The Teen Zine 

Antisemitism has a long history, as ancient as the history of the Jewish people themselves. The Jews have
always been hated for their distinction. The distinctive nature of Jews makes certain people uncomfortable,
because it makes them feel as if their culture is being rejected. This feeling of rejection is offensive, and sparks
feelings of contempt and hatred. The truth of it is, the Jews have a strong love of their culture, religion, and
principles. Their heritage is one of the most treasured things in the world of Judaism. If your people made up
just 0.2% of the population, wouldn’t you protect your culture with all your resources? Another thing to be
noted is that Judaism has an open policy on conversion, meaning that they accept converts from any
background, race, or religion so long as they are sincere. This fundamental principle contradicts the idea that
Jews reject the nations who want to join the Jewish religion.
A misconception of Jews is that they are a misanthropic, xenophobic people. This most likely comes from the
fact that they tend to stay secluded within themselves even amid society. They don’t intermarry with other
faiths, or eat certain foods, and dress differently. Again, this distinction sparks a reaction of contempt and
hatred. Antisemitic rhetoric assassinates the character of the Jewish people. We’re reputed as “too clever” or
“greedy”, and as non-trustworthy. All these claims against the Jewish people are emotionally charged and
based upon nonfactual rhetoric that comes from the Middle Ages. The main occupation of Jews in those times
were commerce and banking, largely because they were outlawed from most other professions. Even so, the
local merchants feared that Jewish success was posing too much competition, and the monarchs limited and
oppressed the Jews accordingly. In the simplest terms, antisemitism stems from a hatred of that which is
different and the powerful presence that Jews have, despite being such a minority group. Being different might
not be a problem, if they didn’t see it as a threat to their own power or “superiority”. We can see this being
proven in history, expelled from countries for gaining too much presence or influence, prominent examples
being the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust. In fact, the Holocaust began as an expulsion of the Jews from
all European countries, then later turned into an effort to execute all Jews.
The real problem at hand is that many people today show antisemitic behavior towards Jews without realizing
it. The problem I speak of is alienation. By alienating the Jews, they create a stigma which spreads across
beliefs and surrounds the Jewish community. This alienation turns the Jews into a sort of second class citizen
in the public view, even without the use of violence or derogatory rhetoric. Even within the Jewish community,
I’ve heard the saying that “They (the antisemites) will hate us for any reason”. The fact that this is normalized
and internalized in so many of us is atrocious, and largely true.
So much of antisemitism today is directed at the Jews specifically because of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Even
though the Israel-Palestine conflict is political, the impact is very much on the social level. I’ve witnessed so
much antisemitism online simply because of it. People will throw around the most hateful insults, aiming them
at “Zionists” on something purely Jewish (even if it’s just food) and completely unrelated to Israel, Zionism, or
the Israel-Palestine conflict. Every Jew who sees those hateful comments know that it’s really aimed at Jews,
using anti-Zionism as a protective shield. But what if someone doesn’t have the context that a Jew has? And
that brings up a question that concerns me: What if some people genuinely don’t know the difference between

a Zionist and a Jew? To me, the difference is clear because you can be a Jew and a Zionist, a Jew and a non-
Zionist, or an anti-Zionist Jew. By making the terms “Jew” and “Zionist” synonymous, it obscures the truth.
Though incredibly small, the Jewish community is incredibly diverse. We are an ethno-religion, meaning that
being Jewish is both an ethnicity and a religion. And with the diaspora in mind, we are spread across nearly all
continents and ethnic groups. Antisemites will direct hate speech towards a specific group of Jews but
effectively put all Jews in danger at the same time.
The fact of the matter is, the Jews are accepting of all forms of society. All we ask is that you respect us and
our culture as we respect yours. To disrespect us would be asking us to assimilate, to go against our own
people or traditions. Antisemites feel as if the Jews must assimilate to be accepting of their culture, or to
coexist peacefully. What they don’t know about the Jewish people is that we have an entire code of Jewish law
on how to do business honestly, how to settle disputes, and how to follow our traditions. If they would actually
see this Jewish code of law, called the Shulchan Aruch, they would realize how precise, detailed, and fairly we
conduct our business and day-to-day life. If there’s one thing that you should know about the Jewish people,
it’s that their spirits will never be dimmed in the face of adversity. No matter how much we are persecuted, we
always live life with happiness and determination.

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Citations

(Noy, 1998)
Working definition of antisemitism. (n.d.). holocaustremembrance.com.
The World Data. (2026, June 4). World Jewish Population 2026 | Statistics & Facts - The World Data. -.
https://theworlddata.com/world-jewish-population/
Wikipedia contributors. (2026, September 11). Antisemitism in Europe. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Europe#Early_modern
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 268:2