ANTISEMITISM
THE ROOT OF ANTISEMITISM: WHY IT EXISTS Part 1
FEATURE SERIES
THE ROOT OF ANTI-SEMITISM: WHY IT EXISTS Part 1
The word antisemitism means prejudice against or hatred of Jews (the Hebrew people.) “The term "Jew" is derived from the name of Jacob's fourth son, Judah--Yehudah, in the Hebrew. … In the 5th century BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyrian King Sennacherib, and the ten tribes were exiled and lost. The only remaining Israelites were the residents of the Kingdom of Judah, and the term "Yehudi" or "Jew" came to refer to all the Israelites, regardless of their tribal ancestry.(Chabad.org https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/640221/jewish/What-is-the-Meaning-of-the-Name-Jew.htm)
Antisemitism is driven by the devil/satan/adversary/dragon/serpent/Lucifer, who was created by God as one of His angels. However, Lucifer wanted to be like God. (Is 14:12-14) Of course, no one is or can be like God. “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”(Is 46:9)Consequently, Lucifer and his angels were cast out of heaven to the earth, (Rev 12:7-9) where he battles against the powers of God to this day. Scripture records his first appearance in the Garden of Eden, where he deceived Eve into eating the fruit of the tree from which God had forbidden her and Adam to eat. (Gen 3:1-6)
Fast forward a thousand plus years to the Sinai Desert, where Moses spoke to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (the Hebrew people) the words God had given him for them, before they were to enter the promised land. “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”(Deut 7:6)
Now let’s connect the dots:
Lucifer is against God……The Hebrew people are God’s chosen people……. Lucifer is against the Hebrew people.
Because God chose the Jewish people to be His own special people Lucifer has made it his life work to destroy them. We see it as an earthly battle. In reality it’s a battle in the heavenly realm. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”(Eph 6:12)
The following three men were driven by the devil to destroy the Jewish people.
Haman
“King Ahasuerus promoted Haman … and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.” (Esther 3:1) All the king’s servants bowed and paid homage to Haman, per the king’s command. Mordechai, a Jew, refused to do so. Haman was filled with wrath because of this. However, he wasn’t satisfied with punishing Mordecai only. He sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
Herod
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews?’ For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”(Matt 2:1-2) The words of the wise men troubled Herod. He asked them to come back and tell him about the child, but the wise men were warned in a dream not to return to him. When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the wise men he had all the male children two years old and under who were in Bethlehem and in all of its districts put to death.
Hitler
In a speech to the German parliament in January 1939, Hitler stated that another world war will result in the elimination of Jews from Europe. In 1941, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich and other leading German authorities reached the decision to physically annihilate the Jews of Europe.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/adolf-hitler-key-dates?series=4
In the context of the economic depression of the 1930s, the Nazi Party gained popularity in part by presenting "Jews" as the source for a variety of political, social, economic, and ethical problems facing the German people. Inspired by Adolf Hitler's theories of racial struggle and the "intent" of the Jews to survive and expand at the expense of Germans, the Nazis, as a governing party from 1933-1938, ordered anti-Jewish boycotts, staged book burnings, and enacted anti-Jewish legislation. To justify the murder of the Jews both to the perpetrators and to bystanders in Germany and Europe, the Nazis used not only racist arguments but also arguments derived from older negative stereotypes, including Jews as communist subversives, as war profiteers and hoarders, and as a danger to internal security because of their inherent disloyalty and opposition to Germany. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/antisemitism?series=30
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THE RESULTS OF ANTISEMITISM Part 2
The devil has been at work here on earth ever since he was cast out of heaven, deceiving the world with his lies. His hatred, jealousy, and resentment of the Jewish people continue to this day. Here are the results of his activity in just the last couple of years.
2021
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in the 1910’s “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all...”
(www.adl.org/about/mission-and-history) The ADL tracks anti-Semitic incidents in the United States. Antisemitic incidents tracked in the 2021 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents reached an all-time high of 2,717 in the United States … – an average of more than seven incidents per day and a 34 percent increase year over year, including assaults, harassment and vandalism. This is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. (https://www.adl.org/audit-antisemitic-incidents-2021) The following is their summary for 2021.
