The Longest Hatred

Antisemitism is hatred, discrimination or hostility toward Jews. It has existed for over 2,000 years, taking on various forms over the ages.  

In the Middle Ages, antisemitism was based on religious differences. The early Christian Church wrongly blamed Jews for the death of Jesus Christ. The Church claimed Jews worked with the devil to spread diseases, poison wells and cause crop failures. Jews were even accused of using the blood of Christian children in religious rituals. These lies led to violent attacks on Jews and their property. 

Later, an economic form of antisemitism arose. In medieval Europe, Jews were generally not allowed to own land. They were forced into jobs that were viewed as immoral, like money lending and trade. This led to stereotypes that Jews were greedy and controlled the economy. 

In early modern Europe, antisemitic conspiracy theories emerged. These insisted that Jews secretly controlled governments and world events. They said Jews were behind both capitalism and communism, using these systems to dominate the world. 

By the 19th century, new ideas about biology and genetics led to racial antisemitism. Jews were now labelled as a separate race with inherited traits. This is not true. But as nationalism spread across Europe, so did the idea of Jews as racial outsiders. 

With the rise of Nazism, racial antisemitism was taken to new extremes. The Nazis portrayed Jews as an inferior but powerful race, threatening the survival of the "Aryan race." Jews were blamed for causing Germany's defeat in the First World War. They became scapegoats for inflation, unemployment and the Great Depression. The Nazis revived centuries of antisemitic attitudes in the first step toward the genocide of the Jews.