THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 27, 1984 41
Antisemitism' Chronicle Leaves Readers With Questions
By DR. MILTON
STEINHARDT
After reviewing the
chronicle of 19 centuries of
"anti-Semitic incidents"
such as forced conversions,
expulsions, expropriation,
degradation, auto da fe,
massacres, pogroms and
systematic genocide, the
reader of "Antisemitism:
Causes and Effects" by Paul
E. Grosser and Edwin H.
Halperin (Philosophical Li-
brary) is left stupefied and
wonders why the Jews?
How did the Jews survive
the gauntlet of two millenia
of persecution?
It is the same question
that this reviewer asked in
1914 when he felt a stinging
whip on his thigh as he was
hurrying home from heder
as the Germans were sur-
rounding the shtetl. The
Russian cossack who
wielded the whip was a con-
siderable distance away and
must have tried his skill on
the eight-year-old Jewish
boy. The psychic pain and
the question "why" still
linger seven decades later.
Grosser and Halperin de-
vote most of the book to a
chronological record of all
major anti-Semitic episodes
their research was able to
gather, givina dates and lo-
cations. The
b historical
periods include the Roman
and early Christian era, the
Dark Ages, Crusades, In-
quisition, Reformation and
the 19th Century to the cur-
rent Arab-Israeli conflict.
The authors support
the view that the libelous
version of deicide nur-
tured the hatred of the
Jew; and Jewish "guilt"
for the crucifixion ex-
tended to future genera-
tions was the fertile soil
for other baseless ac-
cusations.
>
There is no doubt that the
Christians attempted to win
the favor of the Roman con-
querors at the expense of
the Jews. The "curse" and
the image of the Jew as
Satan justified all the in-
flicted inhumanities. Per-
haps the Christians, in their
eagerness to win converts,
did not realize that their
partisan rhetoric would be
taken as the "gospel."
The Crusades ( 1000-
1348) that were meant to
"remove the infidels from
the Holy Land" were di-
verted to massacre the
Jewish infidels on the route
as the devil incarnate.
Jewish v,realth was confis-
cated and debts to Jews can-
celled to promote the "holy
cause." "Host desecration"
and blood libels continued
to the 20th Century.
The Black Death, 1348-
1354, was the beginning of
Jewish persecution based
on the charge of a conspi-
racy to poison the wells.
The Inquisition,. 1366-
1500, was a mixture of
faith and greed — mostly
the latter — as all Jewish
wealth was confiscated.
It was the precursor of
the Nazi Holocaust.
The years 1600-1799 saw
many Marranos burned at
the stake and witnessed
_-a
f • #
,,
•
L-
vola
%,
THE
MUSICALEERS
in 1948, only 41,400 were ness, environment, resis- would never have occurred
still there in 1979.
tance to solution and a life of if the state of Israel had
Music for Everyone
pre-dated Hitler. Anti-
The authors deserve cre- its own.
It is admitted that the Semitism is not a reaction to
dit for cataloguing and re-
Five singers and an
cording all the anti-Semitic above are overlapping, in- what Jews do, but to what
accompanist.
episodes since the begin- teracting, and refer to the they are. The biased and
ning of the Christian Era. same etiologic cause as sub- hypocritical media reaction
Available for • Social Affairs
to Israel's war against the
To cite the year and event is heads. The lack of precision
• Organizations • Gather-
to give it greater credence. and clarity, as well as the PLO in Lebanon in 1982 is
ings • Etcetera!
However, one must state paucity of substantiating proof of the double standard
967-3559
that a comprehensive de- evidence, detracts consider- as relates to Jews and Is-
968-7327
finitive study of the causes ably from the expressed rael.
of anti-Semitism is still in purpose of this volume. The
the future. Psychological reality -of anti-Semitism is
factors and motivation were not - in question. It is the
not fully elaborated. The "why" that many of us seek
Leotards & Active-Wear
authors allowed only 50 out to understand fully.
