Sunday, October 5, 2008
Are they still a question?
Why are/were so many people against the Jews? Where is all this hatred coming from? The Greeks and Romans disliked them for their religion, in the 9th century muslims ordered the destruction of synagogues in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yeman. In the 18th century Prussia limited the number of Jews allowed to live in Breslau to only ten so-called "protected" Jewish families. Then obiviously there was the Holocaust led by Adolf Hitler. Even today there is are neo-nazi groups and the Ku Klux Klan that are against the Jews. In "A Different Mirror" Ronald said that the Irish were finally accepted because they looked like all the other whites. Why is this not the same for Jews, they are white, they have jobs and make money. So, why do you think people are still discriminating against the Jews? What hasn't changed from the hate centuries ago to today? What are your thoughts in general.
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I believe that it is partly because the Jewish people seperate themselves from the rest of society. They are not the type of people to be very friendly or outgoing, they keep to themselves so much that it makes others uneasy about what is going on. I believe that it could also be partly because of all the rules they have for what they can and can't eat and other such things, it is one of those things that others look at and think is just silly (I am one of them that thinks it is silly)And from my own Christian point of view I think it is largely possible that the Jewish have gone through so much because they were Gods chosen people and they turned away from him. Or it could be that since they were Gods chosen people that they are put through more by satan to bring them down. Satan is all worldly things, and it is always worldly reasons for why we persecute others.Ian
ReplyDeleteI think that the jews are still viewed by our modern society as a whole as outsiders because their traditions and beliefs vary so greatly from other religions. We as a society have evolved enough that people with different beliefs and rituals are not reguarded as savages, but we as a society still consider anything differing greatly from the mainstream to be strange, making the people who hold these different beliefs and rituals strangers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Ben said, but i do not agree on what Ian said. I do not believe that every Jew is unfriendly or not outgoing. Dont just judge Jews as a whole, when i am quite sure you have not met them all. Yeah their traditions and beliefs are different than ours, but that doesnt mean that they should be described as unfriendly and not outgoing.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone here ever heard of Postville? I watched a movie on it in ultural Geography a couple of weeks ago. It shed a lot of light on Jewish relations with the rest of the world. That is where I learned that Jews are not inclined to be the most friendly, and it is partly because they want to protect there way of life. people usually judge by groups of people, whites, blacks, hispanics are all judged as whole groups each and every day by each and every one of us. We make a judgement on the whole group because we can not meet every single member of a group. We do this (Stereotyping) because we have no other way to explain it. It is useful in its own ways, but also can be a negative way to go about judging others. I think anyone who wants to know more about why Jews are often thought ill of should learn more about Postville Iowa. Ian
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the points that Ian made like how it is hard to not judge groups of people because this is the way everyone has been programmed by the society during their upbringing, on the other hand though it doesn't make it right. I believe that jews are simply treated different because they have different ways of going about their life's and like many others they are discriminated against for it.
ReplyDeleteThere is a big difference between the Irish and the Jews. In the simple fact that the Irish were/are Christian and Jews have there own religion.
ReplyDeleteJews may have there own way of life, but I don't think that they are less friendly then any other religious group. Amish are seen as unfriendly because they live together and have their own towns and also want to protect their way of life; but most are not unfriendly. If you meet them someplace that is more modern then they are use to they may be intimidated.
I have met few Jews that seeked to be alone. They are just the same as anyone, and need a group to be accepted in. Their groups just tend be ones that share the same values as they do.
Jews have also been the scapegoat for many groups over the years and history repeats itself. One of the criteria for being a scapegoat, as Gordon Allport stated on page 83 of our text, is that they were past targets. The neo-Nazis may have had relatives of Nazis and were taught the same prejudice that their relatives had. They also meet other criteria for scapegoats; they do have highly visible customs and actions; they do tend to stay in one area or city; and they are a symbol of an unpopular concept (they do not accept that Jesus was God).
SO unlike the Irish, Jews are much easier to use as a scapegoat.
I think that people just don’t take the time to see the similarities between Jewish and Christian people. Both have the same Old Testament, the Jewish just don’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah, because for him to come all people on earth had to live by the rules of the Testament and not disobey it, in their way of taking it that never happened and therefore Jesus can’t be who he said he was. So both religions still have the same god, there is just a sequel to one of the stories. As for making the Jewish people scapegoats, I’ve talked to people who spent their youth in Germany during the Neo-Nazi rule, and many of them said that part of the reason they think the Jewish where discriminated against so much in Germanys history was because they were the only real out-group, there were a few other minorities, but they made up such a small number of the population that most Germans were not exposed to them. So after the depression and devastation of World War I some guy comes along who promises a stable economy, and wealth to the majority of the population, on top of that he gave the people someone to blame for everything that had happened to them over the past years. I’m not saying that it was right what the Germans did, and many Germans at the time disagreed and resisted as well, but if it really is human nature to try and blame someone for everything that is going wrong in ones life, I think using the Jewish people as a scapegoat was just the closest thing.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why everyone is so against Jews. They didn't do anything to deserve this. Just because they have a different religion doesn't mean that they deserve to be discriminated against. I think the reason why they might be is because there was the Holocaust. If you really think about it...the blacks are still being discriminated against because in history they were treated as slaves. The same thing is happening with the Jews only in this case skin color is not a factor. Hitler wanted to build a "perfect" race, then the Holocaust began. I believe that the neo-nazi viewpoint diffused to America and they're being discriminated against for no reason whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteJewish people are not white they are Semitic origin like Arabs because both of them came from same ancestor our prophet Abraham,(peace be upon him). I think it is largely possible that the Jewish have gone through so much because they were God,s chosen people and they turned away from him by killing many prophets that God sent to them. I don,t think people hate Jewish people just because of their religion and who they are but basically from their past actions. Other than that, they are great people, educated, intelligent and very friendly.
ReplyDeletePeople discriminate agianst other cultures becuase, upbringing, mass media, and sterotypes are hard to overcome. They have a false consciousness they hold attitudes agianst the Jews that do not accutlety reflect the facts of the situation. People may discrimnate agianst Jews because of teachings from when they were children, relgion, and once they hear that they stick with it just like the Thomas Therom.
ReplyDeletei believe many of these jewish people like to seperate them selves from the rest of society. From where i am from the Jewish families all grew up in the same neighborhoods and grew up with mainly jewish friends. also many of there parents were very strict in what their children do with non jewish friends because they tend to feel uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteWhen attempting to answer this question one must look to language as one of the reasons jewish people are still discriminated against. The term "jewing" someone is a prime example of this, but one must also look to the American society and how its institutions cause discrimination throughout the country.
ReplyDelete