Hate, Discrimination, and a Path to Unity

Hate, Discrimination, and a Path to Unity

Among minority groups that have a significant history of oppression and discrimination, the Jewish people stand out as a clear example of a marginalized minority group. Part of current public awareness around antisemitism can likely be attributed to how recent some of the biggest atrocities against the Jews took place. WWII occurred less than 100 years ago, making the events therein hard to dismiss. Despite how fresh the wounds of the Jewish people from the events in the holocaust are, many seem to forget or ignore the gravity of what has transpired and how it continues to affect the families of the survivors (by way of intergenerational trauma) today.

I find it remarkable when I hear certain people’s perspectives on Jews. One driving force of antisemitism is the notion that all Jews are rich and use their power inappropriately. As a jew, I have encountered this false belief many times and was always puzzled by it since as a child, my family was dependent on government assistance and most of my friend’s parents struggled to make ends meet. This fallacy about the reality of economic standing within the Jewish community has facilitated and surprisingly continues to perpetuate hate against Jews. 

It is well documented that racial discrimination is often rooted in ignorance and false beliefs about other groups. This is certainly the case with antisemitism which has persisted through many generations - largely fueled by lies and segregation. This gap is also exacerbated by the reality that Jews always had their own unique religion and practices that separated them from their neighbors. This allowed for the “us vs. them” attitude toward Jews to be generated and easily maintained by hateful and divisive leaders. 

I think that the keys to reducing antisemitism (and for that matter any kind of racial discrimination) lie in education, understanding, and the fostering of intergroup relationships. People need to be exposed to others that are different from themselves in order to promote unity across varying groups. Through this kind of cultural exposure by way of education and social interaction, hate and racism dissipate. 

I find it surprising that in most schools, more time is spent on ancient history than on recent events like WWII even though the relevance of the latter seems to be much more pertinent and applicable. Today, hate crimes against Jews are on the rise. It seems like a lot of this renewed hate is fostered in online eco chambers where individuals find others with similar beliefs reinforce their age-old false theories about groups outside of their own. Although education and exposure would likely help decrease the continuity of such in-groups, it is often not easy to reach out to such people and show them another way, especially if they have identified with their group and ideologies for a long period of time. Providing good education on historical events and their relevance also requires effort and resources that are not always available. Nevertheless, I believe that education that bridges racial gaps and brings people together is essential for the maintenance of a healthy society and is therefore a most worthy investment.