The authors dignified the
of 400 pages to the causes of
For All Shapes and Sizes
anti-Semitism. We regard a consideration of the
study of the causes most rationale that the state of
significant, as a proper solu- Israel increased world
1
Hunters Square, Farmington Hills, Mich.
tion depends on it.
anti-Semitism. In our opin-
1
855-4460
In a research study, ion the Nazi Holocaust
III INN
"Masks of Anti-
Semitism," published in
1975, this reviewer con-
cluded that in addition to
numerous factors of
anti-Semitism such as
Is Back In The
xenophobia, socio-
economic, religious, ra-
cial, historical and cul-
tural factors, the one
thread in the two millenia
of anti-Semitism is the
emotional basis of rivalry
and jealousy of a talented
people that refuses to
disappear.
Sadat expressed a basic
truth during his Jerusalem
visit when he called the
Arab-Israeli conflict 90 per-
cent psychological.
The authors list the fol-
lowing 10 "comprehensive"
causes for anti-Semitism:
32980 Industrial Rd., Livonia, Mich.
background and culture,
religious conflict, psycho-
Christian demands, per-
petual strangers in conflict,
psychological demands,
Prices Even Better Than Before
exploitation, conspicuous-
SUPER SHAPE-UP FASHIONS
DR. STEINHARDT
new laws of discrimination
and degradation.
It was the "enlighten-
ment" of the 19th Century
that changed the basis of
anti-Semitism from reli-
gious to racial. Karl Lueger,
an avowed anti-Semite, was
elected mayor of Vienna
and served as an inspiration
for Hitler's Mein Kampf.
The "fin de siecle" (end of
the 19th Century) wit-
nessed the Dreyfus Affair
that influenced Herzl to
turn to Zionism. The apostle
of socialism, Karl Marx, the
grandson of a rabbi, un-
leashed a virulent attack
against all Jews as being
exploiters.
What is most intriguing
to this reviewer is that lib-
eral Jews looked to
socialism as the ultimate
solution to anti-Semitism
while the Socialist Workers
Party used the appeal of
anti-Semitism as bait for
new recruits.
The authors extend
their record of anti-
Semitic episodes to the
New World, to World War
II, the Holocaust and the
Near East.
The
term
"anti-
Semitism" really targets
only the Jews, not all Se-
mites. While there existed a
greater degree of tolerance
in the Moslem world, it was
not the haven frequently
depicted. It was the Mos-
lems who initiated the
Jewish badge 500 years be-
fore the Christians. In 849-
856 an Arab caliph con-
verted many synagogues to
mosques. In 1008-1010 the
Jews who refused conver-
sion were required to wear
bells around their necks to
warn Moslems of a Jew ap-
proaching.
The authors state that the
current anti-Israel stance is
basically anti-Semitic, and
that of the 926,000 Jews
who lived in Arab countries
The Stadium
JIM PRENZLAUER
OFFICE &
JANITORIAL SUPPLY
BUSINESS
at JOMAR INC.
"The One Stop Shop"
525-0710
PROMPT DELIVERY
GET
SOMETHING
REAL
MAN
UNREAL
PRICE.
U.S. Tourists
Set Israel Record
NEW YORK — A record
350,000 Americans visited
Israel in 1983. The 1983
total represents a 32 per-
cent increase over 1982, and
an increase of 18 percent
over the previous record
year, 1979.
The U.S. is the largest
single source of tourism to
Israel, representing 30 per-
cent of the 1.17 million
travelers from around the
world who visited the coun-
try in 1983.
Israel earned $1.2 billion
from tourism in 1983.
t. -4* a• i " • 1*
I
I
I
Get the lowest prices in town on the largest selection of
solid brass beds and accessories and
real leather couches, chairs and ottomans.
The Brass Bed
& Leather Gallery
Thursday and Friday until 9 PM , Saturday until 5 PM. , Sunday Noon until 5 PM
22755 Greenfield at 9 Mile Road, Southfield, 557-0980, Visa and Master Charge accepted.
• * •
44 6 4 -1; 4
*ti'. 4, ^4
d i Jfi
c;ii'
*lied ft#441###11119
&' 7F_f
F. "Jra . ;,.'",iirg lerieVC'S.
#•-aN 1 4-
.11-11-0.1r."4: