The Longest Hatred is a very intriguing documentary on Jews and how they have been perceived by other cultures through the course of time. Judaism dates back thousands and thousands of years. It can be viewed as the foundation for Christianity and Islam. As Judaism lost its popularity in some parts of the world, people began to turn against the Jewish people. Left without a homeland, Jews had to struggle to survive in parts of the world where the local populations did not take a friendly view to them. They faced extreme oppression and were tragically persecuted in the Nazi Holocaust during the second World War.
The movie shows how this hatred developed. It depicts people making Jews feel like outsiders and resenting them for a variety of reasons; reasons that have a very weak basis. The Jewish religion preaches peace and love just as Christianity and Islam does. Yet, people through time have looked for small, petty differences as a grounds to hate Jewish people because they are not the same as them.
Some reviewers say this movie has anti-Christian spin on it, but I personally don't believe this to be the case. I feel the documentary is intended to make people aware of the suffering Jews have been put through for cultural and religious differences. If religious followers truly practiced what they preached, they would accept Jews into their community and treat them with the same respect and dignity that they themselves would like to be treated.
The Longest Hatred attempts to explain the root of anti-Semitism. The movie blames Christianity for anti-Semitism, even going as far as saying " Without Christian anti-Judaism the Holocaust wouldn't have happened, calling it a necessary condition". The movie goes on making such bold and controversial statements. I think it does a good job of depicting the history and proving that persecution of the Jews is not to be put on the Muslims. It shows how much the Jews had to struggle and the constant persecution they suffered over the years. Before World War II there were 3.5 million Jews living in Poland, after the war the number shrank significantly to 250,000 to a mere 10,000 today. They were forced to carry the lower paying jobs, and were usually confined to only lending money. Christian women would be forced to borrow money form Jewish women, creating a negative attitude towards the Jewish women.
The creation of Israel was supposed to be the solution to anti-Semitism, but it did nothing of that sort. What it fails to mention is that the recent wave of conflict and anti-Semitism in the Muslim world is after Zionists occupied Palestine in 1948. The mistreatment of the Palestinians seems as though history is repeating itself. The Jews in Israel are treating the Palestinians as the Christians treated them.
‘The Longest Hatred’ is a case study of anti-Semitism throughout history. In what would be surprising to most, the documentary clearly states that most anti-Semitism throughout history has been conducted by Christians, and not Muslims. In today’s society where the Israel-Palestine conflict is so entrenched in media coverage, many assume that historically Muslims hold lost standing hatred for Judaism. In reality, the Catholic Church was responsible for propagating widespread anti-Semitic rumors such as blood libel (that Jews need to drink Christian blood for certain religious rituals) and other preposterous claims and stereotypes. In fact, the film goes as far as stating that without widespread Christian anti-Semitism, the Holocaust wouldn’t have happened, citing it as a precondition.
While the creation of Israel was supposed to protect the Jewish people, it has ironically made them more exposed to violence and has spread more anti-Zionist views than any other recent time. By becoming subjugators to millions of Palestinians, and being viewed as unjust in their actions against them globally, the Israelis have undermined their cause. Israelis are constantly exposed to terrorist attacks and the wave of anti-Semitism that has spread throughout the Middle East since the creation of Israel is not going to cease until serious concessions made and fair negotiations are conducted. The Jewish people throughout history have often been subjugated and unfairly dominated by other groups. They must realize that nothing but strife and turmoil can come out of these circumstances, and that change from the current circumstances is necessary for any hope of peace in the future.
“The Longest Hatred” provides a history of anti-Semitism. Essentially, throughout history the Jews have been hated and persecuted because of who they are. From the times of the Greeks and Romans until this very day, Jews are seen as ‘others’ throughout the world and are treated accordingly.
Thus, one must understand that Anti-Semitism, first and foremost, has shaped the psyche of the modern state of Israel, from its citizens to its policymakers. In other words, to have had your people brutally slaughtered throughout history because of their identity, and to have had your people be the target of a near-successful ethnic cleansing just two generation ago, shapes the way a modern Jew must think.
More than anything, because of the history of the Jewish people, Israeli leaders are obsessed with the survival of Israel and the survival of the Jewish people – and understandably so. Anti-Semitism still looms very large today, and if Israel did not have a strong military and was not backed by the United States, it would be wiped off the face of the earth by its enemies, essentially spelling the end of the Jewish people. One must look through this lens when examining the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
National security and national security alone dominates the mindset of Israeli officials. While it is easy for us to sit in class and tear Israel apart for blatantly violating the human rights of Palestinians, we must understand that, quite frankly, Israeli policymakers can care less about the human rights of other people when they believe that the state of Israel is in jeopardy. I am not excusing Israel for violating the terms of its agreements, ignoring the resolutions of the United Nations, or terrorizing the lives of Palestinians. I am simply saying that I understand where Israel is coming from: national security is priority number 1-10; everything else can be considered afterwards.
So, the implications of all this is that every policy decision that Israel makes regarding its struggle with the Palestinians is made out of concern for national security. In other words, Israel will only act if it thinks that doing so will further its national security. That’s why Israel continues to expand its settlements, put Palestinians through humiliating checkpoints, and stall every time peace negotiations make progress. If Israel believes that demoralizing 1,000 innocent Palestinians will even possibly somehow make Israel one single drop safer, Israel will do it. Such a policy is not just, but it is how a history anti-Semitism has shaped the character of Israel.
In the end, in order for Palestinians to have their rights respected and have a sovereign state of their own, one of two things must happen: either Israel loses the support of the United States and therefore its leverage in the situation or Israel is somehow convinced that doing those things will further its national security. Neither of the two options seems likely in the near future. The Jewish lobby has a stranglehold on U.S. policy toward Israel to the point where a U.S. President can only whisper the words “two-state solution.” More importantly, I don’t think that Israel will somehow be convinced that the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state is in Israel’s best interest. A Palestinian state would diminish the size of Israel, push its borders closer to the sea, and make it more vulnerable to complete destruction. And I don’t think that most Israelis buy the “land for peace” idea. There will always be fundamentalists. Even if Israel conceded everything that the Palestinian Authority asked for, the mere existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East means that there would be those who want it destroyed.
