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Why are Jews so hated?

Why have Jews been so hated across history?


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I'm as atheistic as it gets myself but I don't convince myself that if we rid ourselves of religion we'll suddenly stop fighting each other.

Oh, no, we'll still find ways of fighting each other.

But, maybe we'll quit persecuting people because they have different beliefs.
 
I'll give all silly religions another century or two, then, our planet will be 100% atheist and man will finally live in peace.

You mean in the pure peace brought by Stalin and Mao?
 
If they're Jewish, then they're not Christian and not Muslim.

So, is it only Jews, or is it anyone who isn't Christian or Muslim?

I have a difficult time understanding all of the rancor between the religions. It seems to me that the persecution would end if only freedom of religion became more wide spread, and if perhaps people would quit taking religion so seriously.

Do you think it is because of Jew's religion? Stalin persecuted Jews horrifically in the end. Was his motive religious?

I do not recall Hitler ever giving any religious reason for his views about Jews either.
 
Do you think it is because of Jew's religion? Stalin persecuted Jews horrifically in the end. Was his motive religious?

I do not recall Hitler ever giving any religious reason for his views about Jews either.

I don't know. What else is different about Jews besides Judaism?
 
I'm as atheistic as it gets myself but I don't convince myself that if we rid ourselves of religion we'll suddenly stop fighting each other.

The most deadly war in USA history was the Civil War. Both sides had the same religion. There was no religious issue in the American revolutionary war or the war of 1812. What was the religious issue between the sides in WWI or WW2?

Hitler, Stalin and Mao - none of those gave any religious reason for their genocides. Nor was there a religious reason in Cambodia. The slaughters in Africa are along tribal and clan lines, not religious lines.

The chanting that religion is the number one cause of wars and genocide is outright factually false.

Curious how people see this question as a basis to attack religion in toto. But I suppose it no surprise that non-religious people would find any way to claim "it certainly wasn't by people like me, but it was those different people who are responsible."

I suspect it is THAT view that is at the core of the #1 reason for ethnic and racial genocide - to blame those people who are different for everything bad that happens - like you just did.

There is NOTHING in history to show that atheism is peaceful or avoids violence, nothing at all.
 
I don't know. What else is different about Jews besides Judaism?

They are a different racial/ethnic group who holds pride in that identity. I suspect most American Jews are Jews only in some racial/ethnic sense, not in a practicing religious sense. Like most people, I know some Jewish people. I do not know any who are devoted Jews in religious practice. Some won't order shrimp or pork as the extend of being religiously Jewish.
 
Jews were (and are) persecuted for being Jewish, not merely for not being Christian or Muslim.
There were Christians who were executed during the Holocaust because they had some distant relative who used to be Jewish.

For Hitler it was entirely racial, not religious. Religious practices was never a consideration. It was entirely about genetics. The 1924 Immigration Act in the USA also was about eugenics - in which Jews, Blacks, Arabs and anyone oriental was deemed genetically inferior that would harm the USA's genetic pool.

I think it is generally not about religion directly for the most part, but more about the broader nature of xenophobia - and the convenience of finding others to blame.

How do the dictators of the Muslim countries in the ME prevent rebellion by their massively poor populations against the massive amounts of money those dictatorships put in their own pockets? Divert the anger, hatred and blame at the Jews and West.

Isn't that exactly what Hitler did? All of Germany's problems were caused by the Jews and Western powers?
 
They are a different racial/ethnic group who holds pride in that identity. I suspect most American Jews are Jews only in some racial/ethnic sense, not in a practicing religious sense. Like most people, I know some Jewish people. I do not know any who are devoted Jews in religious practice. Some won't order shrimp or pork as the extend of being religiously Jewish.
So, any minority could be the subject of persecution. Come to think of it, the gypsies and gays were also the subject of persecution by the Nazis. The persecution of minorities, whether it is based on racial characteristics, religion, language, or ancestry, seems to have a long and not so proud history among human beings.

Yet, the persecution of Jews does seem to have been particularly harsh, historically. There was the holocaust, of course, and before that the inquisition and other atrocities.

Perhaps there just is something within the human genome that likes to persecute people who are different, regardless of what that difference may be.
 
There is really no liberal atheist reason to hate Jews. Which suits me fine, being a liberal atheist.
 
