewish Press''.</ref> This myth is often used as a way to justify the elimination of Israel and/or to explain why the [[British]]/Aryan/[insert race here] are the chosen people of the Bible, and not the Jews.

A similar myth espoused by some people, such as [[Louis Farrakhan]], is that Jewish people who come from Europe are not the original {{wpl|Semitic people|Semitic peoples|,}} and that many Arab Muslims are more closely related to the original Semites.<ref>[https://www.adl.org/education/resources/reports/nation-of-islam-farrakhan-in-his-own-words Farrakhan: In His Own Words] ''ADL''. "The real anti-Semites are those who came out of Europe and settled in Palestine, and now they call themselves the true Jews, when in fact, they converted to Judaism." — Al Jazeera TV interview (3/18/07).</ref> Based on this myth, they claim that even if they hate Jews, they like Muslims, so ''they'' aren't antisemitic, ''you'' are. Regardless of who the 'real' Semites are, the term ''antisemitism'' was popularized in Germany in 1873 specifically to replace ''Judenhass'' ("Jew-hatred") with a more scientific-sounding word.<ref>{{wpa|Antisemitism}}</ref>

==Antisemitism of various groups==
While many like to portray antisemitism as a problem of the fringes of society and political discourse, antisemitic tropes, stereotypes, and even more-or-less open hostility can be found in basically all strata of society and all political groups. Unfortunately, it has become a bigger [[taboo]] to ''call'' someone an antisemite — unless they are foaming at the mouth [[The Daily Stormer|'gas the Jews'-types]] — than to hold certain antisemitic views.

<!--===Christian antisemitism===
[Unwritten]
-->
===Islamic antisemitism===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1987-004-09A, Amin al Husseini und Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Palestinian nationalist {{wpl|Amin al-Husseini|}} with Adolf Hitler. Despite what [[Benjamin Netanyahu|Bibi]] claims, Husseini did not influence Hitler in any way in the execution of the Holocaust.]]
In a very similar way to Martin Luther, Muhammad was initially somewhat sympathetic to the local Jews, especially since he was accepted by them when he fled [[Mecca]] for [[Medina]] and as he believed that all previous 'false' religions were not worthy for the Jews to convert to, but ''he'', having the truth right from [[Allah]] himself, would make them see the error of their ways and they'd convert ''en masse''. After said mass conversions failed to occur, Muhammad became increasingly hostile towards Jews, even calling them [[infidel]]s. ''Surprise, surprise'', it is excessively easy to find [[sura|suras]] in the Quran that portray Jews as bad and evil.

Despite this early seed for antisemitism within Islam, Jews sometimes lived comfortable lives under Islamic rule and Islamic rulers were not necessarily worse to their Jewish subjects than Christian rulers of the same era and region. As a matter of fact, perhaps the greatest Jewish scholar of all times — {{wpl|Maimonides}} — lived under Islamic rule. However, pogroms and calls for persecution happened under Islamic rule as well, and Jews had to flee or were expelled from Islamic lands as well as Christian lands. Rulers sometimes exploited the anti-Jewish sentiment of their subjects, sometimes tried to protect their Jewish subjects from a hostile population, and sometimes fanned the flames of religious and ethnic hatred for personal gain or out of [[bigotry]].

During the 19<sup>th</sup> century, the Islamic world was in a crisis, as the Ottoman Empire was increasingly weakened and European powers made more and more inroads into territories like [[Egypt]] or [[Algeria]]. This initially prompted a response where Arab intellectuals called for learning from the Europeans and copying their progressive ideas. Unfortunately, antisemitism fell on a fertile ground of pre-established animosity towards Jews in many places and was seen as 'scientific' and 'modern'. Both secular thinkers such as the founders of Arab nationalist movements, and [[Islamist]]s, increased their hatred of and [[rhetoric]] against Jews.

Also during the late 19<sup>th</sup> century, there was increasing Jewish immigration into the general area of the Levant, which provoked various responses. While some local Arabs hoped for [[economic]] development and investment, others stoked [[xenophobia]] and yet others combined xenophobia and antisemitism, resulting in massacres targeting even those Jews whose families had lived in the area for centuries. After the establishment of Israel, the [[ethnic cleansing]] during the Nakba, and the humiliating defeats of Arab armies in basically all wars they fought against Israel, [[autocratic]] leaders made hatred of Israel and/or Jews (the two often being portrayed as one and the same in propaganda) the only kind of expression allowed to manifest itself publicly or in the media.

Consequently, many Muslims from Arab states — but even some from Iran or the [[Philippines]] — today hold antisemitic views. On the other hand, this is frequently exploited by xenophobic populists in the West who say they're opposed to Arab immigration on the grounds of their (supposed or real) antisemitism.