With a mind driven by concerns of anti-Semitism and the survival of their people, don’t expect Israel to go out of its way to bring peace to the Middle East.
“The Longest Hatred” takes aim at examining the root cause of anti-Semitism. The movie begins by explaining that anti-Semitism began when Christianity broke from Judaism, stating that Christianity says that “Jews are the murder of god.” With this comes the explanation that Christianity began the anti-Semitic vision, which has lead to great violence and suppression against the Jewish population for centuries.
The movie quickly moves into quotes from the bible to show how anti-Semitism began with the Christians. According to the New Testament, the Jew’s crucified Jesus and this according to the film was the beginning of the anti-Semitic movement. The New Testament says that Christians are right and Jews are wrong. It is easy to understand how Jews have been hated for so long because one of the oldest and most read pieces of literature in the world says so.
Israel was created before World War II, around 1929, for Jews to have a homeland. Despite this attempt to give the Jewish population its own state for freedom and security, there has been much turmoil in the region. Before the creation of Israel, there were many positive events involving Jews and Muslims. For example, the Ottomon Empire saved hundreds of Jews from the Spanish inquisition. This might be just one example and it may have happened hundreds of years ago, but there has to be a way to stop the violence between the Israelis and Palestinians. Hatred against the Jews has grown since the creation of Israel, but if they make a peace agreement with Palestine, then perhaps anti-Semitism in the region will decrease.
If you need to find a clear example of racism or prejudice, anti-Semitism immediately pops into mind. Being Jewish, I have had anti-Semitic remarks directed at me a few times in my life and I have always been baffled how moronic and ignorant people can be to believe those stereotypes. “The Longest Hatred” is a documentary that chronicles the history of the misfortunes of the Jewish people and helps make the viewer understand why many Jews feel so strongly about Israeli security. Anti-Semitism has manifested many forms throughout history. After the Romans crucified Jesus, the Jews were accused of being the killers of Christ. After the Diaspora, things just got worse. Because most fields of work were closed off to them, many Jews started lending money. It was not by choice, but that created the stereotype that Jews control all the money, when considering that many were poor, did not make any sense at all. One of the most ridiculous claims was that Jews committed “Ritual Murders” to drink Christian blood to fulfill religious obligations. There is no basis for these falsities. Alarmingly, the filmmakers interview a church congregation in Austria and they seem very convinced that Jews do this. The Holocaust was the disgusting climax of anti-Semitism and the reasons that the Nazis used to carry it out are in fact similar to the stereotypes Christians had used for Jews throughout the centuries: they are outsiders, they control the money, there is a conspiracy to control the world etc etc. I am aware of the fact that throughout history the majority of anti-Semitism has been committed by Christians. For centuries, Jews have prospered under Islamic Empires such as Moorish Spain, Baghdad during the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire. That is why it is so tragic that Jewish-Muslim relations in the Middle East have degenerated. The state of Judaism is different today than it used to be. While the Jews now have their own state, controversy has been created with the maltreatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. For the first time Jews are not the oppressed but in Israel have done some oppressing of their own. This is causing a new rise in anti-Semitism, especially in the Middle East and Europe. Recently the army had to be called in to remove settlers from a building in Hebron, West Bank. The settlers revolted and began attacking Palestinian neighbors, for all of his shortcomings; outgoing PM Ehud Olmert had it right when he said “We are the children of a people whose historic ethos is built on the memory of pogroms," Olmert said. "The sight of Jews firing at innocent Palestinians has no other name than pogrom. Even when Jews do this, it is a pogrom. As a Jew, I am ashamed that Jews could do such a thing.” (CNN) “The Longest Hatred” is a poignant movie that accurately catalogues the horrors directed against Jews for more than one thousand years. I believe the Jews need a safe haven in Israel but the human rights violations have to stop and U.N. Resolution 242 must be implemented. Once a viable Palestinian State is established anti-Semitism will definitely go down. It will never ever completely disappear just like other forms of racism and prejudice, but it can be reduced so that it is not a major problem.