Harassment: Of the total, 1,776 incidents were categorized as harassment, defined as cases where one or more Jewish people (or people who were perceived to be Jewish) were harassed verbally (or in writing) with antisemitic conspiracy theories, slurs or stereotypes. Acts of harassment increased 43%, up from 1,242 in 2020.
Vandalism: Another 853 incidents were categorized as vandalism, defined as cases where property was damaged in a manner that incorporated evidence of antisemitic intent or which had an antisemitic impact on Jews. Swastikas, which are generally interpreted by Jews to be symbols of antisemitic hatred, were present in 578 of these incidents. Acts of antisemitic vandalism increased 14% from 751 in 2020.
Assault: A total of 88 incidents were categorized as assault, defined as cases where Jewish people (or people perceived to be Jewish) were targeted with physical violence accompanied by evidence of antisemitic animus. Antisemitic assaults increased 167% from 33 in 2020. Eleven of the assaults in 2021 were perpetrated with deadly weapons. The 88 assaults resulted in 131 victims and no fatalities.
2021 Incidents by State: Incidents occurred in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. The states with the highest number of incidents were New York (416), New Jersey (370), California (367), Florida (190), Michigan (112) and Texas (112). Combined, these states account for 58% of the total incidents.
Monthly Comparisons: Incidents in 2021 were highest in May (387), December (275) and November (242) and were lowest in August (165) and January (173). The surge of incidents in May coincides with the military conflict between Israel and Hamas. The previous highest month on record was November 2018 (300 incidents), which was the month after the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh, PA. In every month in 2021 except for January and February, ADL counted an increase in incident reporting compared to the previous year. https://www.adl.org/audit-antisemitic-incidents-2021
2022
A report released on January 24, 2023 by the Department for Combatting Antisemitism of the World Zionist Organization shows that the number of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide has been “curbed” for the first time in a decade. There were 10 anti-Semitic incidents a day worldwide in 2022. “Antisemitism on social media is increasing at an alarming rate….” World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel said in a statement. The report noted a sharp increase in anti-Semitism in the United States in recent years, with a 61% jump “in the number of cases of violence or planning of violence against Jewish institutions.” https://www.jns.org/2022-saw-fewer-antisemitic-incidents-worldwide-for-first-time-in-a-decade/
2023
We are less than two full months into 2023. Here are some of the anti-Semitic incidents that have already occurred in the United States.
“A man threw a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue in Bloomfield, New Jersey, on Sunday (January 29, 2023) in an alleged arson attempt, according to both police and the synagogue. The suspect, at approximately 3 a.m., lit and threw the Molotov cocktail at the front door of Temple Ner Tamid, subsequently fleeing the scene. The bottle broke but did not damage the building….As a result of the attack, police in Livingston, approximately eight miles west of Bloomfield, plan to increase patrols of synagogues in the area.”
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/newjersey-synagogue-antisemiticattack/2023/01/29/id/1106392/
“On Monday, (January 30, 2023) UC Santa Barbara students and staff were shocked to discover anti-Semitic messages scrawled on a chalkboard of an Israeli Politics class on campus. One statement specifically read, “From the river to the sea,” referring to a common phrase symbolizing the total elimination of the State of Israel and Palestinian control from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. On Tuesday morning, residents and employees of businesses in the neighboring Isla Vista community were similarly shocked to find hundreds of flyers distributed in the area spreading anti-Semitic ideas, denying the Holocaust, and seemingly connecting Jewish people with racism, homophobia, and pedophilia.” https://www.independent.com/2023/02/01/two-anti-semitic-incidents-centered-near-ucsb-campus-leave-community-shocked/
“On Wednesday (February 1, 2023), Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) staff announced that graffiti of a swastika symbol was recently found on a pole in the Dos Pueblos High School athletic stadium. “While we have not determined the perpetrator, Santa Barbara Unified condemns this hateful act in the strongest possible terms,” the school district said. “A custodial team removed it immediately, and an investigation is now underway.” This is the third anti-Semitic incident to be reported in Santa Barbara County this week, following the spread of anti-Semitic messaging at UCSB and its neighboring community of Isla Vista. The string of incidents have occurred only days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day.” https://www.independent.com/2023/02/01/anti-semitic-graffiti-discovered-at-dos-pueblos-high-school/
FULTON COUNTY, GA – “Over the first full weekend of February, North Fulton County residents reported anti-Jewish flyers dumped on their lawns by a hate group. One of the recipients of those messages was a lawmaker who just happens to be working on a bill aimed at combating hate. "You don’t know if there’s something coming next," Esther Panitch (D) who represents Dist. 51 told FOX 5's Christopher King. Rep. Panitch says her husband stepped out of their home on Sunday morning to grab the newspaper when he noticed something littered on their property. "He came back in and said there was some antisemitic literature-garbage on our driveway," she told FOX 5. They were just one house among dozens around Dunwoody and Sandy Springs to receive bags full of corn kernels and propaganda. "It’s everywhere," Panitch said, "It just happens to be here now." https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/dunwoody-north-fulton-county-jewish-anti-semitic-message
Vero Beach, FL – On February 6, 2023, Vero Beach police issued an alert on social media that they had received several calls in reference to anti-Semitic materials being found on residential driveways. Officers collected about 50 bags containing papers with anti-Semitic rhetoric. https://veronews.com/2023/02/14/police-increase-presence-after-anti-semitic-materials-found-in-vero-beach/
DENVER, CO — “The University of Denver said Tuesday there have been three acts of antisemitism on campus in the past week including vandalism in residential halls. (published February 14, 2023) On Thursday, a resident at Johnson-McFarlane Hall said their door was vandalized. Two people that live in Nagel Hall reported on Monday evening that their doors had been vandalized and that religious items had been removed, DU said. Three students had their mezuzot torn from their doors, and one student had pork products glued to their door as well, according to an Instagram post from the DU Hillel and Daniel Bennett, executive director of Hillel of Colorado.” https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/university-of-denver-antisemitism/73-ec3bc41b-bbb1-4b07-9dd5-ff4bbb1f2f49
These are just a handful of incidents targeting the Jewish people in the United States this year. They are rooted in the hatred, jealousy and resentment of God’s chosen people, fed and fueled by the demonic spirits of satan’s kingdom. For those who continue to follow satan’s lead, standing against the Jewish people, they will receive what God promised them when He spoke these words to Abram, the father of the Hebrew people. “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:3)
THOSE WHO STAND AGAINST THE JEWISH PEOPLE WILL BE CURSED!
Posted 15 February 2023
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OUR RESPONSE TO ANTI-SEMITISM Part 3 Posted 04 April 2023
ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE CHURCH
How far has the organized church (Christianity) come from its origin? The first believers in Jesus as the Messiah were the 12 apostles, along with many other disciples who followed Him when He was a human on this earth. Scriptures give us an insight into their gatherings, their teachings, their obedience to Jesus’ directions, their guidance through the Holy Spirit, and so much more. (See the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.) They were the beginning of what we now call ‘the church.’ These first believers were Jewish. We hope you were already aware of that, although this truth is not always emphasized in the organized church. Unfortunately, the organized church has not only omitted this truth in their teachings. They have also worked hard to eliminate the Jewish roots of Christianity. Let’s take a look at where the anti-Semitism started and move forward from there.
In our previous article entitled “Our Response to Anti-Semitism” we included the following information concerning the organized church’s moving away from its Jewish roots. “By the end of the first century C.E., however, as the church became increasingly Gentile in demographics and leadership, the fierce loyalty to the Holy Scriptures and to the Judaic faith which Jesus and the apostles taught and practiced was replaced by an inclination toward traditions of the Gentile cultures and religion of the Greco-Roman world.” (1) “Christianity was systematically excised from its Jewish roots, as one by one the church transplanted the teachings of Jesus in the foreign soil of human tradition. The final blow of the Greco-Roman axe which severed Christianity from the tap root of Judaism was wielded by Constantine the Great, pontifex maximus of Roman polytheism, when he arrogated to himself the headship of the church, enjoined the observance of Sunday as a day of worship in the Roman Empire, and outlawed any practice in the church which was obviously rooted in Judaism.” (2)
Fast forward to the beginning of the second millennium. The organized church, at this point it was the Catholic Church, decided to liberate the Holy Land from the “infidel” Muslims. There were multiple Crusades between A.D. 1095 and 1250. In the first Crusade the European Christian army, estimated in the hundreds of thousands, attacked the Jews in the Rhineland before targeting the Muslims in Jerusalem. (3) The second Crusade traveled through the Rhineland as well, where the Jews were targeted again. Once in Jerusalem the Crusade leaders went so far as to “replace” the Muslims with the Jews as the defiling enemy of Jerusalem.
The Catholic Church continued to persecute those who didn’t conform to their “Unam Sanctum,” their claim that the pope had absolute authority in the church. This eventually led to the Inquisition. “The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy throughout Europe and the Americas. Beginning in the 12th century and continuing for hundreds of years, the Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its persecution of Jews and Muslims. Its worst manifestation was in Spain, where the Spanish Inquisition was a dominant force for more than 200 years, resulting in some 32,000 executions.” (4) King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain believed that the Jews who had converted to Christianity to avoid persecution were responsible for corruption in the Spanish Catholic Church. They formed the Inquisition, in which the Jews were forced into ghettos in order to be separated from the Christians. Thousands of Jews fled the country. Many that remained were tortured and burned at the stake. (5)
As if the Crusades and the Inquisition weren’t enough, Christians in England began an additional assault on the Jewish people – the Blood Libels. Supposedly, around Passover the Jewish people would kill a Christian boy and use his blood to bake matzah. If you know anything about Jewish dietary law, you know that it forbids consumption of blood in food, making these accusations patently false. The Blood Libels spread throughout Europe, and beyond, continuing even into the 21st Century. “A 2003 TV series broadcast in Syria and Lebanon based on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (a fraudulent document purported to be a report of meetings held by the Jewish people planning to create a new world state) shows the Jewish people as engaging in a conspiracy to rule the world and presents Jews as a people who murder Christian children and drain their blood to bake matzah.” (6)
A few hundred years later a shift occurred in the “organized” church, commonly called the Protestant Reformation. “By the 15th century, corruption in the Church was widespread and devout believers sought to rectify this. The refusal of the Church to address these criticisms eventually led to the schisms that would establish Protestant Christian sects which developed into denominations such as Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, and others.” (7) Martin Luther, a German monk, was one of the central figures in the Reformation. Luther initially was kind toward the Jewish people, with the purpose of converting them to Christianity. When they refused to convert, he changed his ‘kindness’ to anti-Semitism, even to the point of writing a document entitled “On the Jews and Their Lies.” Here are excerpts from that document.
“And so, dear Christian, beware of the Jews . . . you can see how God’s wrath has consigned them to the Devil, who has robbed them not only of a proper understanding of the Scriptures, but also of common human reason, modesty and sense. . . . Thus, when you see a real Jew you may with a good conscience cross yourself, and boldly say, “There goes the Devil incarnate.” ” (8)
“What then shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? … Their synagogues … should be set on fire and what does not burn must be covered over with earth so that no man will ever see stone or cinder of them again. Their houses also should be razed and destroyed… All their prayer books … should be taken from them.” (9)
Unfortunately, Luther’s words were embraced by Nazi Germany and used to support their desire to exterminate the Jewish people.
