First, puh-lease - no "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion", etc, lunacy. I'm baffled that of all the various nationalities, tribes, and groups of the world, this one seems to have been singled out for persecution, especially since judaism is the ancient root and wellspring of christianity, which I understand has 1 billion adherents. I wonder how it originated and what's kept it going for centuries, even to this very day.

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Read this post quick before the mods delete it!

I'm not sure anyone knows why the Jews were persecuted so often through history... but I have a few hypotheses.

1. The Jews have been a strong and unified minority within a lot of different cultures, some who accepted others who did not. For instance under the Persians and Romans, they were more or less tolerated as long as they agreed to live under the empire. But the Assyrians demanded assimilation of their subjects. The Jews, being a strong and unified minority, would end up being recipients of persecution any time they fall under the reign of such an empire.

2. The Jews were the only culture to survive such a strong history of persecution over so many generations, always being in the edges of society rather than the primary culture... and more importanttly they recorded it. A lot of other such groups might have been destroyed under persecution or perhaps they just didn't do as good a job at recording it. The Roma have a long history of persecution also.

3. The Jews have a religion that indicates they are the chosen people. For a variety of reasons, from the unification and resolve this gives them to the general abrasiveness this might have brought to other cultures, this might have caused them more persecution when under the reign of other cultures. It would also help to explain how they've managed to record this history in such a way that it seems an ongoing story.

4. The Jews have a history of doing well in the professional classes of societies in which they are tolerated, sometimes cornering markets. This leads to resentment in other groups, especially the modal group of the society and leads to persecution when a change occurs in system. WWII is not the only such instance. Chinese in the Phillipines have been widely despised and victims of many crimes due to their status in professional careers. There is a scholar (her name's something like Amy Chua) who studied the phenomenon of what happens when countries with a "privileged minority" suddenly become democratized... typically leads to violence. That is what the Sunnis are afraid of in Iraq.

Could be one, some, all, or none of those things.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

The Jews I think why they are so hated is because most of the conflict in the world evolves around them. Which puts them in the middle of it all. Like WW2 for example. Jews were hated by Hitler because of his father (A Jew), and they was right there in Germany.

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To take this further, as outsiders within society, Jews made convenient scapegoats for the problems within the society, Hitler's Germany being the most recent and perhaps well known example today. I also know Jews were often blamed for and attacked because of the Black Plague in Europe.

I hate to be prejudice, but I can't help it. We all have our prejudices. From my experiences, at best, Jews, at least those who are very serious about their religion, seem extremely reclusive. They don't seem at all interested in befriending nonJews or even holding a conversation with them. A jewish student of mine from Turkey (a mixed society) explained to the class that as a child, her mother had always taught her that Jews are most important. You should help another Jew in need before you help anyone else. At worst, they are often downright arrogant and condenscending. I taught a few Israeli immigrants, and they were consistently disruptive and rude, always ready for the oppotunity to make other students and the teacher look foolish. Whether or not these characteristics are the cause or the result of their persecution, however, is debatable.

This is also a good point. Outsiders are not supposed to be successful (at least that's often the attitude the majority takes toward them), so when they are, jealousy usually erupts.

Could be one, some, all, or none of those things. [/quote]

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The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

"You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

[/quote]

Well, you have a point. The Jews was just really hated and yet popular for there skills in money, and music. So when they took jobs of those who sucked at it, made those people mad. And if you really look back to the times of Jesus, Jews was hated for the death of him. So people already think they are going to hell, why not make their lifes miserable? Thats what they think. Thats why that are so hated.

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In Fort Jackson, South Carolina! Be back in November!

[/quote]

First, you aren't prejudiced. Prejudice indates lack of experience and lack of exposure. You stated that you draw your conclusion from the experience you have had with Jews. You might be making a generalization from just a few examples, but that is not prejudice. However, I will respond to the content of your post.

As a Jew, I can both see where you are coming from and see how your conclusion is a bit wrong. There is a strong feeling in Judaism that we must help ourselves because we believe that others have not and will not. That leads to the idea that Jewish charities are a better effort than generally beneficial non-Jewish ones. We feel that if we do not help each other, our way of life will cease to exist. There is an old Jewish saying that goes like this: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" This quote captures your sentiments that we look after ourselves before anybody else, and perhaps prefer other Jews than gentiles. It also provides a bridge into my point of view. We must look after ourselves to preserve our spirit and to survive. However, the second question is, "If I am only for myself, what am I?" Notice the usage of the word "what" as opposed to the word "who." We believe that helping others is so important that If you do not, you are no better than an animal. Our form of "charity" is called "tzedakah." It is a little different from charity in that it requires no "feeling for the unfortunate souls." Tzedakah is a commandment. You must help others, whether you feel like it, or want to, or fell close to your fellow man, or not. IT doesn't matter how you feel in your heart, you must help out the less fortunate because it is the right thing to do. In fact, that sociologically leads to us Jews helping out people more than gentiles, as exemplified by the situation in Darfur. Darfur wouldn't be even a blip on most people's radar screens if the Jews did not take the cause and lift it into the public arena. More Jews help them out than any other demographic in the world. The Jews are more aware of the situation than most others. And the people who we are helping in Darfur are Muslim, to boot.

