Jews Face a Widening Web of Hate

[bemildred]

LA Times (Reg. Req.) has duelling OpEd pieces on
anti-semitism today. I thought I'd put them both up.
This is the "it's really really bad, and getting worse
all the time" point of view.

NEW YORK - Throughout the 1990s and even
after Sept. 11, 2001, discussions about
anti-Semitism often included the view that Jew
hatred had diminished and was no longer a real
threat. Such complacency is dangerous.
Anti-Semitism is not a relic of history but a
current event. Its resurgence is stronger and more
widespread than even the most pessimistic among
us predicted. And the threat is growing. Indeed,
the contemporary rise of this oldest hatred in the
world is by far the greatest since the 1930s,
sharing some characteristics of that most terrible
time for Jews. But it also has new forms and
modes of transmission.

In one weekend in November, two synagogues in
Istanbul, Turkey, were attacked simultaneously
by suicide bombers, and a Jewish school outside
Paris was destroyed by arson. These attacks
occurred about a month after the Malaysian
prime minister, in his swan song to the leaders of
57 Islamic nations, issued a call to a holy war
against the Jews "who rule this world by proxy."
Mahathir Mohamad proclaimed that Jews were
not just the enemy of Muslims but of all peoples
and nations. Whether the suicide bombers in
Turkey were moved by his message is a question
that will probably go unanswered. But one thing
is clear: Their acts were motivated by a
deep-seated anti-Semitism.

Meanwhile, in the United States, a Holocaust
museum in Terre Haute, Ind., was leveled by
arson. The attacker left behind the words "Remember Timmy McVeigh,"
which were spray-painted on an exterior wall. Acts of vandalism and
intimidation and anti-Semitic graffiti have hit other Jewish communities
across the country as well.

Where does this hatred come from? Why is it growing today?

LA Times

[bluesoul]

1. The other one is much more fair

pass it on...

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[drdon326]

3. message deleted by author

as i didnt even want the words here.

d

[edzontar]

4. What an enlightened comment!!! NOT!!!

God help us all when idiots like this visit our boards.

Begone!!!!

[bluesoul]

5. Yep

there's all kind of extremists...

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[drewb]

7. I'm starting to feel that "Widening Web" again...

Guess I better leave the I/P forum and go check out LBN and Economic Issues...

[Muddleoftheroad]

8. Before you go

You could answer the question.

[GabysPoppy]

9. We can wait

I'm sure s/he will return and answer the question. In the meantime I welcome others with a similiar viewpoint to feel free to add their comments.

[MikeGalos]

11. Maybe not

it's much easier to tell people to stop whining and asking for equal rights than it is to deal with them when they refuse to go quietly back into their place.

[Jack Rabbit]

10. Mr. Drewb

Before answering those questions, may ask you to please elaborate on your meaning? I find your post (quoted above) a bit vague. Since I am not as good as some others here at divining meaning from such little information as you have provided, I would ask if you could, on your own behalf, explain what you meant.

[legin]

12. Well I'm completely lost anyway

I know what it is, everybody has been taking acid down here again.

It's Beano time again. :evilgrin:

[drewb]

13. "Mr. Rabbit"

I don't think it was that confusing, but since you are someone that I respect here I will try to clarify for you.

I meant it in a way like -> If I am being mean to you and don't like you being mean back to me I may try being nice. Often times I find that being nice results in the other person being nice in return.

I don't think I was implying that someone should stop being black or gay or Jewish or whatever... Just stop being mean and maybe you will get nice in return.


Another thing I was alluding to in my original post in the other thread was that there is a lot of suffering in the world by a lot of different groups... More than enough actually...

Happy New Year, maybe next year we can post more articles supporting our points of view in the hopes of converting someone into believing "our point of view" is right...

[MikeGalos]

14. The problem with that

is that it implies that the hate bigots feel toward members of a group is based on the behavior of members of that group. That's a problem for a lot of reasons of which two are the most problematic:

1) It implies the bigot has a rational reason for their hate. As a counter-example, there is rabid anti-Semitism in countries where virtually nobody has ever seen a Jew. Personally, I don't tend to find a lot of rationality in bigots.

2) It implies that people should change their behavior to make bigots happy. Personally, I think it's the bigots that need to change.

While this may work as an individual (I'd argue that it really doesn't and just tosses you around trying to be all things to all people rather than being who you really are) it certainly won't work for a group that is hated not for their actions but for their existance.

[drewb]

15. There's not much you can do to please people that hate for no reason...

I guess you're right.

[sushi]

16. I would have thought

that there is a reason for everything. I have been wondering for quite some time now, but have not asked the question because I think it must have been discussed at length before I joined DU. What is the reason for this hatred? In a nutshell, if possible. I can understand disliking, intensely disliking, or even hating, one person or several persons one has quarelled with, but not a whole people.

[drewb]

17. I think...

I think that the unjustified hatred of Jews is the very definition of Anti-Semitism.

But... That's just my opinion...

[sushi]

18. Thank you

but where does that hatred come from. Who started it and why. It's normal for people to dislike or even hate other people, but for, if you can believe what you read, a whole lot of people in, if you can believe what you read, a whole lot of countries to hate a whole people is still a mystery to me.

[drewb]

19. I don't know...

Some people for one reason or another dislike Jews. The ones that have no reason to are called Anti-Semites.

I would guess that some of it started when (if you believe it and are a Christian) the Jews agitated to have Jesus killed. But that's not a good answer because I'm pretty sure there was a bias against Jews in general even before that.

Short answer... I don't know. It's an unjustified hatred, therefore there is no reason.

[MikeGalos]

20. It doesn't need to be unreasoned or unjustified since...

All bigots have "reasons" they'll happily explain to anyone who listens. Ask the Klan, they'll tell you all the "reasons" they have for hating Blacks, Catholics and Jews. And, I don't think anyone here is likely to say they're not bigots because they can give a "reason".

And, if we say a certain reason is bad because we don't like it but another is OK because we do, then we're just being bigots as well. It really isn't about reasons or justifications, it's about treating people as members of a group rather than individuals. No matter how "good" or "bad" the reasons given.

[sushi]

21. Then I expect

Mel Gibson's "Passions" to be widely debated. It's on my must-see list. I think I read the Pope likes it.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sushi]

23. Absolutely!

Most seriously! I already see a lot of movies with subtitles. Didn't know this one is without. Even more interesting. Wouldn't miss it for the world! I bet Aramaic is similar to Hebrew or Arabic. I speak several languages (English is my third), but, @#$%, no Aramaic!!!

[bluesoul]

24. Sushi if I may ask

where are you from and what's your first language? :)

[sushi]

27. Hope you don't mind, bluesoul

I like to remain mysterious! Wow, sounds fancy. I will say that I'm married to a Brit, so I speak English everyday, but my vocabulary is limited and I don't think in English. I grew up with three (English in school), and "get around" in another two, but I don't speak any of them well. That's the problem with too much in your head. My husband says not to be afraid of making mistakes, and to read a lot, and to check the spelling.

[bluesoul]

28. I don't mind Sushi

I respect your wish ;)

[drewb]

25. I'm actually looking forward to seeing it too...

I really enjoy watching history shows... I'd be happy if my TV only got the history channel.

[sushi]

26. Me too

Also movies like LOTRs. Have just seen the last one. I prefer to see forgettable movies at home but for spectacular ones you must go to the cinema. Best on the big screen. Have also just seen Russell Crowe's "Master and Commander," and am looking forward to "The Last Samurai," and "Troy."