Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen more than one person ask why it is that the Irish (barring, as always, exceptional people among them) are such Jew-haters. So I decided to explain what has always seemed to me to be a pretty obvious thing.
Christianity is inherently antisemitic. If you’re a Christian, and you aren’t an antisemite, you might be offended by me saying that. But it’s true. Many modern Christians, having been acculturated in a society that frowns on bigotry, have found ways to disregard the antisemitism inherent in their religion, and focus on the positive aspects.
This is a good thing.
It may even be that Muslims will achieve that sort of civilized behavior in another 8 centuries or so. But let’s not forget that the Christians of 8 centuries ago could give today’s Muslims a run for their money when it came to savagery. Herding Jews into their synagogues, and locking the doors and setting the building on fire was not an uncommon recreational activity in the medieval Christian world.
But let me get back to Christianity being inherently antisemitic, because just making an assertion doesn’t mean anything unless I explain it.
A long time ago, in a suburb far, far away…
By way of illustration, let me tell you a little story that happened to me about 40 years ago. I was in college, but I was home visiting my family. It was Shabbat, and I’d already become observant by that point, and my family was not, so they were all out somewhere. Maybe having lunch at a deli. They’d kindly left the burglar alarm off so that I could leave the house if I wanted or needed to.
When the doorbell rang, it was a kid around my age, or maybe a little younger. He wanted to sell me some sort of window cleaner. I explained to him that I was the only one home, and that it being Shabbat, and me being a Jew, I couldn’t handle money, so I couldn’t buy his window cleaner.
The kid was fascinated. You see, he’d never had a chance to talk with a Jew before. At least not that he knew of. And he had questions. One of which was, “Why would anyone reject the lord and savior? The messiah and redeemer of all mankind?”
To which I responded, “Well, we don’t think he was the messiah or any of those things.”
He was gobsmacked. Utterly shocked. Which shocked me, too. His shock was from the idea that there was anyone who doubted the Christian concept of who Jesus was. My shock was the realization that there are Christians who honestly had/have no idea that we don’t think he was the messiah.
It kept echoing around in my head. How could you not hate people so utterly perverse that they believed — recognized — that the guy was all those things, and rejected him anyway?! Hate? I should say hate and fear. Because what mightn’t such twisted folks be prepared to do?
It gave me an insight about Christian antisemitism that has stuck with me. This boy didn’t seem hateful at all. And he listened to me explain that we don’t think the guy fulfilled prophecies, or any of the things Christianity claims. I could tell that he was going to go home, or to his church, and find his pastor and ask him what was up with that, because I’d just told him something that pulled the rug out from the whole edifice of what he’d been taught.
But it helped me understand the fury and fear and rage Christians had towards us. Entirely aside from the obvious fact that our continued existence throughout the centuries gave the lie to their belief that we were going to wither away.
But as I say, most Christians today have become civilized. Not always for great reasons. Possibly the most prevalent reason is the decline of belief in God at all in Western society. It’s resulted in people drifting away from Judaism, from Christianity, and even from Islam (though in that case, you do have to worry about your family killing you if they find out). And it’s certainly led to those who remain committed to their religion, by and large, ignoring the more… shall we say “unsavory” aspects of their religion.
I’ve met numerous Orthodox Jews who refuse to take the command to wipe out any descendants of Amalek as being operative today. Granted, we don’t know who might be descended from them, so it in fact is not operative today, de facto, but most Orthodox Jews, I believe, faced with a 100% proven Amalekite — proven in any way that would satisfy the person — would refuse to kill them, because the very idea is so completely at odds with their cultural underpinnings, however un-assimilated they may consider themselves. And this is true of 100% of non-Orthodox Jews, as well.
But we were talking about Ireland…
But there is one place in the Christian world where religion has remained a very, very immediate and critical issue. Even a life or death issue, for quite a long time, extending into modern times. And that’s Ireland.
The sectarian warfare between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland has resulted in the societal retardation of their culture when it comes to religion. They still feel their ancient Christianity in their bones. And as a result, their views of Jews are closer to those of medieval Christians than those of modern ones.
It would be odd if they were not antisemitic, given all that.
I can’t make any predictions about what will happen with the Irish over time. The whole embracing of the Arab propaganda against Israel might stick them even further into the mire of barbaric hatred. Or there could be a backlash that has the opposite result. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.