So, any minority could be the subject of persecution. Come to think of it, the gypsies and gays were also the subject of persecution by the Nazis. The persecution of minorities, whether it is based on racial characteristics, religion, language, or ancestry, seems to have a long and not so proud history among human beings.

Yet, the persecution of Jews does seem to have been particularly harsh, historically. There was the holocaust, of course, and before that the inquisition and other atrocities.

Perhaps there just is something within the human genome that likes to persecute people who are different, regardless of what that difference may be.

It may be that simple. And because Jews tend to resist social and religious assimilation - and instead survivors tended to flee to still another region - this put Jews all over the world (except Asia) - thus have been persecuted all over the world.

A reason this may not be the ongoing history in the USA is because most American Jews have assimilated in all outwards ways. They do not dress like Jews, do not live in Jewish enclaves, and nothing about them outwardly says "I'm a Jew" nor "this is a Jewish community."

Nearly all other peoples will assimilate to the social, religious, behavior and moral practices of the society they are in. As the most notable example, basically 100% of those of other ancient religions of the ME - religions that existed at the same time as Judaism - abandoned those religions entirely over 1000 years ago - if for no other reason than they would be killed if they didn't become Muslim. Yet Jews opted instead to flee, dig in, or just be killed.

So we also approach the question of what is it about Jews or Judaism that causes them to so militantly refuse to stop being Jews? At least outside of the USA? Why do Jews so resist full assimilation given the terrible costs of not doing so?
 
Do you think it is because of Jew's religion? Stalin persecuted Jews horrifically in the end. Was his motive religious?

I do not recall Hitler ever giving any religious reason for his views about Jews either.
Yes. Jews were already despised by the time Stalin and Hitler took office. Both dictators seized the centuries long religious hatred and manipulated it to their own political goals. Neither reinvented antisemitism from nothing using only non-religious reasoning. It had already existed.
 
There is really no liberal atheist reason to hate Jews. Which suits me fine, being a liberal atheist.

Sure there is. Stalin was not religious. Hitler's reasons weren't religious.
 
Yes. Jews were already despised by the time Stalin and Hitler took office. Both dictators seized the centuries long religious hatred and manipulated it to their own political goals. Neither reinvented antisemitism from nothing using only non-religious reasoning. It had already existed.

That does not explain why they "seized" on that. Both gave other reasons. Stalin believed Jews were conspiring to assassinate him for economic and property reasons, economic reasons. Hitler's genetic reasons extended beyond Jews to other people with no religious implications - such as birth defects and homosexuals.

There are many, many examples of genocide that had no religious basis whatsoever. For example, Cambodia.

I understand the tendency of atheists to try to blame everything on religious people, but history proves that wrong. If anyone can point to a NICE and PEACEFUL atheist society in history, do so. It never happened, though there has been atheist governments. They have tended to be the most murderous.
 
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The are many, many examples of genocide that had no religious basis whatsoever. For example, Cambodia.
We're talking about antisemitism in Nazi Germany and Stalin's USSR. Both dictators seized the religious reasons for why Jews were hated, the religious reasons why Jews were already an oppressed, easy target group of people, and capitalized upon that existent hatred for their own ends.

For example - creating a common enemy for the state to unite against; or eliminating the liberal intelligentsia that comprised the opposition to their respective regimes.
 
Sure there is. Stalin was not religious. Hitler's reasons weren't religious.

I said liberal atheist. Hitler was a social conservative.
 
I understand the tendency of atheists to try to blame everything on religious people, but history proves that wrong. If anyone can point to a NICE and PEACEFUL atheist society in history, do so. It never happened, though there has been atheist governments. They have tended to be the most murderous.
Modern day Czech Republic. It's upwards of 80% atheist.

Secondly we atheists do not have sacred, Holy Texts that we wave in other's face that literally blame an entire group of people for committing the worst act in the history of the Universe.

Therefore Amadeus is correct. There is no liberal atheist reason to hate Jews. And given that most Jews in Europe and America ARE liberal, secular (atheists!) Jews, and reinforce this in their voting patterns, I do believe they would agree with my statement.

I said liberal atheist. Hitler was a social conservative.
 
You mean in the pure peace brought by Stalin and Mao?
Peace is rarely reached through authoritarian dictators. Their religion wasn't really relevant.
 
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Why? Why are the Jews so hated everywhere leading to countless incidents of organized violence, murder, imprisonment, and other genocidal natured oppression?

I don't think there is a high amount of hate for Jews in general in the West. I do think people don't particularly care for people like Ariel Sharon because such people are liars and murderers, but that isn't because of them being Jews.
 
My roommate in college was Jewish. He always forgot to wash the dishes. That peeved me a bit.

;)

I don't know, I never understood bigotry against Jewish people. I am certainly no fan of the Israeli government but even the stereotypes that surround Jewish people seem innocuous to me. I don't get it.
 
I don't think there is a high amount of hate for Jews in general in the West. I do think people don't particularly care for people like Ariel Sharon because such people are liars and murderers, but that isn't because of them being Jews.

Since essentially all Jews are gone from Western and Eastern Europe there aren't many Jews left to hate. It's like saying there aren't many Americans who still hate "Indians." But then there aren't many Native Americans left.

Not one person still hates original Indigenous people of the Caribbean. Of course they were 100% genocided into non-existence so who is there to hate? And, being gone, nothing left to protest nor any reason to bother condemning anyone either.
 
Modern day Czech Republic. It's upwards of 80% atheist.

Secondly we atheists do not have sacred, Holy Texts that we wave in other's face that literally blame an entire group of people for committing the worst act in the history of the Universe.

Therefore Amadeus is correct. There is no liberal atheist reason to hate Jews. And given that most Jews in Europe and America ARE liberal, secular (atheists!) Jews, and reinforce this in their voting patterns, I do believe they would agree with my statement.

Why don't you guys get your story at least consistent?

Out of one side of your mouths you curse American Christians for loyalty to Israel because it is a Jewish country for religious reasons - and out of the other side of your mouth you declare is it Christians who have reason to hate Jews for religious reasons.

SO... are you going to stick with Christians hate Jews for religious reasons OR the claim that Christians blindly support Jews for religious reasons?

WHICH ONE IS IT? PICK ONE.
 
Since essentially all Jews are gone from Western and Eastern Europe there aren't many Jews left to hate. It's like saying there aren't many Americans who still hate "Indians." But then there aren't many Native Americans left.

Not one person still hates original Indigenous people of the Caribbean. Of course they were 100% genocided into non-existence so who is there to hate? And, being gone, nothing left to protest nor any reason to bother condemning anyone either.

There are a lot of Jews in the United States. In fact the very best friend I ever had a Jewish mother.
 
It may be that simple. And because Jews tend to resist social and religious assimilation - and instead survivors tended to flee to still another region - this put Jews all over the world (except Asia) - thus have been persecuted all over the world.

A reason this may not be the ongoing history in the USA is because most American Jews have assimilated in all outwards ways. They do not dress like Jews, do not live in Jewish enclaves, and nothing about them outwardly says "I'm a Jew" nor "this is a Jewish community."

Nearly all other peoples will assimilate to the social, religious, behavior and moral practices of the society they are in. As the most notable example, basically 100% of those of other ancient religions of the ME - religions that existed at the same time as Judaism - abandoned those religions entirely over 1000 years ago - if for no other reason than they would be killed if they didn't become Muslim. Yet Jews opted instead to flee, dig in, or just be killed.

So we also approach the question of what is it about Jews or Judaism that causes them to so militantly refuse to stop being Jews? At least outside of the USA? Why do Jews so resist full assimilation given the terrible costs of not doing so?
That I don't understand. Here, you don't really know whether someone is a Jew unless they tell you or you find out their last name is Goldberg or something. Then, when you do find out, it's, Oh, how interesting, what do you like to do in your spare time? It really doesn't matter to most Americans. It's like saying, "I like to play golf, do you?" or something similar. It could spark a conversation about golf, or religion, but it's not a matter of great interest. They've simply assimilated into our society.
 
Modern day Czech Republic. It's upwards of 80% atheist.

Secondly we atheists do not have sacred, Holy Texts that we wave in other's face that literally blame an entire group of people for committing the worst act in the history of the Universe.

Therefore Amadeus is correct. There is no liberal atheist reason to hate Jews. And given that most Jews in Europe and America ARE liberal, secular (atheists!) Jews, and reinforce this in their voting patterns, I do believe they would agree with my statement.

It was Czech's who most supported Israel's war when under attack my numerous Muslim countries. The Czech's learned of the folly and betrayal of "land for peace" - the Chamberlain plan.
 
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