The timing of watching this film, after reading the “Israel Lobby” is very coincidental. I never knew that Jewish hatred has existed since the first century. I didn’t know that the Jews were blamed for crucifying Christ. I thought it started much later, so perhaps this is where Hitler justified his reasoning for attempting to extinct the Jewish race. During Hitler’s reign, it was purely racial, not religious because at this time, religious hostility was seen as obscure and medieval. In 1879, racial scrutinty against the Jews, known as “Semite” emerged from a mere textbook that somehow placed Aryans on top and Semites with the Africans, at the bottom. With elitist scholars and philosophers from Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, to Sigmund Freud, transformed the Jewish identity to an idea that they were trying to achieve “global domination.” It was a sheer reaction from the non Jewish community that just because they were raising the bar and climbing up the social ladder because of their intelligence, education, and entrepreneurship, this somehow meant they wanted to take over the world, this among one of the many common misconceptions of Jewish people and identity. I think it’s interesting that strong nationalism is said to lead to anti-Semitism. Once the Berlin Wall fell, anti-Semitism began to emerge again, simply because it never went away. Young Germans fed to the propaganda that slandered the Jewish identity. The neo-Nazi movement has grown out of the rationalization that they are “German patriots” not “Nazi’s.” Among other things I did not know, I did not know that the initiation of the extermination of Jews was by the Austrians, not just Nazi Germans. Hatred of Jews seemed to keep reemerging every year or few years, in Austria and Germany. The reason this happened was because “The Germans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz, and the Austrians will never forgive the Jews of Auschwitz,” it was to be termed as an eternal hatred of Jews. Poland was the home of the Jews, and they lived amongst each other, not against. That is until 1939 when Hitler invaded. Poland has been the proven case that you don’t need Jews around to be anti-Semitic. Mainstream media and anti-Jewish sermons preached in Catholic churches are what generated anti-Semitic feelings throughout Poland, a land once friendly to Jews. The church and Nazi’s pinned the Poles against the Jews, and pinned the Jews against the church. Communism was invented by the Polish Jews so perhaps this is why the Poles today disapprove of the Jewish influence left on their homeland. From this point on became a pursuit to create a more Polish Poland and alleviate the “Jewishness” left on it. “When nothing works anymore, there’s always the tradition scapegoat: the Jew.” Communism in the Soviet Union struck fear in the Jews living there, so they began to flee. It became a very dangerous situation for Jews to live in communist Russia. From the first century until the 19th, the reasoning for killing Jews is because they “put Jesus on the cross.” Because of communism, which is said to have been created by Jewish Poles, aggressive Russian Orthodoxism emerged and anti-Semitism still existed among the priests and bishops in the Russian Orthodox Church. Perhaps Joseph Stalin was the worst amongst the anti-Semitic Russians. He was paranoid and suspicious of Jews and shut down all institutions of Jewish culture. He called them “ruthless cosmopolitans disloyal to Russia.” He was so paranoid he thought Jewish physicians poisoned Russians. Stalin wanted to dislocate all Jews to Siberia. Because he ruled with such muscle for almost thirty years, he gained many followers, and anti-Semitism became a disease of the Russians. Jews who lived in Russia for generations migrated to Israel, becoming the largest exodus of Jews to Israel. Given a very warm welcome upon arriving in Jerusalem, the Russian Jews made a new home for themselves, or is it? Now not only do the Jews have to protect their Jewish identity, but they have to protect the security of their established land that was given to them out of sheer displacement from the Nazi revolution. Now it became Jews against Arabs. Again, is this the emergence of a hatred of religion or a hatred of identity? The Intifada is what messed everything up. I think it is extremists on both fronts, Israeli and Palestinian and the lack of any outside help to alleviate the problem that has caused the real catastrophy. The expansionist, Zionists, Islamists, extremists groups are what have deleted any ability or even possibility of peace for these people to live together in peace. It has become a battle over land, and a battle over land can last forever, as it has been showing signs. It is with great displeasure that I admit my cynicism of an embarking resolution to this hostility. While I understand the differences between the two arguments, I find it hard to believe that there will be any peace achieved in the near future. It is just too deeply rooted in the Israeli Jews to not give up their land. When they say “never again,” this is how they are showing that they are serious. Anyone attack Israeli’s, they simply fire back, out of sheer revenge. Out of intent to show that they really mean it when they say “Never Again!” However, I must admit that as it is fair that refugee’s from the Holocaust and Communist Russia all fled to Israel as their established homeland, it is very unfair that the land they established was Palestine, and those Palestinians were effectively displaced from their own land because of the influx of Jews. This is where I become perplexed, it was not the Arabs who defied and murdered the Jews, it was the Nazi’s, Hitler, Stalin, etc., so why is it that the Palestinians were punished for something they did not even commit? Moreover, this movie did a phenomenal job at portraying from day one, the hatred of Jews and “why.” In my opinion, there is no reason why, it was all based on false premises and individual ideologies that led to chaos once masses of people became involved and it gained media attention. While I sympathize with all Jewish people in the arena of their brutal history and unfair treatment, however today’s Jews i.e. the Zionist movement give those Jews who fell for them, a terrible name. If these Jews really followed their book of prayer, they would not steal, cheat, lie, deceive, or kill, yet they do to this day. They have every right to use the outlets of Holocaust propaganda to gain the justification of their actions (settlements, capturing of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights), but it is absolutely unfair and false justification because they are punishing the Palestinians, and Arabs alike, for a crime they were not even involved with in the slightest bit, let alone commit. The Jews in Israel need to recognize the Palestinians and their right to the land that was taken from them. The Zionists believe that they are the ‘chosen people’ and that Jerusalem is their ‘chosen land,’ has intensified the entire mess in Israel. While I am very cynical of an encroaching peace agreement between the Israeli’s and Palestinians, I do think the suffering is the same. They have both been displaced from their homeland and are victimized for their religious beliefs and identities. Aside the threats posed on both parts of attacking the other, I think it was out of mere fear of abolishment and of nationalism, so it is only understandable why these were thrown. It is bothersome the treatment imposed upon the Jewish people from the first century until even today, however the issue of Palestine is not what I would call fair and equal treatment from the Israelis. They took that land from the Palestinians, and insist on capturing more and more, all while displacing these poor Palestinians who have no where to go, nor a place to even call ‘home.’ This film made me realize a lot more than I had ever thought I’d known on the Jewish history, culture, identity, and Arab/Israeli conflict at large. I now feel more confident in taking a stance on this conflict, while realizing that there are always two sides to every story.
The Longest Hatred documents the long history of Judaism's role as an unwitting pariah in the world. Since the early days of the religion's formation there has been tragedy after tragedy as Jews were consistently labeled as "the other" by every society they were a part of. The discrimination began over 4,000 years ago and continues until today.
The movie does an excellent job depicting the stigma that follows a community that has been ostracized everywhere it goes and the massive damage that stigma can inflict on the psyche of a people. When Jews were persecuted it was ostensibly because they had not assimilated completely into European culture and social norms, but even after an extensive period of assimilation as Jews became more secular, more involved and integrated into the business community, and more involved with enlightenment values and rationality they still found themselves the target of hate and fear. It was after this that a wound began to fester on the Jewish psyche that damaged a people for generations. They could never feel safe in any nation, not even in their own neighborhoods or their own government were they truly protected as centuries of abuse in Europe culminating with the holocaust showed them. The movies attempts to explain the origins of a hatred so enduring that it has withstood countless civilizations, cultures, and nations.
