| Some AS influences?
Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" (written circa 1597) portrays the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, as greedy, out for his pound of flesh, but does show his human side too when he says: "If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? ..."
I've read that they were not allowed to own land in the middle ages in England (probably elsewhere too). As did other minorities everywhere, they went into "despised" occupations which were much needed but didn't compete with, or threaten their mainstream hosts, e.g. usury: in The Bible Jesus showed his outrage at moneylenders outside the temple - interesting to me is the imagery of the sacred and the profane.
Controversy of world conquest through world Jewish government set out in The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion which my uni Jewish lecturer believed to be a set-up, but I have not looked into this.
The Jewish holocaust was a rare example of white racism for genocide previously had involved people of colour.
Anti-semitism as a concept was brought home to me when a person I liked and admired for her tolerance/abilities/generosity/pursuit of understanding across borders etc, spoke of the them with contempt asking: "what have they ever contributed?! I'd observed they'd contributed way beyond their number when compared with other ethnic/religious group in most fields like music, science, arts, philanthropy, maths, comedy, filmaking etc and couldn't figure why she would say that. It hit me that maybe she, having studied French/German/English language and literature to high levels, might have absorbed that continuing European thread of AS for in Germany it was said "the Jews are our misfortune" and it was those attitudes which enabled enactment of laws legitimating Nazi actions.
Hope don't come across as holier-than-thou, as there are some witty/clever jokes using each of our group characteristics as key components, but racial humour can be gratuitous, not at all funny, but serves purposes like affirming the tribe by reinforcing negative stereotypes which exclude the different, so I try not to collude by perpetuating them. I told my husband to tell his well-educated brother with Jewish friends, never to make Maori/Jewish jokes in our home as I like to treat others as I wish to be treated. I believe it pointless to talk about peace, leaving it to others, without changing ourselves first - most of us hold prejudices and can be unthinkingly exclusive of others. When we know better, hopefully we can do better. |