I'm looking at this again. In the beginning nationalism, along with a new religion which held itself superior to others, caused the Hebrews/Israelites to be at odds with people. They founded a nation on conquered territory.phylo_roadking wrote:But that only explains 1948 to the present day - or at most 1919 to the present day. And only in the British Mandate/modern state of Israel, in the context of Palestinian vs. Jew. It doesn't really have any bearing on historical anti-semitism...and all those centuries when the Jews were socially/politically scattered across Euorpe and later the New World.Once nationalism became an issue, the integration became less and the separatism became more.
Then, after losing the nation, the Jews experienced the diaspora, during which time there was not nationalism to fuel anti-Jewish prejudice but rather the usual accusations of Christ-killers and the other areas we have already noted.
Then, in 1860, the term "antisemitism" was coined by a Jewish author to describe prejudice against the Jews, prejudice based upon the reasons given in the previous paragraph.
Then, subsequent to 1860, at some point, the genetic/racial inferiority charge came into being, was added to the mix of other prejudices, and thus antisemitism became what we know in Nazi Germany.
Meanwhile, as a result of decisions made after WWl, Jews and Palestinians were both deluded by the British about the dispensation of Palestine, thus exacerbating the nationalistic aspect of Judaism, which had for some time been, somewhat nascently it is true, alive via Zionism.
When the UN renamed "Palestine" "Israel," in 1949, that action put nationalism on the front burner as a reason for anti-jewish feeling: an historical circle, as we can see, and this Palestinian conflict has been the major focus on Jews in the world's eyes since.
So, now, since state antisemetism died with the Nazis (I'm sure someone will find exceptions to this), antisemitism is no longer strong as the racial/behaviorial combination but has come back for many people to being as it was during the diaspora, mainly a behaviorally-based prejudice against the Jews.
But the Palestinians do not, I think, view their anti-Jewish sentiment racially or behaviorally but as a nationalistic issue, as it was in the beginning. Perhaps, then, we have come to a point in history where we don't have, as a major problem, antisemitism. Rather, now, as in the days of Moses, et al, we have anti-Jewish prejudice and anti-Jewish nationalistic conflict as the larger issues, and antisemitism is not truly an accurate term for what most people who are prejudiced against Jews are feeling because the racial aspect is not there.
That Paul Johnson book, by the way, The History of the Jews is very good. I've read it. He does an excellent one on America, as well.
John