Although everything the film says is historically accurate I feel that they painted the extremism of Christian antisemitism with a fairly broad brush. Christian dogma is pretty explicit about the Jews complicity in murdering Jesus and there is little doubt that much of the early antisemitism was fueled by Christian hatred, it seemed disjointed when the film talked about modern Christians essentially being enablers for the Holocaust due to an implied tacit antisemitism. The struggles of the Jewish people are largely the tales of everyday people who faced discrimination everywhere they went and that social stigmatization lead to a movement to protect Jews from hatred, from that Zionism was born and ironically probably increased the amount of antisemitism in the world faster than any other event in modern history. The movie does an excellent job showing the brutality of humanity and some of the sad ironies of life that are born out of the most petty hatred of all.
The Longest Hatred is a movie, which attempts to clear up the misconception of anti-Semitism regarding it’s origin. Majority of today’s society believe that the concept of anti-Semitism was derived from the Nazi Germany’s heinous act of genocide on the Jewish population. In addition, many people today are under the assumption that the concept of anti-Semitism came from the Arab’s and their “thirst” for Jewish blood. Both of these beliefs are outlandish and absolutely wrong according to the Longest Hatred. The Longest Hatred attempts to argue that Europe gave birth to the concept of Anti-Semitism, after the “death” of Jesus Christ. Within the first few minutes of the movie the narrator begins to explain how anti-Semitism was created in Europe. The narrator and a few experts begin to explain that after Christ was crucified that his followers migrated to Europe and spread the word of his death and as more people converted to Christianity they all began to blame the Jews for the death of Christ. This is further supported by an analysis of the New Testament, which states Christ was murdered by the hands of the Jews. According to historical facts, Jesus was crucified by the hands of Roman soldiers, not Jews. That seems to be one of the largest flaws in the movie’s argument. In addition, the movie mentions that during the Crusades Christian Armies led by Richard the Lionheart use to practice battle techniques on the Jews of Europe. This statement further solidified the movie’s argument that Anti-Semitism did not originate after the establishment of Israel and that it originated through the murder of Jesus. Another fact the movie presented was the idea of how Muslims and Jews lived together for hundreds of years peacefully, until Jerusalem went under direct British occupation, which can justify the argument that anti-Semitism did not originate within the Middle East. I personally feel the movie does not have an hint of anti-Christianity primarily because the movie is just simply clearing educated the audience about the origin of anti-Semitism and how it started.
The longest hatred at least for me wasn’t anything really eye opening. Anti-Semitism dates back, as this movie discusses too far before the Arab- Israeli conflict. Christians blaming the Jews for the death of Jesus is something that still comes up relatively often today. I remember as recently as high school going to one of my cousins’ basketball games which was a public high school vs. a Catholic high school and hearing members of the catholic high school chant you killed Jesus across the gymnasium. One thing that struck me in the creation of Israel was how much of it was the idea of the English. Which bears the question how much of it was the English helping the Jews get their own land and how much of it was the English helping themselves in getting the Jews to go somewhere else? What I found very interesting was the willingness on occasion to forgive of some of the Israeli’s, I think this shows the readiness of at least the people for peace and the frustration that has come with so much violence.
The Longest Hatred delved into the world of anti-Semitism by bringing to light its past. Jews have been hated, feared, and made scapegoats by so many throughout history and anti-Semitism is still alive to this day. Jews, distant brothers to Christians and Muslims, have been prejudiced and stereotyped since Christians began to blame Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It seemed to me that this documentary placed much of the blame on Christians, and in some situations using incorrect propaganda against them. The first evidence of factual errors occurred early on in the documentary. The narrator compared the Nazi swastika to the Christian cross and implied that the swastika was inspired by the cross. The swastika has existed in Indian and Oriental cultures from ancient times and stood for well-being. Twisted individuals, such as Hitler, used it for his own means and as a symbol for unity through unbridled power and extermination of the Jews. His interpretation by no means should be correlated to the Christian cross, a symbol of sacrifice and love. Although there was a strong overtone of blame geared toward Christians in this film, it is not untrue that people who happened to be Christian behaved wrongly. Throughout the centuries, many European monarchs persecuted Jews mercilessly and blamed them for disasters. The local population acted upon their leader's precedent of anti-Jewish sentiment. When Europeans attempted to claim the Holy Land as their own, they fought against Muslims. However, along the way many crusaders tortured and killed Jews, which is unacceptable.
The Longest Hatred is an important film for understanding this conflict because it helps to explain the fear Jews have of the horrors anti-Semitism. Israelis especially are reminded of this hatred from what they see coming from Arab neighbor: the burning of the Israeli flag, the depiction of Jews in cartoons, and rhetoric about killing all of the Jews. Without understanding the lens of fear through which the Israelis Jews see their situation, it is impossible to fully appreciate the Israeli perspective.
The film makes clear that anti-Semitism has been around since early Christianity. In fact it was early Christians who were the first to propagate the hatred of Jews. Throughout the middle ages, Crusaders led pogroms to massacre Jews. The hatred continued into the modern age. Hitler’s final solution was not aberration but instead the ultimate manifestation of an agenda that had begun nearly 2,000 years before.
While it is easy for us today to view anti-Semitism as a thing of the past, this hatred continues today. While the images of suffering Palestinians drives much of the hatred toward Israel, the terrorist takeover of the Jewish Center in Mumbai proves that intolerance towards the religion, and not just the Foreign policy of a state, still exist today. One of the prerequisites of an Arab Israeli peace is that the Arab world must first understand these very real existential fears that Israelis have and then they must work to allay these fears.
