What is the origin of the hatred between the West and the Jews?

 

What is the origin of the hatred between the West and the Jews?  

 ( First published 2009.6.16.)

　　　　　　
I believe that the grievances between the West and the Jews may be due to the inner conflict between the Old and New Testaments.

This inner conflict may reflect two completely different cultural direction. 

 The Old Testament is one cultural direction, and the New Testament is another
cultural direction.

If this conjecture is correct, 
Western culture will always return to the direction of the New Testament in future .  they will give up their anti-intellectual materialistic tendencies, and they will  return to the way of love of  Jesus.

If so, the West will be in a new perspective to 
renew their  conflict with Jewish culture.  Although, this conflict may not necessarily be the source  of the Second World War, but the conflict is bound to happen.

President Obama, recently(2009) proposed a plan to renew Jews policy.  He called upon the Jews to exercise restraint.  It might be a beginning of a larger-scale cultural conflict in the future.  Those who are interested in the evolution of international culture will be watching.

From a cultural perspective, rather than a political perspective, the inherent differences of the two cultures are  worthy of study.

Some authors believe that the conflict between the two cultures began in the Middle Ages.  Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. in "Why Hitler?"--The Genesis of the Nazi Reich pointed out that the Middle Ages was a time when witchcraft was prevalent.  Westerners at that time had a special  view of all cultures that were different from their own.
There were  great caution in  different clothes, different cultures as  a suspicious monster. And,  the Jews were  completely different from them.

Shakespeare once in the play "The Merchant of Venice",
denounces the Jews by the words  of a character: "Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnal" 

The leader of the Protestant Church, Martin Luther,  published a pamphlet article: "Against the Jews
and their Lies” in 1543. He said: "Jews are nothing but thieves and robbers who daily eat no morsel and wear no thread of clothing which
they have not stolen and pilfered from us by means of their accursed usury....
(Jews) are our plague, our pestilence, and
our misfortune."
(Quoted from Randall L. Bytwerk, Julius Streicher (Briarcliff Manor, New York:
1983), P. 68, citing Martin H. Bertram, ed., Luther's Works (Philadelphia:1971),
Volume 47, P.275.

However,  the conflict might be from an even earlier history.

Money and interests are both external conflicts.  Are all people greedy loan sharks?  This is not intrinsic  culture
question.  Inherent problems in culture  may have occurred thousands of years ago in Old Testament times.

If we could really discern the inherent differences between the Old and New Testaments,
there will be more awareness about future cultural conflicts.

西方與猶太恩怨的始源何在？

…………………………………………………*李察
(問到底 No.7428 2009 0616 Tuesday)
西方與猶太恩怨的始源何在？
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　李察相信，西方與猶太的恩怨，可能就是在舊約和新約的內在衝突裡面。

　　這種內在衝突，可能反映了兩種完全不同的文化路向。舊約是一種文化路向，而新約又是另一種文化路向。

　　如果李察的猜想沒有錯，在未來的日子裡，西方文化始終會向新約的方向回歸。他們始終會放棄反智的物質化的傾向，他們始終會重新歸向耶穌所指出的、愛的道路。

　　果如是，則西方就會在一種新的視野中，重新和猶太文化衝突。雖然，這種衝突，未必就是第二次大戰的那種方式，但衝突是必然發生的。

　　奧巴馬總統，最近(2009)提出了一種針對猶太人的政策。他呼籥猶太人要克制。或者，這僅僅只是未來的、較大規模文化衝突的起始。注視
國際文化演變的人，不妨留意。

　　從文化角度，而不是政治角度看，兩種文化的內在不同點何在？值得研究。

　　有作者以為，兩種文化的衝突，始於中世紀。Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. 在　"Why Hitler?"-- The Genesis of the Nazi Reich 中指出，中世紀是巫術盛行的時代。那
時的西方人，對於一切與己不同的文化，都懷有極大的戒心, 不同的服飾，不同的文化，都是可疑的妖魔。而猶太人就是完全不同的。

　　莎士比亞就曾在「威尼斯商人」一劇中，借一角色之口斥責猶太人："Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnal"　(當然，猶太人就是魔鬼的化身。）

而基督新教的領袖馬丁路德也曾在一五四二年發表小冊子文章：「Against the Jewsand their Lies」（反對猶太人和他們的謊
言）又在一五四三年說過：”Jews are nothing but thieves and robbers who daily eat no
morsel and wear no thread of clothing which they have not stolen and pilfered from us
by means of their accursed usury....(Jews)are our plague, our pestilence, and
our misfortune."
(猶太人就是盗賊和搶匪。他們吃的穿的，全是用那可詛咒的高利貸，從我們身上偷回來的、、、（猶太人）就是我們的瘟疫，我們的傳染病，我們的不幸、、。）
(轉引自 Randall L. Bytwerk,
Julius Streicher(Briarcliff Manor, New York: 1983), P. 68, citing Martin H. Bertram, ed., Luther's Works (Philadelphia:1971),
Volume 47, P.275.

　　但是，李察相信，衝突來自更遠的地方。

　　金錢和利益，都是一種外在的衝突。到底猶太人是否全都是貪心的高利貸者？這並不是文化的內在問題。文化的內在問題，可能發生在數千年前的舊約時代。

　　如果我們真的能夠分辨舊約和新約的內在歧異，或者，對於未來的文化衝突，會有多一些的認知興趣的。