We need to revisit the beginnings of the organized church again to complete our discussion of anti-Semitism in the church. It is there that we find a belief that is still prevalent in the organized church – Replacement Theology. “Replacement Theology was introduced to the Church shortly after Gentile leadership took over from Jewish leadership. The premises of this belief are that Israel (the Jewish people and the land) are replaced by the Christian Church to fulfill the purposes of God and to become the historic continuation of “Israel” to the exclusion of the former. According to Replacement Theology, post the Pentecost event of Acts chapter 2, the term “Israel,” as found in the Bible, now refers to the Church. Therefore, the Jewish people are now no longer a “chosen people.” ” (10 ) If you have read the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then you will most definitely disagree with this belief. God made it clear through His servants that Israel would always be His people. He promised Abraham that he would be a father of many nations and made an everlasting covenant with him that He would be his God. (Genesis 17:1-8) He gave Jeremiah this promise. “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): ‘If these ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 31:35-37 NKJV) I think you will agree with me that this pre-requisite has not been met. Yep, the sun, moon, and stars are still in place! Israel has not been cast off. The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Romans concerning Israel. “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:28-29 NKJV) These are just a few Scriptures that repudiate the Replacement Theology belief that the Christian Church has replaced Israel to fulfill the purposes of God. To those of you who believe in Replacement Theology I ask, have you not read the eleventh chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans? “For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.” (Romans 11:16-21)
This article is by no means an exhaustive study of the history of anti-Semitism in the church. It is but a brief look at what humankind has done in the name of ‘Christianity.’ Dr. John Garr summarizes it in one sentence. “One of history’s most ironic aberrations is the fact that Christianity, the child, has for the most part risen up in antipathy toward Judaism, the parent, so that Judaeophobia, anti-Judaism, and anti-Semitism have come to characterize Christianity for more than nineteen centuries. (11)
Hopefully, what you have read here has caused you to think about your relationship with our Father God Yahweh, His Son Messiah Yeshua, and Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh.) As well, we hope it has caused you to reconsider how you think about the Jewish people. May you read Scriptures through a new and clearer lens, one that the Father has prepared for you from the beginning of time.
(1) Restoring Our Lost Legacy by John D. Garr, Ph.D. pg. 14
(2) Ibid pg. 22
(3) Constantine’s Sword by James Carroll pg. 237
(4) Inquisition by History.com Editors; Website Name: HISTORY;
URL https://www.history.com/topics/religion/inquisition Access Date: March 31, 2023
A&E Television Networks Last Updated January 10, 2023 Original Published Date November 17, 2017
(5) Ibid
(6) https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/blood-libel Accessed April 3, 2023
(7) Joshua J. Mark; Published Nov. 10, 2021; accessed April 3, 2023
https://www.worldhistory.org/Protestant_Reformation/#:~:text=The%20Protestant%20Reformation%20%281517-1648%29%20refers%20to%20the%20widespread,and%20leading%20to%20the%20development%20of%20modern%20nation-states.
(8) https://www.christiancentury.org/article/critical-essay/on-luther-and-lies by Rabbi Noam E Marans; Published October 11, 2017; Accessed April 3, 2023
(9) https://main-assets.ushmm.org/site/211203_pe_antisemitism_endcard.mp4 Accessed April 3, 2023
(10 ) https://www.khouse.org/articles/2020/1372/ by Ron Matsen; Published January 1, 2020; Accessed April 3, 2023
(11) Restoring Our Lost Legacy by John D. Garr, Ph.D. pg. 19 Posted 05 April 2023
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God Called A People:
“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants (seed) I have given this land, from the river (Vadi) of Egypt as far as the great river Euphrates.’” Gen 15:18
v “And I will fix your boundary from the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea) to the sea of the Philistines (Mediterranean Sea), and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates.” Ex 23:31
v “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.” Deut 7:6
v “O seed of Abraham, His servant, O son of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.’” Ps 105: 6-11
Check back often. This is an ongoing study.
REMEMBER
"NEVER AGAIN"
IS NOW!
PRESS CONF. ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE ASPECTS OF 7.10 - NOVEMBER 14, 2023 THIS IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND I SUGGEST YOU TAKE THAT TO NOTICE. IT IS HEART WRENTCHING AND ANGERING, AT LEAST TO ME.
THE HISTORY OF A MURDERED PEOPLE
ANTISEMITISM