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The Longest Hatred is a very intriguing documentary on Jews and how they have been perceived by other cultures through the course of time. Judaism dates back thousands and thousands of years. It can be viewed as the foundation for Christianity and Islam. As Judaism lost its popularity in some parts of the world, people began to turn against the Jewish people. Left without a homeland, Jews had to struggle to survive in parts of the world where the local populations did not take a friendly view to them. They faced extreme oppression and were tragically persecuted in the Nazi Holocaust during the second World War.
The movie shows how this hatred developed. It depicts people making Jews feel like outsiders and resenting them for a variety of reasons; reasons that have a very weak basis. The Jewish religion preaches peace and love just as Christianity and Islam does. Yet, people through time have looked for small, petty differences as a grounds to hate Jewish people because they are not the same as them.
Some reviewers say this movie has anti-Christian spin on it, but I personally don't believe this to be the case. I feel the documentary is intended to make people aware of the suffering Jews have been put through for cultural and religious differences. If religious followers truly practiced what they preached, they would accept Jews into their community and treat them with the same respect and dignity that they themselves would like to be treated.
The Longest Hatred attempts to explain the root of anti-Semitism. The movie blames Christianity for anti-Semitism, even going as far as saying " Without Christian anti-Judaism the Holocaust wouldn't have happened, calling it a necessary condition". The movie goes on making such bold and controversial statements. I think it does a good job of depicting the history and proving that persecution of the Jews is not to be put on the Muslims. It shows how much the Jews had to struggle and the constant persecution they suffered over the years. Before World War II there were 3.5 million Jews living in Poland, after the war the number shrank significantly to 250,000 to a mere 10,000 today. They were forced to carry the lower paying jobs, and were usually confined to only lending money. Christian women would be forced to borrow money form Jewish women, creating a negative attitude towards the Jewish women.
The creation of Israel was supposed to be the solution to anti-Semitism, but it did nothing of that sort. What it fails to mention is that the recent wave of conflict and anti-Semitism in the Muslim world is after Zionists occupied Palestine in 1948. The mistreatment of the Palestinians seems as though history is repeating itself. The Jews in Israel are treating the Palestinians as the Christians treated them.
‘The Longest Hatred’ is a case study of anti-Semitism throughout history. In what would be surprising to most, the documentary clearly states that most anti-Semitism throughout history has been conducted by Christians, and not Muslims. In today’s society where the Israel-Palestine conflict is so entrenched in media coverage, many assume that historically Muslims hold lost standing hatred for Judaism. In reality, the Catholic Church was responsible for propagating widespread anti-Semitic rumors such as blood libel (that Jews need to drink Christian blood for certain religious rituals) and other preposterous claims and stereotypes. In fact, the film goes as far as stating that without widespread Christian anti-Semitism, the Holocaust wouldn’t have happened, citing it as a precondition.
While the creation of Israel was supposed to protect the Jewish people, it has ironically made them more exposed to violence and has spread more anti-Zionist views than any other recent time. By becoming subjugators to millions of Palestinians, and being viewed as unjust in their actions against them globally, the Israelis have undermined their cause. Israelis are constantly exposed to terrorist attacks and the wave of anti-Semitism that has spread throughout the Middle East since the creation of Israel is not going to cease until serious concessions made and fair negotiations are conducted. The Jewish people throughout history have often been subjugated and unfairly dominated by other groups. They must realize that nothing but strife and turmoil can come out of these circumstances, and that change from the current circumstances is necessary for any hope of peace in the future.
“The Longest Hatred” provides a history of anti-Semitism. Essentially, throughout history the Jews have been hated and persecuted because of who they are. From the times of the Greeks and Romans until this very day, Jews are seen as ‘others’ throughout the world and are treated accordingly.
Thus, one must understand that Anti-Semitism, first and foremost, has shaped the psyche of the modern state of Israel, from its citizens to its policymakers. In other words, to have had your people brutally slaughtered throughout history because of their identity, and to have had your people be the target of a near-successful ethnic cleansing just two generation ago, shapes the way a modern Jew must think.
More than anything, because of the history of the Jewish people, Israeli leaders are obsessed with the survival of Israel and the survival of the Jewish people – and understandably so. Anti-Semitism still looms very large today, and if Israel did not have a strong military and was not backed by the United States, it would be wiped off the face of the earth by its enemies, essentially spelling the end of the Jewish people. One must look through this lens when examining the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
National security and national security alone dominates the mindset of Israeli officials. While it is easy for us to sit in class and tear Israel apart for blatantly violating the human rights of Palestinians, we must understand that, quite frankly, Israeli policymakers can care less about the human rights of other people when they believe that the state of Israel is in jeopardy. I am not excusing Israel for violating the terms of its agreements, ignoring the resolutions of the United Nations, or terrorizing the lives of Palestinians. I am simply saying that I understand where Israel is coming from: national security is priority number 1-10; everything else can be considered afterwards.
So, the implications of all this is that every policy decision that Israel makes regarding its struggle with the Palestinians is made out of concern for national security. In other words, Israel will only act if it thinks that doing so will further its national security. That’s why Israel continues to expand its settlements, put Palestinians through humiliating checkpoints, and stall every time peace negotiations make progress. If Israel believes that demoralizing 1,000 innocent Palestinians will even possibly somehow make Israel one single drop safer, Israel will do it. Such a policy is not just, but it is how a history anti-Semitism has shaped the character of Israel.
In the end, in order for Palestinians to have their rights respected and have a sovereign state of their own, one of two things must happen: either Israel loses the support of the United States and therefore its leverage in the situation or Israel is somehow convinced that doing those things will further its national security. Neither of the two options seems likely in the near future. The Jewish lobby has a stranglehold on U.S. policy toward Israel to the point where a U.S. President can only whisper the words “two-state solution.” More importantly, I don’t think that Israel will somehow be convinced that the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state is in Israel’s best interest. A Palestinian state would diminish the size of Israel, push its borders closer to the sea, and make it more vulnerable to complete destruction. And I don’t think that most Israelis buy the “land for peace” idea. There will always be fundamentalists. Even if Israel conceded everything that the Palestinian Authority asked for, the mere existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East means that there would be those who want it destroyed.
With a mind driven by concerns of anti-Semitism and the survival of their people, don’t expect Israel to go out of its way to bring peace to the Middle East.
“The Longest Hatred” takes aim at examining the root cause of anti-Semitism. The movie begins by explaining that anti-Semitism began when Christianity broke from Judaism, stating that Christianity says that “Jews are the murder of god.” With this comes the explanation that Christianity began the anti-Semitic vision, which has lead to great violence and suppression against the Jewish population for centuries.
The movie quickly moves into quotes from the bible to show how anti-Semitism began with the Christians. According to the New Testament, the Jew’s crucified Jesus and this according to the film was the beginning of the anti-Semitic movement. The New Testament says that Christians are right and Jews are wrong. It is easy to understand how Jews have been hated for so long because one of the oldest and most read pieces of literature in the world says so.
Israel was created before World War II, around 1929, for Jews to have a homeland. Despite this attempt to give the Jewish population its own state for freedom and security, there has been much turmoil in the region. Before the creation of Israel, there were many positive events involving Jews and Muslims. For example, the Ottomon Empire saved hundreds of Jews from the Spanish inquisition. This might be just one example and it may have happened hundreds of years ago, but there has to be a way to stop the violence between the Israelis and Palestinians. Hatred against the Jews has grown since the creation of Israel, but if they make a peace agreement with Palestine, then perhaps anti-Semitism in the region will decrease.
-Robert Castellanos
If you need to find a clear example of racism or prejudice, anti-Semitism immediately pops into mind. Being Jewish, I have had anti-Semitic remarks directed at me a few times in my life and I have always been baffled how moronic and ignorant people can be to believe those stereotypes. “The Longest Hatred” is a documentary that chronicles the history of the misfortunes of the Jewish people and helps make the viewer understand why many Jews feel so strongly about Israeli security.
Anti-Semitism has manifested many forms throughout history. After the Romans crucified Jesus, the Jews were accused of being the killers of Christ. After the Diaspora, things just got worse. Because most fields of work were closed off to them, many Jews started lending money. It was not by choice, but that created the stereotype that Jews control all the money, when considering that many were poor, did not make any sense at all. One of the most ridiculous claims was that Jews committed “Ritual Murders” to drink Christian blood to fulfill religious obligations. There is no basis for these falsities. Alarmingly, the filmmakers interview a church congregation in Austria and they seem very convinced that Jews do this. The Holocaust was the disgusting climax of anti-Semitism and the reasons that the Nazis used to carry it out are in fact similar to the stereotypes Christians had used for Jews throughout the centuries: they are outsiders, they control the money, there is a conspiracy to control the world etc etc.
I am aware of the fact that throughout history the majority of anti-Semitism has been committed by Christians. For centuries, Jews have prospered under Islamic Empires such as Moorish Spain, Baghdad during the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire. That is why it is so tragic that Jewish-Muslim relations in the Middle East have degenerated. The state of Judaism is different today than it used to be. While the Jews now have their own state, controversy has been created with the maltreatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. For the first time Jews are not the oppressed but in Israel have done some oppressing of their own. This is causing a new rise in anti-Semitism, especially in the Middle East and Europe. Recently the army had to be called in to remove settlers from a building in Hebron, West Bank. The settlers revolted and began attacking Palestinian neighbors, for all of his shortcomings; outgoing PM Ehud Olmert had it right when he said “We are the children of a people whose historic ethos is built on the memory of pogroms," Olmert said. "The sight of Jews firing at innocent Palestinians has no other name than pogrom. Even when Jews do this, it is a pogrom. As a Jew, I am ashamed that Jews could do such a thing.” (CNN)
“The Longest Hatred” is a poignant movie that accurately catalogues the horrors directed against Jews for more than one thousand years. I believe the Jews need a safe haven in Israel but the human rights violations have to stop and U.N. Resolution 242 must be implemented. Once a viable Palestinian State is established anti-Semitism will definitely go down. It will never ever completely disappear just like other forms of racism and prejudice, but it can be reduced so that it is not a major problem.
The timing of watching this film, after reading the “Israel Lobby” is very coincidental. I never knew that Jewish hatred has existed since the first century. I didn’t know that the Jews were blamed for crucifying Christ. I thought it started much later, so perhaps this is where Hitler justified his reasoning for attempting to extinct the Jewish race. During Hitler’s reign, it was purely racial, not religious because at this time, religious hostility was seen as obscure and medieval. In 1879, racial scrutinty against the Jews, known as “Semite” emerged from a mere textbook that somehow placed Aryans on top and Semites with the Africans, at the bottom. With elitist scholars and philosophers from Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, to Sigmund Freud, transformed the Jewish identity to an idea that they were trying to achieve “global domination.” It was a sheer reaction from the non Jewish community that just because they were raising the bar and climbing up the social ladder because of their intelligence, education, and entrepreneurship, this somehow meant they wanted to take over the world, this among one of the many common misconceptions of Jewish people and identity.
I think it’s interesting that strong nationalism is said to lead to anti-Semitism. Once the Berlin Wall fell, anti-Semitism began to emerge again, simply because it never went away. Young Germans fed to the propaganda that slandered the Jewish identity. The neo-Nazi movement has grown out of the rationalization that they are “German patriots” not “Nazi’s.” Among other things I did not know, I did not know that the initiation of the extermination of Jews was by the Austrians, not just Nazi Germans. Hatred of Jews seemed to keep reemerging every year or few years, in Austria and Germany. The reason this happened was because “The Germans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz, and the Austrians will never forgive the Jews of Auschwitz,” it was to be termed as an eternal hatred of Jews. Poland was the home of the Jews, and they lived amongst each other, not against. That is until 1939 when Hitler invaded. Poland has been the proven case that you don’t need Jews around to be anti-Semitic.
