Anti-Semitism between religion and politics

Abstract

This analytical critical study aims to discuss the origin of the term "antisemitism" and explore its implications in the context of its emergence in Western societies. Additionally, it examines the reasons that contributed to the rise of hostility towards Jews in those societies, the relationship of Western Christian religious thought, in its Catholic and Protestant aspects, to hostility towards Judaism, the impact of Christian religious texts on that hostility, and how the Zionist movement exploited the issue of "antisemitism" to benefit Israel. The study concludes that hostility towards Jews in the West was part of a racist culture in Europe, linked to the failure of Jewish integration into Western societies, and the significant evolution in the Catholic Church's towards antisemitism through the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). It also highlights the diverse areas in which the Zionist movement worked to exploit "antisemitism" to further its political interests and cover up its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.