Causes of Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes
Anti-Sematic crimes result from Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is portraying obnoxious behaviour which is associated with hostility towards the Jewish community as a racial group. Although Anti-Semitism began many years ago, it is different in the manner in which it is portrayed in the current years. This paper will, therefore, look at the causes of Anti-Sematic crimes.
The leading cause of Anti-Sematic crimes is racial prejudice against the Jews (“Anti-Semitism”). There is a risk of biased information which is not based on reason. People may choose to hate the Jews because of their religion, skin colour and even nationality, and this may cause hostility or even war. Secondly, these crimes are caused by unfavourable political agendas (“Anti-Semitism). Political hatred against the Jews may result in isolation and oppression against them.
Thirdly the crimes have been caused by stereotypes (Diamant, 2019). People hold different and generalized beliefs about the Jews as a group. For example, in France, the Jews were described as selfish people interested in achieving their own goals. Secondly, there were claims that the Jews overstated how much they suffered in the past years (Diamant, 2019). Also, Anti-Sematic crimes are caused by envy (Smith and Hoogland, 2019). According to Richard Smith, Jews experience hatred because of their competence and because their conceived capability undercut several cultures. As such, they are regarded as threats to other cultures and as causes of societal problems (“How envy can incite Anti-Semitism and Genocide”, 2019). Mental illness is also a contributing factor of Anti-Sematic crimes which result in high-profile cases (Lerman, 2020). For example, the attack in Monsey New York during a Jewish festive holiday where five people were slashed was associated with a mental disorder (Lerman, 2020). Finally, these crimes are caused by the rise of Anti-Sematic groups like the Nazi, and religious intolerance, among others.
References
Anti-Semitism. Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.adl.org/anti-semitism.
Diamant, J. (2019). Negative stereotypes about Jews are largely rejected in France. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/03/13/negative-stereotypes-about-jews-are-largely-rejected-in-france/.
Lerman, R. (2020). Examining Anti-Semitism, Past & Present | Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. Morningsidecenter.org. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from http://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/examining-anti-semitism-past-present.
ResearchGate. (2019). Retrieved 6 May 2020, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/337427327_How_Envy_Can_Incite_Anti-Semitism_and_Genocide. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780190685942.003.0003
Smith, R. H., & Hoogland, C. E. (2019). How envy can incite Anti-Semitism and Genocide. Confronting Humanity at its Worst: Social Psychological Perspectives on Genocide, 62.