Mainstream media and anti-Jewish sermons preached in Catholic churches are what generated anti-Semitic feelings throughout Poland, a land once friendly to Jews. The church and Nazi’s pinned the Poles against the Jews, and pinned the Jews against the church. Communism was invented by the Polish Jews so perhaps this is why the Poles today disapprove of the Jewish influence left on their homeland. From this point on became a pursuit to create a more Polish Poland and alleviate the “Jewishness” left on it.
“When nothing works anymore, there’s always the tradition scapegoat: the Jew.” Communism in the Soviet Union struck fear in the Jews living there, so they began to flee. It became a very dangerous situation for Jews to live in communist Russia. From the first century until the 19th, the reasoning for killing Jews is because they “put Jesus on the cross.” Because of communism, which is said to have been created by Jewish Poles, aggressive Russian Orthodoxism emerged and anti-Semitism still existed among the priests and bishops in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Perhaps Joseph Stalin was the worst amongst the anti-Semitic Russians. He was paranoid and suspicious of Jews and shut down all institutions of Jewish culture. He called them “ruthless cosmopolitans disloyal to Russia.” He was so paranoid he thought Jewish physicians poisoned Russians. Stalin wanted to dislocate all Jews to Siberia. Because he ruled with such muscle for almost thirty years, he gained many followers, and anti-Semitism became a disease of the Russians. Jews who lived in Russia for generations migrated to Israel, becoming the largest exodus of Jews to Israel. Given a very warm welcome upon arriving in Jerusalem, the Russian Jews made a new home for themselves, or is it?
Now not only do the Jews have to protect their Jewish identity, but they have to protect the security of their established land that was given to them out of sheer displacement from the Nazi revolution. Now it became Jews against Arabs.
Again, is this the emergence of a hatred of religion or a hatred of identity? The Intifada is what messed everything up. I think it is extremists on both fronts, Israeli and Palestinian and the lack of any outside help to alleviate the problem that has caused the real catastrophy. The expansionist, Zionists, Islamists, extremists groups are what have deleted any ability or even possibility of peace for these people to live together in peace. It has become a battle over land, and a battle over land can last forever, as it has been showing signs. It is with great displeasure that I admit my cynicism of an embarking resolution to this hostility.
While I understand the differences between the two arguments, I find it hard to believe that there will be any peace achieved in the near future. It is just too deeply rooted in the Israeli Jews to not give up their land. When they say “never again,” this is how they are showing that they are serious. Anyone attack Israeli’s, they simply fire back, out of sheer revenge. Out of intent to show that they really mean it when they say “Never Again!”
However, I must admit that as it is fair that refugee’s from the Holocaust and Communist Russia all fled to Israel as their established homeland, it is very unfair that the land they established was Palestine, and those Palestinians were effectively displaced from their own land because of the influx of Jews. This is where I become perplexed, it was not the Arabs who defied and murdered the Jews, it was the Nazi’s, Hitler, Stalin, etc., so why is it that the Palestinians were punished for something they did not even commit?
Moreover, this movie did a phenomenal job at portraying from day one, the hatred of Jews and “why.” In my opinion, there is no reason why, it was all based on false premises and individual ideologies that led to chaos once masses of people became involved and it gained media attention. While I sympathize with all Jewish people in the arena of their brutal history and unfair treatment, however today’s Jews i.e. the Zionist movement give those Jews who fell for them, a terrible name. If these Jews really followed their book of prayer, they would not steal, cheat, lie, deceive, or kill, yet they do to this day. They have every right to use the outlets of Holocaust propaganda to gain the justification of their actions (settlements, capturing of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights), but it is absolutely unfair and false justification because they are punishing the Palestinians, and Arabs alike, for a crime they were not even involved with in the slightest bit, let alone commit. The Jews in Israel need to recognize the Palestinians and their right to the land that was taken from them. The Zionists believe that they are the ‘chosen people’ and that Jerusalem is their ‘chosen land,’ has intensified the entire mess in Israel.
While I am very cynical of an encroaching peace agreement between the Israeli’s and Palestinians, I do think the suffering is the same. They have both been displaced from their homeland and are victimized for their religious beliefs and identities. Aside the threats posed on both parts of attacking the other, I think it was out of mere fear of abolishment and of nationalism, so it is only understandable why these were thrown. It is bothersome the treatment imposed upon the Jewish people from the first century until even today, however the issue of Palestine is not what I would call fair and equal treatment from the Israelis. They took that land from the Palestinians, and insist on capturing more and more, all while displacing these poor Palestinians who have no where to go, nor a place to even call ‘home.’ This film made me realize a lot more than I had ever thought I’d known on the Jewish history, culture, identity, and Arab/Israeli conflict at large. I now feel more confident in taking a stance on this conflict, while realizing that there are always two sides to every story.
The Longest Hatred documents the long history of Judaism's role as an unwitting pariah in the world. Since the early days of the religion's formation there has been tragedy after tragedy as Jews were consistently labeled as "the other" by every society they were a part of. The discrimination began over 4,000 years ago and continues until today.
The movie does an excellent job depicting the stigma that follows a community that has been ostracized everywhere it goes and the massive damage that stigma can inflict on the psyche of a people. When Jews were persecuted it was ostensibly because they had not assimilated completely into European culture and social norms, but even after an extensive period of assimilation as Jews became more secular, more involved and integrated into the business community, and more involved with enlightenment values and rationality they still found themselves the target of hate and fear. It was after this that a wound began to fester on the Jewish psyche that damaged a people for generations. They could never feel safe in any nation, not even in their own neighborhoods or their own government were they truly protected as centuries of abuse in Europe culminating with the holocaust showed them. The movies attempts to explain the origins of a hatred so enduring that it has withstood countless civilizations, cultures, and nations.
