Perceptions of Regional Anti-Semitism
Edited by administrator -- This thread created by board moderators to contain posts from a sidebar discussion within the Iran Nuke thread. The first post squarely on that topic happens to be this one, from UrsaMaior.
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Just for the record Mr. Owen you are probably aware of the fact that there were no antisemitic attacks in Iran since 1869 or so, despite the ramblings of some polticians here and there (which we all know how much they worth).
As of Turkey I wonder if Israel would leave the coming islamist takeover in Turkey without comment.
As of deterrence I share the views of those who say the only reason the public oppinion supports nukes that they hindered major military operations ever since they exist. (also see ALL participants' reluctance to use chemical weapons in WWII). I have serious doubts that any politician can be more desperate/crazed than Hitler in his Fuhrerbunker.
On the last note the mixed but rather positive view of the state of Israel will be seriously damaged if an attack on Iran (based on not so concrete presupmtions see 2003 attack on Iraq) would cause oil prices skyrocket.
A source of good info on the subject
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogrom
Wikipedia is far from perfect but it is surprisigly even useful when it comes to Jewish History. Like wise there are some excellent books. I can recommend some to those who are interested.
The biggest challenge to educating people to anti-semitism is that most folks believe it started and end with the "Holocaust" (not a term I would use).
Few people are aware that men such as Henry Ford and Martin Luther, harboured a deep hatred of Jews, or that Jews are commonly reviled in English literature, from Dickens to Shakespeare, and a great deal more. There was and is a lot of it about, and it is not going away anytime soon.
As a personal aside, the most bizarre thing about anti-semitism, is how it is expressed. I have never seen an educated professional person say "black people are lazy and stupid" to a someone of African origin... but...I have experienced at least 4 people, in the last 25 years, tell me that Jews are lazy, evil, cunning, dishonest etc etc etc, while completely unaware of who they were speaking to. These were all so-called educated professionals. These days I can handle it, but the first man to mention it to me got a bit of a surprise.
Literacy made a big difference!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
William F. Owen
Judaism's unique role in Western political, economic, and religious development since the Roman Empire is purely a product of Jewish educational practices (teachings) and family values. They are no better or worse than others. They are merely more willingly and more consistently applied.
I hope nobody minds me jumping in here, but what I think greatly effected Judaism's role in Western development was that "Jewish educational practices (teachings)" required all men to be literate for religious reasons. This is something that did distinguish Jews from most communities throughout history.
Adam L