Antisemitism

Antisemtism is defined as hatred of the Jewish people (Yad Vahsem). It was a term coined in the late 1800s to describe the way Jewish people were singled out for persecution across Europe. The late 1800s featured a wave of anti-Jewish sentiment. For example Alfred Dreyfus a French military officer was falsely convicted of treason in a high-profile case in from 1894-1906 and the fraudulent Protocols of the Elders of Zion (alleging a global Jewish conspiracy) was published in Russia 1901.  The late 1800s was also sadly the time of the Russian pogroms. The revival of a Jewish national identity, the Hebrew language and the desire for a safe homeland emerged at this time. 

Anti-Semitism as a reaction to God's particularity 

I think Anti-Semitism is deeply rooted in human culture as a spiritual reaction to God choosing a particular people, the Jewish people from whom the Messiah, the Son of God would be born. God selects Abraham from whom to bring forth a people, Israel. He promises that they will be a blessing to the world (Jesus, the Old Testament and their continued survival), will be a numerous and receive a territory along the Mediterranean Sea (Genesis 12:1-3). This particularity is echoed in our own salvation (Romans 8:29-30). God chooses particular individuals to rescue from sin and judgement, bringing us into His divine grand narrative. 

Jesus in particular 

This particularism is ‘personified’ in Jesus. His gender (male - Isaiah 9:6), ethnicity (Jewish - Genesis 49:20), marital status (single - Matthew 19:11-12) and class (tradie - Mark 6:3) are all deliberate. The Word wasn’t just larping as a human, these attributes are significant. Docetism is the heresy that the Son of God only appeared to be human, that His divine nature is the more important one. Sometimes Evangelical Christians can slide into downplaying the noteworthiness of Jesus' human attributes by not attaching significance to His human characteristics. This is generally due to anxiety that highlighting these aspects of Jesus will somehow distract from the gospel. However it's exactly these attributes that are important and interesting about Jesus, however controversial they may be in modern society. 

Anti-semitism as a latent spirtual evil

Anti-semitism gets ‘activated’ in different times and places because of various grievances and situations (that’s a grim history worth studying but it highlights a deep human anger against God’s particularity - even sadly sometimes from Christians). While minority groups are often scapegoated (another example are the gypsies), hatred of the Jewish people is a depressing throughline throughout history. (For example the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 or Spain in 1492, Martin Luther's deranged rantings in 1543 the Safed pogrom in 1834 or more recently Charles Lindbergh blaming the Jews in 1941.) The circumstances of antisemitism are so varied, that an explanation beyond minority group behaviour is warranted. 

Modern Anti-semitism

Most recently in our post-modern milieu of deconstruction, Israel represents colonialism and therefore is cast in the role of villain. Colonialism is seen as the vehicle of patriarchy, racism, transphobia etc. Revolution is a form of deconstruction and the new rulers still occupy the same system of values as the previous regime. So Israel is focused upon because it’s colonial and judged for being colonial, using (ironically) the values of the old colonial regime.

Islamic Anti-semitism

Islam which a began as a type of Juedo-Christian heresy and has now become a religion characterised in part by political domination and is naturally opposed to its two predecessor religions (Quran 9:29). Islam isn’t uniform but contains a built-in thread of anti-semitism that can be activated by nefarious types. (Hadith Sahih Muslim 2921a) This is why there have been periods where Christians and Jews have survived under Islamic rule, and times where they have suffered. The Muslim Brotherhood is a classic example of the political aspect of Islam being activated.  

Right-wing Anti-semitism

But a resurgent anti-Semitism also exists within the pagan right as well, which is characterised by the priorities of winning and strength. In this case anti-semitism is cast as either the naughty weapon you’re not allowed to use, or Israel and the Jewish people are part of some sort of conspiracy that needs to be opposed. Sometimes this pagan anti-semitism gets smuggled in alongside Nationalism, or is stoked by World War Two revisionism. 

Australia 

I'm writing this only a week and a bit out from the ISIS-inspired Bondi attack, a year after the Ripponlea synagogue fire-bombing and a day after a Rabbi's car was firebombed in the next street to our church and where I live. The ISIS duo at Bondi were Sunni terrorists, the thugs who firebombed the Ripponlea Synagogue were hired by Iran and a local transient took it upon himself to torch the rabbi's car. Shockingly the day after the 7th October attacks by Hamas from Gaza, there was a protests against Israel at the Sydney Harbour Opera house, then later a massive protest across the Sydney Harbour bridge plus weekly protests in my own city of Melbourne. The variety of people opposing and hating Israel and the Jewish people is further sad evidence that while the circumstances are varied, the hatred has a deeper spiritual theme.  

No doubt there are political gestures to be made, terrorists to track and protests to regulate but the deeper problems will continue and go unresolved. In part this is why Zionism exists, an affirmation of the right for Jews to exist without fear or hatred. While I'm personally a Christian Zionist (apparently the group Tucker Carlson hates the most!) you don't need to be a Zionist to reduce anti-semitism in Australia. Evangelical Christians can focus more on the Jewish context of Jesus rather then seeing that as a controversial 'distraction' from the gospel. Progressive Christians can avoid jumping on the anti-colonial bandwagon and highlight the injustices facing other minority groups around the world. Conservative Christians can filter out so-called conservative influencers who always end up finding a Jewish connection in any neferious event. More generally people should question the prominent criticism of Israel in the media. There are many long-running brutal wars around the world, or indigenous insurgencies closer to home that deserve our attention. By consuming the outrage against Israel and the Jewish people we provide incidental cover for antisemitism.