Jewish history is a continuous story of suffering and persecution, hatred and harassment by the nations of the world towards the Jewish people. There were periods when this hostility was subdued and did not erupt outwardly, but a constant ember of hatred for Israel has always whispered, in all nations, in all periods.
Many have tried to get to the roots of the phenomenon of anti-Semitism. They have tried to find reasons and motives for it.
But when you examine anti-Semitism as an issue throughout the history of Israel, you come to the conclusion that there is something incomprehensible in ordinary logical terms. All the 'reasons' and 'explanations' are nothing more than a disguise for blind hatred, a basic hostility - a hatred of Jews for the very fact of being Jews.
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Upside down world
They hated the Jews because they were poor, and they scorned them because of their wealth. They persecuted them because they closed themselves off in their four corners, and they persecuted them because they managed to rise and integrate into all levels of society. They incited against them because of their adherence to their religion, and they despised them when they abandoned the Torah and the commandments and tried to assimilate among the nations. They mocked them when they were weak, and they condemned them when they were strong. It is impossible to find any consistent logic in anti-Semitism. It is a hatred that has no reason and no explanation.
Some believed that anti-Semitism stemmed from the fact that the Jewish people were nomadic and had no state of their own. Once we became "a people like all other peoples," they argued, we would be able to integrate into the family of nations and be treated with respect, like any other people.
Now we already have a state, and that is precisely why the anti-Semitic attitude towards us is so prominent. From every objective point of view, the enlightened world should have stood on our side. A people that went through a terrible Holocaust, in which a third of its people were destroyed; a people that was persecuted, tortured and humiliated for thousands of years; a people that did everything to prove its desire for peace – should have enjoyed the support of the world.
It was reasonable to expect that the world would condemn Arab aggression and stand on the side of the persecuted Jews.
However, the opposite is happening. Time and again the 'enlightened' world rises up against the Jewish people and expresses support for those who shed their blood. It embraces with sympathy those who speak openly about the destruction of the Jewish state, and condemns any defensive action by the Jews. The double standards cry out to the heavens and the hypocrisy knows no shame.
If we don't go out of our way, it's for the simple reason - we're already used to it.
Crouching down is useless.
Our sages identified anti-Semitism at the dawn of Jewish history. "It is well known that Esau hated Jacob," states the Gemara. This is a basic reality, which does not depend on our behavior or our efforts to please the world. And it turns out that precisely when Jews do not bow down before the Gentiles but stand with their heads held high and with inner strength – they are appreciated and respected.
We see today that Jews who are observant of the Torah and commandments, who proudly carry their Judaism, receive far more respect and admiration from the gentile environment than those who espouse the slogan "Be a Jew at home and a man when you go out.".
It is impossible to escape the Jewish essence, and perhaps anti-Semitism is a reminder to those who tend to forget this fact. In this context, it is worth citing the famous saying about the wording of the blessing "Shela Ashani Goy" - I am a Jew by my own right and it was not the Goy, with his hatred, who made me a Jew.
