From the New York Times:
To many of the more than 100,000 Jews in Germany, the outburst of anti-Semitism since the conflict flared in Gaza has a troubling undertone and has stirred especially painful memories. The Central Council of Jews in Germany has received hundreds of calls from members asking whether they should pack their suitcases and leave the country.
“I have not heard that for many years,” said Dieter Graumann, the council president. “When calls for Jews to be gassed, burned and murdered are bawled on the streets of Germany, that no longer has anything to do with Israel’s politics and Gaza. It is the most abhorrent form of anti-Semitism.”
This, amidst the recent tragedy of a rabbi shot walking to synagogue in Miami.
The events in Gaza have not given rise to this anti-Semitism. They have exposed what was lurking just barely under the surface, or perhaps right there on the surface if we would only pay attention. In Europe, the prevalence of this phenomenon is apparent in soccer games, such as a 2014 games in Poland in which fans were chanting, “Move on Jews! Your home is Auschwitz! Send you to the gas chamber!”
In predominantly Islamic nations one finds both deep hostility toward Israel and deep anti-Jewish currents. These ideologies are becoming more firmly rooted in Europe again, and we have our own varieties of them in the United States. Just check out the Twitter hashtag #HitlerWasRight. This state of affairs is both frightening and unacceptable, and as Christian people we must oppose it.
Note: I had originally and erroneously attributed the above block quote to the Guardian.
To me, this is both sad and frightening, we are dealing with human beings here. It does not matter what religion they believe in, I would not want to have to fear for my life because I am a Christian, but in some places in the world I do. The U.S. has a commitment to protect them, but I have also read that Israeli’s no longer trust that we will do so, this is why they have gone alone in the fight in Gaza. They will protect their country just like any other country in this world, and this is their right to do so.
Antisemitism is fed by mainstream media’s willingness to dote on photoscapes that rile up viewers against Israel’s right to self-defense, without supplying sufficient context for real understanding of the existential threat. Progressive divestment advocates have joined this noisy parade with astonishing gusto!
A very disturbing trend. Thanks for naming it. Those who do not learn from history…
The True Causes of Greek Anti-Semitism
http://iakal.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/the-true-causes-of-greek-anti-semitism/