Racism and Anti-Semitism

It is impossible to understand Anti-semitism without understanding what it is about the Jews that makes them the target of such irrational hatred and persecution. It is difficult, however, to characterize a people, without implying a kind of racism in the process and to avoid that, it must be made clear the facts about Jews, their history, and relationships to Western civilization are not a characterization of individual Jewish people, and not an evaluation of the Jews as a class.

Anti-semitism is not, as some suppose, a unique form of racism. Its manifestation has been unique in a number of ways, some particularly evil ways, but its nature is the same old irrationality that judges people based on some ethnic or group connection, real or imagined. There is another ethnic group that has suffered a similar kind of racial discrimination and persecution as the Jews, the Gypsies. The similarity in their experience is revealing.

Roma persecution is recorded from as early as the fifteenth century, but the systematic persecution begins with the deportation orders issued by Bismarck in 1870.

According to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research policy paper "The Roma/Gypsies of Europe: a persecuted people," by Margaret Brearley, "From 1934 onwards some German Gypsies were forced into policed settlements. ... Late in 1938 the first racial law against Roma and Sinti, 'Fight against the Gypsy Menace', was enacted ....

"In 1940, 3,000 German and Austrian Roma and Sinti were deported to Polish camps or ghettos; the remaining 27,000 continued to be forced into holding camps. Following the German occupation of Austria in 1938, Austrian Roma were sent to work camps, concentration camps (e.g. Ravensbruck, Mauthausen and Buchenwald) or to a special Roma camp in Lackenbach. Roma in territories annexed or conquered by Germany were subject to similar treatment. Some fascist governments allied to Germany (particularly Croatia, Slovakia and Romania) initiated persecution of Roma without apparent pressure from Germany.

"The decision to annihilate all Roma was probably taken in mid-1942, after the Wannsee conference. ... by January 1942 several thousand Roma had been gassed in closed vans at Chelmno. Because records are incomplete and the statistics disputed, estimates of the total number of Sinti, Roma and part-Sinti murdered in the Holocaust vary from 200,000-500,000. Auschwitz-Birkenau contained a special Roma camp, where families were kept together, probably in order to forestall revolt. At least 19,000 were murdered or died there. Many Roma not allocated to the special camp also died in Auschwitz. Thousands of Romanies were killed in Belscn and Buchenwald and in extermination camps, including Belzec, Sobibor, Majdanek and Treblinka. Many were subjected to inhumane experimentation at Dachau (salt injections), Natzweiler (typhus injections), Sachsenhausen (mustard gas) and elsewhere. In Auschwitz Dr Mengele selected many Romanies, including children, for experimentation. Many Roma men, women and teenagers underwent forced sterilization.

"While over half of all German, Czech, Austrian, Latvian and Polish Roma died, some communities suffered even heavier losses. Virtually all Roma in Belgium, Holland, Estonia and Lithuania were annihilated, as were those in Croatia, where the Catholic-supported fascist Ustasa perpetrated mass atrocities against the Roma. Roma communities in the USSR, Romania, Serbia and Hungary each lost thousands, massacred by the Nazis."

One important similarity between Jews and Gypsies is their autoracism. Both Jews and Gypsies, wherever they find themselves, continue to identify themselves by their own culture, which in the case of Jews, includes their religion. There are variations between various groups in different places and over time, but the essential characteristics Jews and Gypsies share that make them the unique target of exoracism are:

1. They both maintain their own cultural and social identity, which to varying degrees includes, language, dress, food, literature, music, and beliefs, which are different from the culture of the surrounding society.

2. They do not adopt, or only partially adopt the culture of the society in which they live, and therefore, however long they have been in a society, even if several generations, they often "seem" to be foreign and a bit strange.

Those aspects of exoracism experienced by both Jews and Gypsies are based primarily on ignorance of the nature and culture of those that are hated and an irrational fear of the unknown, but is made possible by the autoracism of the Jews and Gypsies themselves— it is their self-identification as Jews or Gypsies at which the exoracism of those who hate and fear them is directed. That exoracism is itself symptomatic of the autoracism of the haters, who regard individuals in the hated groups as inferior—because we are the superior, "German," "French," "British," Italian, "Russian," etc., and they are not us.

