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To: my_pointy_head_is_sharp
Way to skip the offensive sentence just above that. It is typical of his defense: I like jews, I have jewish friends, some jews are good and have done good things - And becuase I said that, I must not prejudiced when I say, ". . . responsible for the destruction of the fiber of this country? Well, it's not the Arabs. It's "The Chosen People".

He could not have been more clear as to what he is saying. Then go look at his posts and his disdain for Jews calling themselves "The Chosen" people and how that moniker somehow makes them targets.

142 posted on 07/15/2002 3:16:15 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
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To: TheOtherOne
He could not have been more clear as to what he is saying. Then go look at his posts and his disdain for Jews calling themselves "The Chosen" people and how that moniker somehow makes them targets.

The "Chosen People" Theory

Knowledge of Jewish "choseness" is undeniably widespread. Several years ago, the University of California conducted a study of anti-Semitism. Non-Jewish Americans were presented with eighteen unfavorable statements about Jews, and asked whether they believed any of them. Fifty-nine per cent responded that they believed the Jews consider themselves to be G-d’s chosen people. This was by far the most widely-held belief among those surveyed.

In order to test whether this belief is indeed a legitimate cause of anti-Semitism – or whether it is merely another excuse – let us see what happens when Jews drop the claim that they are chosen. If Jewish "choseness" is in fact the cause of anti-Semitism, then hatred against the Jews should disappear. However, if Jewish "choseness" is just an excuse for anti-Semitism, then we should detect no improvement.

For our test case we need to find an era in history when Jews collectively rejected their "choseness" and were assimilated by their host nation. The choice is obvious – Germany at the turn of the century.

Germany -- the Jewish Motherland

Late in the nineteenth century, the Jews living in Germany and Austria denied that they were in any way "chosen." In fact, they believed that the non-Jews among whom they lived were the true chosen people. "Berlin is our Jerusalem!" they loudly proclaimed. Gentile society was their social environment of choice, and Germany was their beloved motherland.

Did anti-Semitism disappear? Well, we all know the answer to that question.

Following their espousal of their host nation’s culture, German and Austrian Jews experienced the most vicious outpouring of anti-Jewish hatred in recent history. Precisely when and where Jews rejected their claim to "chosenness," they suffered the most virulent forms of anti-Semitism.

Clearly, the "Chosen People" Theory does not pass this litmus test. Let’s see how it responds to others.

Click here for more analysis of "Why The Jews?"

145 posted on 07/15/2002 3:39:06 PM PDT by Alouette
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