It can also be expressed in the form of vandalism and racial slurs that target these people (Hertzberg 1989). Religious teachings can also be used to fuel this hate. Anti-Semitism has been around for many centuries. The first recorded instance of this hate was during the Roman invasion of Jerusalem (Nicholls 1993). The hate increased after the death of Christ because the Jews were seen as the people who let the Romans crucify Jesus (Crossan 1995).
In Imperial Rome the traditional religion was Romano-Paganism, and they worshipped an array of Gods/Goddesses that made up the Partheon. Throughout the reign of the Roman Emperors this traditional religion became mixed in with the imperial cult, and then eventually Christianity became a dominant religion (although much later) One of the major themes throughout the reign of most Emperors in this period was the problem of Judaism, and it’s spread throughout the Empire and particularly the problems in Judaea (a province of Rome) in the later years of Imperial Rome. In this period, the Emperors where extremely harsh on the Jewish population as a result of the Jews revolting in Judaea, the location of modern day Jerusalem (an extremely important holy site for both the Jews and Christians). Emperors Vespasian and Titus were the chief culprits of Jewish persecution; however this was arguably mainly just because of their circumstances at the time. In 66AD the Judean revolt was dealt with by Vespasian (a General at the time) who led the forces of Rome against the Jews which resulted in thousands of deaths.
Without the Diaspora the Romans might have crushed the entire Jewish religion by devouring the revolts and their siege of Jerusalem. Now their own country of Israel the Jews have been given their homeland and with the rivaling Babylonians to the east in Mesopotamia they are at risk. In five hundred and eighty seven BC the Jews biggest fears are realized. Under Nebakanezer, Babylon invades Israel and pillaged all the cities and took all the captives they could carry. Those who escaped Nebakanezer are now categorized into the Jewish Diaspora (Diaspora).
In this essay I will talk about why the Christians were viewed with suspicion by the Romans and how this led to their persecution. The world into which the Christian faith was spread at first was a very different world than which we find today. The Greco-Roman world was a world of polytheism which had an interwoven religious and political system. This state religion was
(p. 127). Hebrew people grew and prospered in Egypt for many years until the new Egyptian ruler started to get uncomfortable with their population growth and feared Egypt’s enemies might recruit the Hebrews to fight against Egypt. “They join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land” (verse 10). Pharaoh enslaved the Hebrews and appointed brutal taskmasters over them to build his empire. The first chapters of the Book of Exodus describe the hardships suffered by the Hebrew slaves: “the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour” (verse 12-14).
Also more persecution happened the next day as Jewish communities were asked to pay $1 million marks in reparations to what took place on that night . In 1940 the Warsaw Ghetto came into use which could hold 400,000 Jews and was the death to 500,000, this was used as a holding point for the Treblinka death camp, This was violent persecution as death occurred and Human rights were removed this is shown in the way that many Jews starved to death and were dehydrated they were offered less than 200 calories a day. Violent persecution can also be seen in the way the Nazis treated the Jews when they were in the Ghetto, The Jews were often beaten by the Nazis as it gave them a sense of satisfaction In 1942 the Wannsee conference took place where the final solution was devised and the construction of the death camps increased. This was extermination of the Jews as the sole purpose was to eradicate them, This is shown as the death toll increased since the Wannsee conference as well as the construction. This is seen in the August of 1942 where 6000 Jews died in Auschwitz to a previous 100 Jews in
Sasha Kassoff Islamophobia and Zionism From May 14, 1948, every predominantly Muslim nation surrounding Israel has declared war on the new Nation formerly known as Palestine. The strong Zionist movement in the 1940’s and 50’s has led to a phenomenal amount conflict and physical violence by Palestinians and other supporters of the Anti Israeli movements. The way that these events are and have been portrayed is often very negatively in the western world towards the Muslims who are committing these acts. Zionism promotes Islamophobia in Palestine, the broader region, the US and around the world. And the resentment and anger toward Jews living in Israel and elsewhere, aroused by Israeli violence and military domination, is used to justify further Zionist violence.
The beginning of 1930's saw massive execution of close to six million Jews by Nazis together with those who were collaborating with them. The word "holocaust" has its roots in Greece which translates to a "sacrifice made by fire". When the Nazis came to power in 1933 they believed that they were racially superior and the Jews were inferior and a threat to the Germans (Holocaust encyclopedia,1). It is important to also note that the holocaust also saw other groups of people apart from the Jews targeted. These included the Roma, Russians, Poles, the disabled, etc.
Many of these were national laws that had been issued by the German administration and affected all Jews. But state, regional, and municipal officials, acting on their own initiatives, also promulgated a barrage of exclusionary decrees in their own communities. Thus, hundreds of individuals in all levels of government throughout the country were involved in the persecution of Jews as they conceived, discussed, drafted, adopted, enforced, and supported anti-Jewish legislation. No corner of Germany was left untouched. The first major law to curtail the rights of Jewish citizens was the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service of April 7, 1933, which excluded Jews and the “politically unreliable” from civil service.
Modern Day Christian Persecution: Some of the places were they still persecute Christians are Asia, Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and many more. Africa is also one of them. The ranks of persecuted Christians continue to grow in this country. But so does the size of the church-especially in the Horn of Africa. Early church theologian and apologist, Tertullian, said, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church."