In addition to the obvious differences between the Roma and the Jews, their origin, their specific cultural differences, e.g. language, religion, diet, and customs, and the fact that there are so many more Jews than Gypsies (one reason the Jewish holocaust was so much greater in terms of numbers if not horror), there are other much more important differences. These do not alter the similarities in the racist hatred directed at them or the nature of the persecution, however.

Roma are a nomadic people. It is one of the things that makes them a source of irrational fear and a source of so many false stories about them. But it also contributes to something else which is seldom true of the Jews. From the same "The Roma/Gypsies of Europe" article, "They are virtually always on the bottom rung of society: the severity of their health, educational and housing problems approximates that in the developing world and is more acute than in any other sector of the population. In some Central and East European countries most Roma are destitute."

Gypsies are also much less visible than Jews. While the Nazi persecution of the Jews is well know, that against Roma is almost unknown, and since the Second World War, while persecution of the Jews has greatly decreased, it continues against the Gypsies. Again, from the same article, "Persecution of Roma today takes many forms. Grassroots prejudice, deriving from centuries of official outlawry, runs deep and often results in public hostility and discrimination, lynchings, house-burnings and murder. Roma are a prime target for skinhead and ultra-nationalist violence, and are sometimes victims of police brutality."

The most important difference between the Jews and Roma is that Jews are almost never, "on the bottom rung of society," are generally well educated, often financially successful, and this in spite of the history of their systematic persecution and marginalization.

The fact is important to understanding the nature of anti-Semitism, which is a variety of exoracism unique to Jews and one other unidentified class of human beings.

In his article, "Why the world hates the Jews," Michael Medved names what he considers the three reasons for anti-Semitism:

"2. The prominence and prosperity of Jews in most nations in which they’ve established significant communities.

"3. The startling successes of the State of Israel in the mere 60 years of its existence."

Medved argues that the first is a misunderstanding about what being, "the chosen people," means. According to Medved, it does not mean the Jews are chosen for special power, privilege, or blessing, but rather, a special responsibility. That is no doubt true, but even if it were otherwise, it would only be a kind of hubris and there are certainly many other nationalities that have an unrealistic pride in themselves. It is unlikely that any people are hated for that alone, and I'll explain what I think it really is.

I have already emphasized autoracism, "all by itself, is never a threat or danger to others." Nevertheless, it is a kind of autoracism Medved describes.

"How ... can we understand the imperishable belief that Jews function as an arrogant, imperious, overbearing people? In a few words, that resentment stems in truth from the age-old Jewish refusal to abandon our separate identity, our irreducible distinctiveness through the millennia....

"... If a small group among your neighbors refuses invitations to worship in your churches and mosques, to eat the food you prepare in your homes, to marry your daughters, to embrace your nationalisms, or to share your enthusiasm for the ultimate, universally applicable perfection of your Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Catholic, Islamic, Nazi or Communist worldview, then it’s all but certain you will resent the members of that stubborn group – and assume that they exclude themselves from elements of your society due to an innate, obnoxious sense of superiority."

I do not entirely agree with Medved here, but there are two very significant things he alludes to. The first he refers to as a kind of stubbornness, but I think it is something else, and is mistaken for hubris—it is really a kind of independence. It is not so much an "obnoxious sense of superiority" that people sense in this, although it is undoubtedly frequently described that way; it is in fact an expression of something which is always despised by a certain aspect of all societies, the idea of self-sufficiency, that kind of independence which says to rest of society, "we don't need you, and can, if we must, get along perfectly well without you." It is a strange kind of independence, however, because it is a collective independence. It is in fact one of the things that is resented about the Roma as well. No one says more loudly or clearly to all the rest of society by their behavior, "we don't need you," than the Roma. The significance of this independence will be more clearly seen when we look at who it is that hates the Jews, and why.

The other thing Medved alludes to is the Jews autoracism; their very existence is the result of the perpetuation of their identification as "a people." While their culture and religion cannot be separated from that identification, it is neither of these by themselves that is autoracism. It is the personal identification by individual Jews as members, collectively, of a "race," which membership is seen as a value in itself. (Race is really incorrect, because "Jews" include almost all races.) This in no way questions either their right or their wisdom in doing this, it is simply a statement of a fact, not a judgement.

