Why Anti-Semitism? by John Brinson

For quite some time, I have been puzzled and troubled by Anti-Semitism, and have given it a lot of thought, trying to understand why such a thing has persisted, from time immemorial. I grew up in Augusta, Georgia, and after church one Sunday when I was about eight years old, I asked my mother “who are the Hebrews?” She replied “they are God’s chosen people.”

Over the years since then, seeing Jews persecuted around the world and not just in Nazi Germany, I thought “I’m sure glad God didn’t choose me!” Anti-Semitism is rampant in many countries, especially in Muslim lands, and even here in America. Why?

Basic human nature plays a part. Jews are perceived as “different”, and we tend to distrust the “different.” But, it goes far beyond that. Jews stick together and help each other like no other group. As a salesman in New York City, I learned this lesson first-hand. I found that if I partnered with a Jewish salesman friend, I had great success selling to Jewish businessmen and professionals. Doors were open. Jews trust Jews over non-Jews because they know that anti-Semitism is alive and well.

Anti-Semitism goes back to before 1200 BC in Egypt, 500 BC in Babylon, 200 BC in the Roman Empire, 600 AD with Mohammed, 1492 with Isabella in Spain, 1933 with Hitler, 1948 with the creation of Israel, and all the years in between. Why?
I believe that it’s because Jews not only stick together, but are highly successful, and that leads to a poisonous envy. I cannot count the times I have heard otherwise good people say or infer that Jews control business, finance, banking, and entertainment, when that is not true. They are successful in those fields but they do not control them.
But, why are Jews successful? How is it that Jews, who make up only 0.2% of the world’s population, have won 22% of Nobel Prizes – 881 of them – in all fields? I believe it is because they are taught from childhood that reading and education are essential to success and that as Jews they have a duty to succeed. And, they work at it. They work harder and smarter than most others.

Concerning “smarter”, Jews have higher average IQs than other groups. Why? It may be Darwin’s “survival of the fittest”, or it may be genetics, or it may be the emphasis on early education and excellence.

I have admired the Germans for their dedication to excellence, but Hitler had it all wrong when he declared the Germans to be the “Master Race.” His hatred for Jews was rooted in envy. As a youth he was a failure, while everywhere in Vienna he saw highly successful Jews. His hatred led to the murder of more than 6 million Jews in World War II. It was strange because in the 1800s, many German Jews did their best to assimilate – to become more German.

Today, the most virulent hatred of Jews comes from Islam. Mohammed borrowed text from the Bible, even claimed that Abraham, Moses, and Jesus were Muslims. But he later turned on Jews and murdered thousands. Mohammed was never in Jerusalem, but today, Muslims claim Jerusalem for themselves.

That brings us to Israel and Palestine. The Palestinians want to destroy Israel, the Jewish State, and they are aided and abetted by boycotts and demonstrations on American college campuses, led by Anti-Semitic leftist professors and students.

All Americans, especially Christians, should reject Anti-Semitism as despicable and evil. Americans should lead the fight against it wherever it shows its ugly face, starting in the United Nations.