Although everything the film says is historically accurate I feel that they painted the extremism of Christian antisemitism with a fairly broad brush. Christian dogma is pretty explicit about the Jews complicity in murdering Jesus and there is little doubt that much of the early antisemitism was fueled by Christian hatred, it seemed disjointed when the film talked about modern Christians essentially being enablers for the Holocaust due to an implied tacit antisemitism. The struggles of the Jewish people are largely the tales of everyday people who faced discrimination everywhere they went and that social stigmatization lead to a movement to protect Jews from hatred, from that Zionism was born and ironically probably increased the amount of antisemitism in the world faster than any other event in modern history. The movie does an excellent job showing the brutality of humanity and some of the sad ironies of life that are born out of the most petty hatred of all.
The Longest Hatred is a movie, which attempts to clear up the misconception of anti-Semitism regarding it’s origin. Majority of today’s society believe that the concept of anti-Semitism was derived from the Nazi Germany’s heinous act of genocide on the Jewish population. In addition, many people today are under the assumption that the concept of anti-Semitism came from the Arab’s and their “thirst” for Jewish blood. Both of these beliefs are outlandish and absolutely wrong according to the Longest Hatred. The Longest Hatred attempts to argue that Europe gave birth to the concept of Anti-Semitism, after the “death” of Jesus Christ.
Within the first few minutes of the movie the narrator begins to explain how anti-Semitism was created in Europe. The narrator and a few experts begin to explain that after Christ was crucified that his followers migrated to Europe and spread the word of his death and as more people converted to Christianity they all began to blame the Jews for the death of Christ. This is further supported by an analysis of the New Testament, which states Christ was murdered by the hands of the Jews. According to historical facts, Jesus was crucified by the hands of Roman soldiers, not Jews. That seems to be one of the largest flaws in the movie’s argument.
In addition, the movie mentions that during the Crusades Christian Armies led by Richard the Lionheart use to practice battle techniques on the Jews of Europe. This statement further solidified the movie’s argument that Anti-Semitism did not originate after the establishment of Israel and that it originated through the murder of Jesus. Another fact the movie presented was the idea of how Muslims and Jews lived together for hundreds of years peacefully, until Jerusalem went under direct British occupation, which can justify the argument that anti-Semitism did not originate within the Middle East.
I personally feel the movie does not have an hint of anti-Christianity primarily because the movie is just simply clearing educated the audience about the origin of anti-Semitism and how it started.
The longest hatred at least for me wasn’t anything really eye opening. Anti-Semitism dates back, as this movie discusses too far before the Arab- Israeli conflict. Christians blaming the Jews for the death of Jesus is something that still comes up relatively often today. I remember as recently as high school going to one of my cousins’ basketball games which was a public high school vs. a Catholic high school and hearing members of the catholic high school chant you killed Jesus across the gymnasium. One thing that struck me in the creation of Israel was how much of it was the idea of the English. Which bears the question how much of it was the English helping the Jews get their own land and how much of it was the English helping themselves in getting the Jews to go somewhere else? What I found very interesting was the willingness on occasion to forgive of some of the Israeli’s, I think this shows the readiness of at least the people for peace and the frustration that has come with so much violence.
The Longest Hatred delved into the world of anti-Semitism by bringing to light its past. Jews have been hated, feared, and made scapegoats by so many throughout history and anti-Semitism is still alive to this day. Jews, distant brothers to Christians and Muslims, have been prejudiced and stereotyped since Christians began to blame Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
It seemed to me that this documentary placed much of the blame on Christians, and in some situations using incorrect propaganda against them. The first evidence of factual errors occurred early on in the documentary. The narrator compared the Nazi swastika to the Christian cross and implied that the swastika was inspired by the cross. The swastika has existed in Indian and Oriental cultures from ancient times and stood for well-being. Twisted individuals, such as Hitler, used it for his own means and as a symbol for unity through unbridled power and extermination of the Jews. His interpretation by no means should be correlated to the Christian cross, a symbol of sacrifice and love.
Although there was a strong overtone of blame geared toward Christians in this film, it is not untrue that people who happened to be Christian behaved wrongly.
Throughout the centuries, many European monarchs persecuted Jews mercilessly and blamed them for disasters. The local population acted upon their leader's precedent of anti-Jewish sentiment. When Europeans attempted to claim the Holy Land as their own, they fought against Muslims. However, along the way many crusaders tortured and killed Jews, which is unacceptable.
The Longest Hatred is an important film for understanding this conflict because it helps to explain the fear Jews have of the horrors anti-Semitism. Israelis especially are reminded of this hatred from what they see coming from Arab neighbor: the burning of the Israeli flag, the depiction of Jews in cartoons, and rhetoric about killing all of the Jews. Without understanding the lens of fear through which the Israelis Jews see their situation, it is impossible to fully appreciate the Israeli perspective.
The film makes clear that anti-Semitism has been around since early Christianity. In fact it was early Christians who were the first to propagate the hatred of Jews. Throughout the middle ages, Crusaders led pogroms to massacre Jews. The hatred continued into the modern age. Hitler’s final solution was not aberration but instead the ultimate manifestation of an agenda that had begun nearly 2,000 years before.
While it is easy for us today to view anti-Semitism as a thing of the past, this hatred continues today. While the images of suffering Palestinians drives much of the hatred toward Israel, the terrorist takeover of the Jewish Center in Mumbai proves that intolerance towards the religion, and not just the Foreign policy of a state, still exist today. One of the prerequisites of an Arab Israeli peace is that the Arab world must first understand these very real existential fears that Israelis have and then they must work to allay these fears.
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