It is, however, that autoracism that makes it possible to identify certain characteristics which are factually true about those who identify themselves as Jews. Facts about the "prominence and prosperity of Jews," that Medved attempts to counter by minimizing. That, I think, is a mistake, and it is the most important part of the explanation for the worst forms of anti-Semitism, though not in the way Medved thinks.

The following are all facts published about Jews by Jews. Some of this information is devilishly hard to come by, and in fact ought to be. It is only in the context of discovering what is perceived to be that "Jewish" identity toward which the vicious racism of anti-Semitism is directed that it is useful; and here it is useful, because it will also demonstrate the irrationality of that which is hated about the Jews.

While I do not agree that academic education or college degrees are necessarily an indication of one's "education," the figures are nevertheless significant.

"More than half of all Jewish adults (55%) have received a college degree, and a quarter (25%) have earned a graduate degree. The comparable figures for the total U.S. population are 29% and 6%."

"More than 60% of all employed Jews are in one of the three highest status job categories: professional/technical (41%), management and executive (13%), and business and finance (7%). In contrast, 46% of all Americans work in these three high status areas, including 29% in professional/technical jobs, 12% in management and executive positions, and 5% in business and finance."

Roughly 15% of men are self-employed while nearly 34% of Jewish men and women are self-employed. [Stats are for UK, but similar to US.]

"More than one-third of Jewish households (34%) report income over $75,000, compared to 17% of all U.S. households. Proportionally fewer Jewish households (22%) than total U.S. households (28%) report household income under $25,000. The current median income of Jewish households is $54,000, 29% higher than the median U.S. household income of $42,000."

The relationship of these facts to anti-Semitism is frequently attributed to envy. No doubt some of the hatred of Jews is just that, a kind of resentment of their success and prosperity, especially by those who mistakenly attribute it their being Jews, and not to their creativity and industriousness as individuals. But there is a more sinister reason the success of Jews is the cause of hatred.

On the Jewish web page, Famous Jews Interactive, users have listed a number of "Jewish Business and Banking Professionals," they admire. (There are many more not listed, unfortunately.) Unlike Medved, these Jews understand their success in business is something to be proud of.

A number of Jewish writers, including Medved, attempt to minimize the fact that Hollywood and the film industry are disproportionately Jewish. Ben Stein, however, makes the important point in the subtitle to his article, "Do Jews Run Hollywood?," by answering his own question, "You bet they do--and what of it?"

"Hollywood was not really "run" by anyone," Ben writes, "(it's far too chaotic for that), if Jews were about 2.5 percent of the population and were about 60 percent of Hollywood, they might well be said to be extremely predominant in that sector."

"... it is extremely clear to anyone in Hollywood that Jews are, so to speak, "in charge" ... in a way that is not duplicated in any other large business, except maybe garments or scrap metal or folding boxes."

Ben goes on to name some of the prominent Jews "in charge" in Hollywood today, then writes, "This has always been true in Hollywood. The ex-furriers who created Hollywood were Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and all of the great edifice of fantasy-making in Hollywood is their handiwork. Names like Zukor and Lasky and Goldwyn and Cohn are the foundation of mass culture in America and the world."

I do not agree with Ben that, "it took all these Eastern European Yiddish-speaking Jews to create the lasting, worldwide image of America and what America is--the mass culture mirror that America likes to hold up to its face," because others could have done it, it just so happens it was Jews who did. While I do not agree that, "the Hollywood product shows it has been a wholesome influence on American life," because it is has been a profoundly unwholesome one, especially since the sixties, but that has nothing to do with who was or is in charge—it would have been the same if it were the Japanese in charge. What is important is the obvious fact, Hollywood, and the film industry in general, in terms of business has been hugely successful, which means it is predominantly Jews who contributed to that success.

Many Jews are obviously very successful businessmen, and in terms of their numbers, disproportionately so. This has been so throughout their history, and is the root of a great misunderstanding, which will be addressed in the next article in this series.

Hank, you are doing an excellent job. I, too, have often wondered why the prejudice against Jews throughout history, going back much further than 1870. Why did Moses say, "Let my people go!" and then lead the Jews out of Egypt? (Assuming you believe that story.) They were slaves to the Egyptians just as any conquered people were during those times.

However, I have concluded it is part of human nature, part of our insecurity, our ego, and our search for control over our immediate social and physical environment.

Prejudice as judgment is inescapable in our "natural" being. That is why the Bible teaches against it with such statements as "Judge not that you be not judged." and "Hate the sin, not the sinner." It is an attempt to pull us out of our natural state into a different perspective.

Through time all groups, whether grouped by race, religion, status, or location have been prejudiced and have been the victims of it. It is our nature.

The antidote is self confidence.

Dennis Prager has given a talk (and co-authored a book) on this subject. He would not agree with Medved's reasons.

He ridicules the idea that claiming to be the "Chosen People" should have alienated non Jews, except for the fact that the non-Jews themselves really believed that the claim was true. The problem, he says, is that it was really recognized that Jews represented a unique event in the religious history of mankind, and that the Nazis (who were basically pagans) strongly resented this. Prager has a point. The Nazis were not pro-Christian, although they occasionally used Christianity as a front. (Even Stalin did the same thing, opportunistically; and today even Kim Il Sung pretends to tolerate a few Christian in North Korea (although most of the the Christians there have been killed off, or are being viciously persecuted). I once saw in a university library a special pamphlet issue to German troops in WWII by their officers to celebrate Christmas. The little booklet has lots of pictures of wreaths and decorated everygreen trees, but nothing specifically Christian: it would have passed muster with the ACLU. Much of the Nazi leadership was nominally Catholic, but they distained religion, and frequently ridiculed it in their propganda. It would be very natural for them to wish to destrioy a people and a culture which gave constant reminder of the primacy of moral law, which stood in the way of their ideal of the "natural man."

Jews who were attacked in Poland were not at the top of the socio-economic ladder. They were actually rather poor, especially by German standards. As Prager says, the pogroms in Russia were mainly against poor Jews.

A big justification for persecution of the Roma ('Gypsies") was the simple fact that many (perhaps most) of them were perennial thieves. Part of being a distinct alien group is that the majority culture is looked upon as potential prey. This was the Roma practice. Gypsies are still hated and distrusted today in many parts of Europe. The Nazis saw Roma not only as alien, but as parasites, which they were.

At the same time, the Gypsies were a favorite subject of stories and folklore popularized during the Romantic period, because their very independence appealed to the Romantic impulse in the general society. Their music was even imitated bu Romantic composers. Since Naziism was itself a Romantic movement, this led to a certain ambivalnce toward the Roma, but it was overcome by a decision to eliminate them.

There was little political activity on the part of the Roma, so the political motive for killing them was not present, as it was for the Jews, a hugely disproportionate number of whom had the very bad judgment to be communists (rivalsof the Nazis). The communists sometimes protected the Jews (and sometimes did not!), but they seldom protected the Roma, and persecuted them after the war in East Europe.

Part 1:

"-- The only people in this world who are neither autoracists or exoracists are independent individualists, and there are very few of those. --"

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As we see, there are quite a few "independent individualists":

What Is an Individualist
Address:http://theautonomist.com/aaphp/permanent/phil_gen/whatisindividual.php

"-- The individualist is totally confident in his own ability to make his own living, to make right choices, and to bear the responsibility for those choices; he is not dependent on anyone else, in any way. He neither desires or will accept the unearned or undeserved, he does not accept anyone's unasked, "help," and does not need it, and does not offer it to others.
He does not seek or require anyone else's agreement or approval before acting (and resents any kind of restriction on his life that forces him to get anyone else's approval or consent to do anything).

The individualist needs no one to "motivate" him, he is self-motivated; it is his life and his love of it that are his motivation. He neither follows or leads others, though others may choose to follow him, all his actions are his own and for himself; all other relationships are secondary. --"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2:

"-- It is, however, that autoracism that makes it possible to identify certain characteristics which are factually true about those who identify themselves as Jews. Facts about the "prominence and prosperity of Jews," -- --"

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Ignoring the 'autoracism theory' it becomes apparent that:

--- Jews gain "prominence and prosperity", because they are raised to be "independent individualists".

Hi Mind-numbed Robot,

"Prejudice as judgment is inescapable in our "natural" being."