About your experience with the Israeli immigrants, Israelis are almost bred to be "rude" and "disruptive." That's how they are. That is just how they are. They come that way. Those are Israelis for you.

I have something else to add concerning why Jews are so hated, and it dates back to the very beginning of Judaism. In the beginning, all Jews ate kosher. That was just how it is. Back then, "kashering" (making the food kosher) had a "side-effect" of making the food Jews ate slightly healthier and less diseased than the diets of the surrounding cultures. These surrounding cultures were pagan, mystical, idolators. They took the Jews' relative lack of illness to mean that they were protected by some evil power. This idea persisted enough that when the Christians had a chance, they borrowed that pagan mysticism (like they borrowed Christmas) and made the Jews the associates of Satan. That takes care of that facet of the persecution my Jewish people have had to suffer over the centuries and millenia.

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People are called "human beings" when somebody is trying to make a moral or emotional appeal to somebody else. Why are dead people not called "human beens"?

Pre-Roman Occupation:
They were no more hated than any other tribe.

Roman Period:
The Romans wanted to drain the resources of the area and generally didn't interfere with the Jews unless their radical types tried to foment revolt. When an emperor insisted that his bust be placed within the Temple so that the Jews could worship it along with their own god, the monotheist Jews ejected the imperial demand. The perceived insult to Rome began a series of events that eventually led to the destruction of the Hebrew political entity. When the Temple was pulverized and most of the Jerusalem population massacred, the Jews transformed themselves from a Temple-Ruled political entity to a Rabbinic religious entity.

Post-Rome:
Wishing to maintain their identity, the Jews kept to themselves as best they could and resisted intermarriage. Being self-isolating, exchange with the remainder of the world was ofter limited and tense.
In Western societies, Jews were sometimes tolerated and sometimes abused. When laws were passed which prevented Jews from owning farmland, they naturally moved to the cities and towns where they became skilled craftsmen.
For many centuries the West prohibited Christians from lending money at a profit. Such activity was known as usury. Jews, however, were not prohibited from money-lending. [See Merchant of Venice- Shakespeare]

Living in metropolitan areas, valuing education, and having to work in commerce proved to be quite lucrative for the group. This wealth only exacerbated the tensions between the clannish Hebrews and the jealous Christians.
The Inquisitions launched by Roman Catholics often succeeded in confiscating the estates and wealth of Jews.

Hitler did it again very recently.

Bullchips. Go look at every single major conflict going on, around the world. There's one common denominator....MUSLIMS are always on one side of the fighting.
But, oh no....Muslims are almost glorified around the world. Hell, the Commucrats in the USA actually feel sorry for them. So your logic doesn't hold water.

I too, wonder why Jews have endured such a bad rap. I haven't heard about Jews sawing off innocent peoples' heads on video. I'm pretty sure the Jews aren't parading their children around in suicide vests. The Jews haven't decried to the world, their intentions to destroy anyone who doesn't believe in Judaism. I'm almost positive that no one named "Schwartz" ever tried to blow up an office building, full of people, in the name of Yahweh.

How do you define major conflict? Because in order to define things so that the above is true, I think you might be able to make the same case for Christians.

Iraq and Afghanistan? Christians (U.S.) against Muslims.

Somalia? Christians (Ethiopia) against Muslims.

Sudan? Christians (in the south) against Muslims.

Chechnya? Christians (Russia) against Muslims.

Phillippines? Christians against Muslims.

Kosovo? Christians against Muslims.

Of course, if you define conflict in a meaningful sense, neither is true. The Sri Lankan civil war involves neither Muslims nor Christians to any great degree (it's mostly Hindu vs. Buddhist, but it's more driven by ethnic differences than religious ones). The Congo bloodbath is taking place in a largely Christian country. The fighting in South America is almost entirely Christian on Christian, though one can argue that Marxists and drug smugglers are not believers. Muslims are entirely absent, however.

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Man up.

Yes. I forgot that part. Most ethnic conflict begins as a conflict over resources or power. There needs to be a reason for people to look for a scapegoat before there is a scapegoat. This was even true in witch hunt days. Pagan traditions stuck within peasant Christianity for a long time... but changes in the economy created a need for the Church to aim out a scapegoat (I've seen the reason listed as anything from the beginnings of modern medicine to the beginnings of industrial capitalism... both of which required a big leap from pagan peasant ways... and conveniently the Church could help itself along the way )
I wonder whether it begins though by the people unleashing anger on the group or as the politician or religious leader who calls on people to blame the group. I think the people start it and the leaders exacerbate it, using the hate to their advantage.

While Jewish culture might teach that Jews are most important (at least Orthodox and Conservative... not sure about Reformed), it's not all that much different from how our culture teaches Americans are most important. In American culture, a Jew can believe both without much contradiction... but in societies having nationalistic movements, this idea clashes with the goals of the movement... Thus while other groups are excluded by the nationalists, Jews are the easiest to single out since they appear to have their loyalties elsewhere.

The Jews must share their wisdom with their Christian off-shoots. They need it.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside