I have read that the Zionists wish for a permanent, Jewish "homeland" was understandable in light of centuries of persecution within Europe. Whilst I don't necessarily agree with this idea, I have often asked myself why Jews have suffered multiple instances of persecution through many centuries.
The modern "anti-Jewish" view seems to be summarised quite nicely by this video:
According to www.simpletoremember.com, the causes of persecution throughout history have been listed as follows:
Historians have classified six explanations as to why people hate the Jews:
- Economic -- "We hate Jews because they possess too much wealth and power."
- Chosen People -- "We hate Jews because they arrogantly claim that they are the chosen people."
- Scapegoat -- "Jews are a convenient group to single out and blame for our troubles."
- Deicide -- "We hate Jews because they killed Jesus."
- Outsiders, -- "We hate Jews because they are different than us." (The dislike of the unlike.)
- Racial Theory -- "We hate Jews because they are an inferior race."
The article then goes on to show that these reasons do not make historical sense.
In a related article, the author seems to indicate that Jews are persecuted because they alone carry a "Godly" spirituality and morality.
"A great many people simply can't cope with the burden of being good. However, when they act in ways that are bad, they can't cope with the resultant feelings of guilt. Try as they may, they can never cut themselves loose from the standards of absolute morality dictated by the Torah. Stuck in this "Catch-22" situation, people turn with their mounting frustrations against the Jews, whom they perceive as personifying humanity's collective conscience.
When the Jews entered the theological arena, they showed people all the mistakes they had been making: Pagan gods are nonsense - there is only one God for all of mankind, Who is invisible, infinite and perfect. Infanticide and human sacrifice are unacceptable. Every human being is born with specific rights. No one can live as he pleases, for everyone must surrender his will to a higher Authority.
On a certain conscious level, people recognize the Jews' message as truth. Those unwilling to embrace the truth have found that the only way to rid themselves of it is to destroy the messengers - for the message itself is too potent to be dismissed.
That is what is so irksome about the Jews, and that is why, for some people, nothing less than total destruction of the Jews will do. If Judaism were just another ideology, people could laugh it off and continue on their merry way. But deep in his soul, every human being recognizes the essential truths of morality - people can't just laugh it off."
Others (fundamental Christians, it seems to me) seem to find Jewish philosophy (as detailed in the Babylonian Talmud) as repugnant, as in this video:
I'm not sure this makes sense to me and, as with so much of history, one must assume a good degree of propaganda and bias when reading it.
Whatever the history leading up to the State of Israel, Israel is here and is not going to disappear.
I believe we need to urgently recognise the following:
"As the periodic bloodshed continues in the Middle East, the search for an equitable solution must come to grips with the root cause of the conflict. The conventional wisdom is that, even if both sides are at fault, the Palestinians are irrational “terrorists” who have no point of view worth listening to. Our position, however, is that the Palestinians have a real grievance: their homeland for over a thousand years was taken, without their consent and mostly by force, during the creation of the state of Israel. And all subsequent crimes — on both sides — inevitably follow from this original injustice."Source: here.
Jews For Justice for Palestinians (JFJFP) has a wealth of information on their site and I urge you to visit the site for your own education.
I have nothing of value to add to this tragic situation, other than to echo the latest article on the JFJFP:
"The Executive committee of JfJfP calls on the Israeli government to stop Operation Protective Edge and reach a just peace with the Palestinian unity government. ACRI calls for an end to the cycle of violence which it puts in the context of increased nationalistic feeling and hostility to ‘the other’ among Israelis. DCI-Palestine deplores the number of children killed in the operation. LPHR calls on both parties to fulfil their obligations in international law. PCHR calls on international community to intervene."
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