Why Are Jews Persecuted? The Answer Changes Over Time

Malicious blood libels against the Jewish people can be found even thousands of years ago in the writings of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian historians. Is there another people who have been defamed throughout history, accused of wicked blood libels, and repeatedly faced attempts at annihilation? Isn’t it strange that in every era Jews were persecuted for entirely different reasons?

At one time, Jews were persecuted because Mordechai refused to bow to Haman, another time because they rejected the dominant Greek culture, another for surrendering a false messiah, and yet again because the Germans deemed them an "inferior race." Today, they're criticized for reclaiming their ancestral land...

The reasons not only shift but also evolve: when Jews were poor, they were despised for their poverty, and when they thrived, they were disparaged for their wealth and influence. When Jews were in exile, they were scorned as "parasitic" wanderers relying on the nations’ mercy, and when they reclaimed their land and governed it, they were criticized for their dominion. Throughout history, anti-Semites have used various, even contradictory, reasons for the same goal.

In the 19th century, European Jews believed that the anti-Semitism problem would be resolved if they became "a nation like all others" and embraced non-Jewish culture. What happened? Anti-Semitism didn’t decrease; it intensified. All the peoples of Europe handed Jews over to the jaws of the Nazi monster.

Here’s a famous example: Alfred Dreyfus, a well-educated Jew from an assimilated family, rose to the rank of captain in the French army, but in 1894, he was unjustly accused of espionage and stripped of his ranks in a humiliating ceremony. Following the Dreyfus trial, Theodor Herzl concluded that anti-Semitism couldn’t be solved through mass conversion to Christianity or assimilation and imitation of non-Jews. History proves that anti-Semitism has no natural source: "It is a known law that Esau hates Jacob" (Sifrei on Genesis 33:4).

Therefore, the solution to our problem is not a natural one. Hashem promised that no nation could harm the Jewish people if they adhered to His Torah: "I have separated you from the nations to be mine; if you remain separate from the nations, you are mine, and if not, you belong to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and his friends" (Sifra on Leviticus 20:26). Hatred persists as a heavenly decree, and its power to harm us depends entirely on our spiritual actions!

Despite anti-Semitism, Hashem promised us that He would not allow other nations to annihilate us, and the fact is: we have survived 3,300 years against all odds, while the great empires that persecuted us have perished and disappeared.

The prophets of Israel foretold the coming of the Messiah and the redemption in the last days, when all nations will recognize the importance of the people of Israel and its holy Torah, and they will love and assist the chosen people. May it be so that we strengthen ourselves together to hasten the redemption soon.