Anti Judaism Vs Anti Semitism Essay

The term anti-Semitism has been widely used since the 19th century to describe opposition to the Jewish people as a race. Merriam Webster defines anti-Semitism as “hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group”. The terms anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism have been discussed for years and yet still no concrete definition for either exists. Gavin Langmuir, a historian during the WWII time period, describes anti-Judaism as oppositions towards Judaism since it is an inferior religion and therefore opposes anyone who practices it. Anti-Judaism consists of accusations that hold some truth, just a difference in belief of religion. However, he describes anti-Semitism as false accusations that have no merit at all. He uses examples such as blaming Jews for the poisonous water, blood libel, and even the plague. The two terms anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism have been used interchangeable in history and the main reason for this is that they are omnipresent. There is a thin line differentiating the two terms so it is hard to describe which term applies where. As stated earlier, Anti-Judaism is the opposition of the Jewish religion and therefore anyone who practices it. This term mainly came about during the rise of Christianity in

In history there are examples of both terms and sometimes it is hard to draw a line between the differences. An example, which clearly depicts the difference, is someone who believed in anti-Judaism would have no problem with a Jewish person who was baptized and became Christian. However, an anti-Semitic person would still show hatred and hostility towards the Jewish person who converted solely because he was born Jewish. Anti-Semitic people are hostile towards the race as a whole and not just the Jewish