===Left-wing antisemitism===
[[File:Graffiti in Venezuela.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Graffiti against Judios (Jews) in [[Venezuela]], note the hammer and sickle.]]
Though antisemites often use anti-Zionism as a smokescreen, anti-Zionism is <strong><em>not</em></strong> in and of itself antisemitic (e.g., there have been and are anti-Zionist Jews<ref>{{wpa|Anti-Zionism#Jewish anti-Zionism}}</ref>), and calling it as such silences legitimate criticisms of Israel—which, you'll be shocked to hear, is often the point. 
====Socialism of fools====
{{main|Evil Jew#Money-controllers}}
A small minority of Jews served as bankers to noblemen as the church often prohibited Christians from [[usury]] (charging interest for a loan). To this day, Jews are overrepresented among the most successful financiers.{{cn}} Today, [[Neoconservatism#A Jew and a neocon walk in to a bar...|in a long line of bigotry being masked with critique of capitalism/neoconservatism]], the opposition towards usury is often used as a leftist cover for antisemitism, specifically the idea that Jewish wealth and power is the source of social injustice.

While not everybody who speaks of "banksters" and "loan sharks" may necessarily mean ''Jewish'' "banksters" and "loan sharks", the undertone is quite notable in many of those screeds. Some leftists have always criticized this wrongheaded criticism of capitalism, including [[Karl Marx]] who has written about this phenomenon.{{fact}}

====Antisemitic criticism of Israel====
When Israel was founded, many leftists around the globe had sympathy with Israel, in support of Jews escaping persecution that was prevalent throughout Europe, plus [[socialism]] being politically dominant throughout the country's first twenty years of statehood and the kibbutzim beginning as [[utopian]] communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism.

But after the {{wpl|Six-Day War}} when Israel first demonstrated to the world that it was capable of militarily defeating its neighbors, Zionism is now seen by most leftists as colonialist and imperialist. This criticism often uses antisemitic stereotypes, alleging that Israel [[blood libel|sacrifices children's blood]] and poisons wells, as well as portraying Israelis with long noses, as an octopus holding the world in its grasp, or otherwise shadowy "controlling" figures.{{fact}} [[Zionism#Extremist anti-Zionism|Talk of a "Jewish lobby"]] and [[International Jewish conspiracy|its supposed or real influence on the governments of the West]] is also a frequent antisemitic trope employed by leftists when pushed into ZOG levels.{{fact}}

The left Jewish publication The Forward noted that left-wing antisemitism are often derived from legitimate anger towards Israel's policies, and often does not initially contain  traditional anti-Jewish tropes common in right-wing antisemitism, such as delegitimization of Jews, but nevertheless can often bleed into traditional antisemitism, such as referring to Jews who donate to [[Donald Trump]] as "puppet masters".<ref>[https://forward.com/opinion/522629/the-mistake-in-equating-right-wing-and-left-wing-antisemitism/ The mistake in equating right-wing and left-wing antisemitism]/ Jonathan Jacoby. The Forward, October 26, 2022</ref>

====Militant anti-Zionism====
There have been attacks on synagogues, individual Jews and Jewish institutions as well as Israeli citizens or other Israeli targets perpetrated by Western and Japanese leftist groups from their own volition and in cooperation with Arab and Palestinian militant groups.
* The [[Red Army Faction]] (RAF) trained with the {{wpl|People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine||.}}
* A 1977 hijacking of an airliner perpetrated by the {{wpl|Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine}} on behalf of the RAF.
* The {{wpl|Lod Airport massacre}} perpetrated by the {{wpl|Japanese Red Army}} on behalf of Palestinian groups.
Several of these groups in Europe and Japan have cooperated with violent Palestinian and other Arab groups throughout the [[Cold War]] era, where they shared their views on Jews and Israel.

===Right-wing antisemitism===
[[File:Conspiracy theorist (48555437426).jpg|thumb|right|275px|
Dumbass conspiracy theorist
 Trump supporter holds an antisemitic conspiracy theory sign. Note the [[Triple parentheses|parentheses]] plus his unholy union of that with a [[Pizzagate|batshit conspiracy theory]].]]
The most universally acknowledged antisemitism:
*[[Nazism]]
**[[Holocaust denial]]
**[[Neo-Nazism]]
;A specific type of antisemitic screed by the following internet kooks:
* [[White supremacy]]/[[White nationalism]]
**[[Ku Klux Klan]]
**Adherents of [[Christian Identity]]
**Adherents of the [[Alt-right]]
*[[Black supremacy#Strange bedfellows|Black supremacy]]/Black nationalism
**Adherents of [[Nation of Islam]]
*Adherents of [[Traditionalist Catholicism]]
*Conspiracy news websites
**[[Henry Makow|HenryMakow.com]]
**''[[The Daily Stormer]]''
**[[The Right Stuff]]
**[[Smoloko News]]
**[[Real Jew News]]
**[[Jew Watch]]