I do not think prejudicial judgement is "natural," but do agree that most people are not careful about any of their thinking, and most people's veiws are not formed rationally, but ad hoc and eclectically, borrowed from their peers, teachers, and accepted authorities. The result is the most people are racist, and always will be, so "all groups, whether grouped by race, religion, status, or location have been prejudiced and have been the victims of it," is true and probably always will be.

Then you said, "The antidote is self confidence." That is very close to the solution suggested in the last article to be published. Stay tuned.

Hank

"He [Prager] ridicules the idea that claiming to be the "Chosen People" should have alienated non Jews."

I do too, as stated in the article.

My research indicated that, as with any general characterization of people (do all Italians really think they can sing and are all Frenchmen really carpenters), there is some basis in fact. Like any other people, whatever some do that are the source of a people's "reputation," it is never going to be true of every individual or even the majority--and that of course is one of the things wrong with racism. The Roma are no different.

Thanks for pointing out the romanticization of Roma or Gypsies, by the way. It is an interesting irony.

Hank

Ignoring the 'autoracism theory' it becomes apparent that:

--- Jews gain "prominence and prosperity", because they are raised to be "independent individualists"

It is true for those Jews who do gain "prominence and prosperity" that the degree of their independent individualism determines it. What we have to be careful of is attributing that individualism to their being Jewish or assuming that is some kind of universal Jewish trait--then it becomes racism. No doubt, the inordinate number of Jews who are socially and economically successful is because of their culture and teachings--but it only has meaning as each individual embraces and lives by (or does not) the principles they have been taught.

Hank

"Prejudice as judgment is inescapable in our "natural" being."

By this I mean that we like or dislike many things and people regardless of other considerations other than the things we like or dislike about them. Agreed that is often based on our values which are determined by many things. I think many, perhaps most, of these likes and dislikes are a natural result of our inner selves, our egoes and tastes, in the absence of our learned critical thinking. That is why I call them natural, they are much more innate than critical thinking.

Thanks a lot for posting this Hank. I'm finding it fascinating. It's also very easy to read and full of links. Obviously heaps of work and research has gone into the writing of it (thus saving lazy slobs like me the trouble !! :)
I've long been curious about the "why" of anti-semitism. I cannot see anything they do that others don't but do not attract the same level of irrational hatred. For example, I'm a Celt. I've never regarded it as anything other than an accident of birth. But I know a lot of Welsh people who identify themselves primarily by that fact as in "of course I have a fiery temper - I'm a Celt, we all do". "Of course I have a love of music and art, I'm a Celt, we're all very good at such." And so on. Not beliefs I, as an individualist share. And while, in England, there are many who feel resentment ("Bloody Taffy") being the characterisation, no-one wants to wipe Wales off the map, no-one things the Welsh are to blame for the troubles of the world. I've long come to see that ant-semitism is like the canary in the coal mine. It indicates the rise of something very ugly, very frightening and destructive.
Can't wait for the other articles.

You used the word, "ego," but I do not know what you mean by it. It's usual meaning is "self" but there is also a very badly mistaken meaning derived from Freud.

I use it to mean that inner feeling that deals with our self-worth.

Tastes, likes, dislikes, etc. (which are not conceptual) are not judgments, not actions of the mind. They are physiological, not psychological, and do not determine our thoughts, although we can certainly think about them.

I understand the distinction you make but I do not agree, at least not yet. Tastes, whether in food, art, fashion, etc., can be cultivated or changed through the conscious actions of thought. The same is true of people and races.

Most racism, including antisemitism, is either learned from others as the result of the personal ambitions of those others. It can also be a personal defense of the "self", if you prefer that, in an attempt to favorable compare oneself to the target group by denigrating them.

It is possible our differences are a case of degree or nuance with yours being more technically correct than mine, or maybe each side just needs further clarification.

--- Jews gain "prominence and prosperity", because they are raised to be "independent individualists".

I'd have to say that the trait of being an 'ii' is a pretty good marker for many of the highly successful individuals in society.

That's not to say all 'ii's are successful, of course. Lot's of them are eccentric cranks. But I'd wager that a fairly high percentage of the extreme upper strata of 'self made' wealthy folks are indeed ii's.

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