Antisemitism In The World Essay Research Paper

Antisemitism In The World Essay, Research Paper antisemitism in the world – a term paper describing the role of antisemitism in the world. – anti semitism comparisons of religion judaism religion holocaust christianityThe Jews are a people who can trace their origin all the way back to the biblical Israelites and who are a people united by a religion called Judaism. They are not a race, they are a people who follow the customs of their ancient ancestors. Jewish identity is a mixture of ethnic, and religious elements which can never be lost or taken away. A person who want s to become a part of the Jewish people can do so by converting to Judaism, but a born Jew who decides to reject Judaism or chooses to follow another religion never loses his or her Jewish

identity.(Internet source) Being a Jew has many strict requirements that one must follow in order to adhere to the specific guidelines that were set well over 2500 years ago. Over the centuries the Jewish people have been persecuted by many different groups. The Christians, Romans, Spanish, and Germans are just a few on a large list of ignorant people that had no one else but the Jews to blame for all their problems. The fact that someone was a Jew automatically made them a target for slander, beatings, hatred, enslavement and even murder. Jews were a simple people that only wanted to follow the teachings of god and teach others the same. The basic source of Jewish belief is the Hebrew Bible, especially the first five books, which were called the Torah which means

teachings.(Atkinson 160) The Torah was regarded as the primary revelation of God and God s law to humanity. Its laws were clarified and revised in the spoken Torah, and through the traditions of the elderly people.(World Book Encyclopedia 1979) Judaism did not stop developing after the Bible was completed, it continued to develop and thrive long after.Individual practices still widely observed by the Jewish people today include the dietary laws, rules concerning the marital relationship, daily prayer, study, and the recital of many blessings especially before and after meals. Traditionally orthodox Jews wear tefillin on their forehead and left arm during morning prayers. They also wear a tallith during prayer and covering their head with a yamaca. Additionally, they place on

their doorposts a mezuzah, which is a little box containing a scroll which contains passages of the Torah that stress the unity of God. Jewish males at the age of thirteen have a Bar Mitzvah which is a ceremony celebrating the transformation from boy to man. Females also have similar practices known as Bat Mitzvahs. Judaism was the first religion to teach Monotheism, or belief in one God.(World Book Encyclopedia 1979) This belief is the basis of Judaism and is explained in the opening words of the Shema, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One” (Deut. 6:4). Jews believe that God’s words extends to all people but that God entered into a special Covenant with the ancient Israelites. They do not believe that they were chosen for any special privileges but instead to

bring God’s message to mankind by their example.(Atkinson 162)In the Middle Ages, Jews were accused of all kinds of slanders and were scapegoats for the many problems of the world. In 1144, a myth began in England that Jews murdered Christian children. This myth was talked about enough to become an accusation which stated for centuries that the Jews used the blood of young Christian children in the preparation of their Passover bread. This “blood libel” was very ironic in that the consumption of any blood is expressly prohibited by Jewish law. The bubonic plague, the cause of the Black Death that liquidated a quarter of the population of Europe in the 14th century, was also blamed on the Jews in Europe and Asia.(Internet Source)Anti-Semitism refers to prejudice against