===Everyday antisemitism===
Antisemitic tropes crop up in everyday conversation even among 'normal' people. Examples include:
*Using the word 'Jew' inappropriately, e.g. using 'Jew' as an adjective ("Jew Banker") or verb ("He Jewed me down.")
*A compulsory reflex to say something about Israeli foreign policy when Israel is mentioned however tangentially (think about it, how many people would react with a tirade about [[Emmanuel Macron]] when you talk about French wine?)
*The "joking" use of anti-Jewish stereotypes
Unfortunately, this all combines to make Jews one of the most targeted minorities for violence based on ethnic or religious persuasion, and synagogues or Jewish community centers have to have police protection and other security measures in many places where churches, temples, or mosques don't need to be protected like this.

==Zionism and anti-Zionism==
[[File:Declaration of State of Israel 1948 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|David Ben-Gurion declares the establishment of 
the Jewish world government
 Israel.]]
Israel is odd because (tongue entirely in cheek) it was a successful Jewish conspiracy and is run by Jews. Criticism and support of Israel is plagued by hardliners on both sides who are leveraging different causes and [[Newspeak|labels]]. There are hard-right Israelis who call for the creation of {{wpl|Greater Israel|'Greater Israel'}} (no, not the conspiracist [[Greater Israel]]) and just place it under the label of "Zionism", so any criticism is conflated with calls to [[Poisoning the well|eradicate Israel altogether]]. Those who'd dismantle Israel happily use that [[equivocation]], claiming they are only "anti-Zionist" in terms of thinking Israel is [[Concern troll|big enough already]].

An analogy might be useful here. It is perfectly possible (and common) to criticize this or that female politician, say, without being [[misogynist]]. Similarly, criticism of Israel's policies or government is not necessarily antisemitism, nor anti-Zionism either: it doesn't typically imply Israel is illegitimate or needs to be dismantled. It is also possible to care for the welfare of men without [[Misogyny|hating women]]. For example, the "men's lib" group in the 1970s demanded that, just like [[Feminism|women's lib]] argued women can be CEOs without social disapproval, men may be homemakers without social disapproval. (They were allied with the feminists, in fact.) Similarly, it is quite possible to support a Palestinian state without thinking Israel is illegitimate or should be dismantled. So criticism of Israel per se, or support of Palestinian rights per se, do not necessarily imply anti-Zionism or antisemitism.  That's the sort of thinking made by partisans who think "if y'aint fur us yer agin us!".

However, it is not hard to see that the so-called [[manosphere]] today, with its self-proclaimed [[Men's rights movement|men's rights]] advocates, simply hates women. Similarly, it is usually easy to see when a person's self-proclaimed  "concern for the Palestinians", "anti-Zionism", or "politically incorrect criticism of Israel you will not hear in the mainstream media" (etc.) is just a thin cover for antisemitism, with "Zionist" (or "Israeli") simply replacing "Jew".

Indeed, many antisemites use anti-Zionism as a kind of [[Bait-and-switch|cover for entry-level recruiting]]. In addition, most antisemites see Zionism not as a modern movement to first create a Jewish state in Palestine and subsequently support [[Israel]], but as really being a kind of ancient, all-encompassing world conspiracy — in their language, the term 'Zionism' means more or less the same as 'The Jews'.

On the flip side, Israel's staunchest gentile defenders in the [[United States]] tend to be extreme [[evangelical]] [[Protestant]]s, who eagerly look forward to the "ingathering" of Jews in Israel followed by their massacre and/or forced conversion to Christianity, and bringing forth the [[end times]] in their minds. No, seriously: [[John Hagee]], one of these tireless soldiers for Christ and Israel, got into a little trouble after opining that the Holocaust was all part of [[God]]'s plan to punish European Jews for being too [[irreligious]], or something. Strange bedfellows.

===The 3D Test===
Obviously, not all criticism of Israel and Zionism is antisemitism, but it can be difficult to determine the line as 'Zionism' is used as a [[dog whistle]] and many antisemites will hide behind criticisms of Israel (legitimate and otherwise). So there exists a need to demarcate. One such attempt at doing this is the so-called '''3D Test''', proposed by Soviet dissident turned Zionist {{wpl|Natan Sharansky||:}}
*[[Demonization|'''D'''emonization]].  Exaggerations or outright lies intended to portray Israelis or all Jews as subhuman or evil.
*'''D'''elegitimatization. Claims that Israel has no right to exist or the Jews are not "real" Jews or descendants from the Jews that left Israel 2000-2500 years ago, commonly using the Khazar myth.
*[[Hypocrisy|'''D'''ouble Standards]].

'''Important''': While having a heavy or even exclusive focus on Israel is not in itself evidence of a double standard (people volunteering at animal shelters don't necessarily hate the homeless), focusing on the plight of the Palestinians while [[Handwave|handwaving]] away or outright denying the extent of ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Islamic world very much is. On the flip side, highlighting the Jews that fled while engaging in apologetics or outright denial of the ethnic cleansing the Palestinians faced is ''also'' double standards.

This does not mean the test is without critics. As an example, some opponents of current Israeli policies call for a bi-national single state with both Jews and Palestinians. This would entail the dissolution of current Israel, but only to be replaced with another state that included Jews (the merits of such a proposal are of course debatable, and this so-called one-state solution remains a minority idea). [[Anarchism|Anarchists]] and some leftists may also call for the dissolution of both Israel and the State of Palestine out of opposition to [[state]]s in general and a belief that a change in governance won't necessarily stop violence against Palestinians on its own. This in itself is not anti-Semitic, as the goal of this dissolution wouldn't be to undermine Jewish people's autonomy. Sharansky himself was also criticized for his hawkish attitude towards Palestinian self-determination, arguing that Jews "[[Irredentism|have a biblical claim to Palestine]]".<ref>{{cite journal|author=Desch, Michael|title=Sharansky's double standard|journal=The American Conservative|date=28 March 2005|url=http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/sharanskys-double-standard/}}</ref>

===Freedom of speech at stake, or is it?===
The problem with the 3D test is the implementation. Both the term 'double standard' and the term 'demonization' are arguably very open to interpretation. Free speech 'extremists' like [[Christopher Hitchens]] were opposed to laws against [[Holocaust denial]] for that reason — once you start outlawing speech, it becomes hard to draw the line and define which speech is ''just'' disgusting, racist, and stupid and which should be a [[crime]]. However, the test can still be applied without it being made law. While applying the 3D test cannot and should not replace a [[Critical thinking|critical mind]] with regard to statements that may or may not be antisemitic, it provides a handy tool for lay people who don't want or can't visit a three-year course on the history of antisemitism to decipher all the dog whistles. Those who do believe [[freedom of speech]] is endangered will point to laws such as France passed which has made it ''de facto'' illegal to advocate for [[boycott]]s of Israel.<ref>[https://theintercept.com/2015/10/27/criminalization-of-anti-israel-activism-escalates-this-time-in-the-land-of-the-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-march/ Anti-Israel Activism Criminalized in the Land of Charlie Hebdo and 'Free Speech'] by Glenn Greenwald (October 27 2015, 7:34 a.m.) ''The Intercept''.</ref>

==Philosemitism==
{{cquote|A philo-Semite is an anti-Semite who likes Jews.|||Franklin Foer<ref name=eisner>[https://forward.com/opinion/398709/trump-loves-jews-like-cohen-and-dershowitz-for-all-the-wrong-reasons/ Trump Loves Jews Like Cohen And Dershowitz — For All The Wrong Reasons] by Jane Eisner (April 13, 2018) ''Forward''.</ref>}}
A less-obvious form of antisemitism is philosemitism, literally the liking of Jews. It is still antisemitic because it requires stereotyping: a philosemite likes Jews primarily because of their (positive) stereotypes of Jews, ''not'' primarily because they might have Jewish friends.<ref name=eisner/><ref>[https://momentmag.com/ira-forman-in-conversation-with-deborah-lipstadt/ Ira Forman in Conversation With Deborah Lipstadt] (March 21, 2019) ''Moment''.</ref> Examples of philosemitism are widespread, even in [[Taiwan]] and [[South Korea]].<ref name=rosenburg>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/21/trump-keeps-pushing-anti-semitic-stereotypes-he-thinks-hes-praising-jews/ Trump keeps pushing anti-Semitic stereotypes. But he thinks he's praising Jews. Philo-Semitism may seem benign. It isn't.] by Yair Rosenberg (August 21, 2019) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> The reason that philosemitism is not benign is because the person or entity advocating philosemitism uses stereotypes that are also appealing to antisemitism.<ref name=rosenburg/>

[[Donald Trump]] is a prominent example of philosemitism. He has had many close Jewish associates and his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism, but Trump has expressed stereotypes of Jews throughout his life.<ref name=rosenburg/>

*"I've got black accountants… Black guys counting my money! I hate that. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day."<ref>[http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/With-both-candidates-viewed-unfavorably-expect-a-8052738.php With both candidates viewed unfavorably, expect a bloodbath] by Joe Garofoli and John Wildermuth (June 11, 2016 Updated: June 11, 2016 9:10pm) ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref><ref>''Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump-His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall'' by John R. O'Donnell (1991). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 067173735X.</ref>
*"If you vote for a [[Democrat]], you're very, very disloyal to Israel and to the Jewish people."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-frustrated-by-unpopularity-with-jews-thrusts-israel-into-his-culture-war/2019/08/21/81557d10-c428-11e9-b72f-b31dfaa77212_story.html Trump, frustrated by unpopularity with Jews, thrusts Israel into his culture war] by Philip Rucker (August 22, 2019) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
The first quote is based on the stereotype that Jews are better at [[accounting]] or [[business]] (and is also noticeably [[racist]]). The second quote is based on the stereotype that Jews have divided loyalty between their country of nationality and Israel.<ref name=rosenburg/> It also, oddly, implies that Democrats are more loyal to the US than [[Republicans]] are, or at least don't have a divided loyalty. Or something.

An older example is [[Mark Twain]], whose work ''{{wpl|Concerning the Jews}}'' is in part philosemitic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kahn |first=Sholom J. |date=1985 |title=Mark Twain's Philosemitism: "Concerning the Jews" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41641270 |journal=Mark Twain Journal |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=18–25 |issn=0025-3499}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kravitz |first=Bennett |date=2002 |title=Philo-Semitism as Anti-Semitism in Mark Twain's "Concerning the Jews" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41970387 |journal=Studies in Popular Culture |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=1–12 |issn=0888-5753}}</ref>

==Formal definition==
In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance decided on a non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by multiple governments:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161019015842/https://holocaustremembrance.com/sites/default/files/press_release_document_antisemitism.pdf Romanian Chairmanship] (26 May 2016) ''International Holocaust Remembrance Committee''.</ref><ref>[https://antisemitism.org/definition/ What is Antisemitism?] ''Campaign Against Antisemitism''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190516145928/https://www.state.gov/defining-anti-semitism/ Defining Anti-Semitism] ''United States Department of State''.</ref>
{{cquote|Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.}}
The definition included several examples of antisemitism:
{{cquote|
*Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a [[radical]] [[ideology]] or an extremist view of religion.
*Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
*[[Scapegoat|Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.]]
*Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of [[Nazi Germany|National Socialist Germany]] and its supporters and accomplices during [[World War II]] (the Holocaust)
*Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
*Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
*Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
*Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
*Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
*Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
*Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.}}

The definition however, was met with criticism by academics, civil libertarians, and anti-Zionists on the grounds that it would stifle free speech and legitimate criticisms of the state of Israel by conflating protected political speech with discrimination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2023/06/06/antisemitism-definition-israel-palestine/|title=Biden Embraces Antisemitism Definition That Has Upended Free Speech in Europe|first=Alice|last=Speri|date=6 June 2023|website=The Intercept}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/7/adoption-of-anti-semitism-definition-curbs-free-speech-report|title=Adoption of anti-Semitism definition curbs free speech: Report|first=Al Jazeera|last=Staff|website=www.aljazeera.com}}</ref>The [[American Civil Liberties Union]] noted that the adaptation of the IHRA definition led to the censure of pro-Palestinian activism among students and academics in European universities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alonso |first=Johanna |date=2024-02-08 |title=ACLU Warns Against Adopting Antisemitism Definition |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/02/08/aclu-urges-education-dept-reject-antisemitism-definition |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=[[Inside Higher Ed]] |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Anti-Defamation League]]
*[[Blood libel]]
*[[Evil Jew]]
*[[Holocaust]]
*[[Holocaust denial]]
*[[International Jewish conspiracy]]
*[[Nazi Germany]]
*[[Passion play]]
*[[Racism]]
*[[Smoloko News]]: Which is so over-the-top and insane when it comes to these anti-Semitic theories.

==External links==
*[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/04/antisemitism-does-not-always-come-hitler-salute?CMP=twt_fd Antisemitism doesn't always come doing a Hitler salute], ''The [[Grauniad]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

[[Category:Antisemitism| ]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Religious discrimination]]
[[Category:Scapegoating]]
[[Category:Social justice]]

Categories: Antisemitism, Judaism, Political terms, Racism, Religious discrimination, Scapegoating, Social justice