Antisemitism is not a modern phenomenon. It is a form of hatred with roots stretching back over two millennia, and understanding this history is essential for recognizing how ancient patterns continue to shape modern expressions of Jew-hatred.

Ancient Origins

Anti-Jewish hostility predates Christianity. In the ancient world, Jewish monotheism and distinctive cultural practices (dietary laws, Sabbath observance, circumcision) set Jews apart from surrounding polytheistic cultures. This distinctiveness generated suspicion and periodic violence, including the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by the Babylonians (586 BCE) and the Romans (70 CE).

Christian Antisemitism

The most consequential development in the history of antisemitism was the emergence of Christian anti-Judaism. The charge of deicide - that Jews were collectively and eternally guilty for the death of Jesus - became embedded in Christian theology, liturgy, and culture. This theological hostility produced centuries of persecution: forced conversions, ghettoization, expulsions, and massacres.

The blood libel accusation - that Jews murdered Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals - first appeared in 12th-century England and spread across Europe, triggering pogroms for centuries. The accusation has no basis in fact but proved remarkably durable.

The Enlightenment and Racial Antisemitism

The European Enlightenment brought Jewish emancipation - legal equality and civil rights - but also new forms of hostility. As religious authority declined, antisemitism adapted. In the 19th century, pseudo-scientific racial theories replaced theological justifications. Jews were no longer hated for what they believed but for what they allegedly were - a biologically distinct and inferior (or dangerous) race.

This racial antisemitism proved more lethal than its religious predecessor because it offered no escape. Religious antisemitism could theoretically be resolved by conversion. Racial antisemitism defined Jewishness as immutable and hereditary.

The Holocaust

The logical endpoint of racial antisemitism was genocide. The Nazi regime systematically murdered six million Jews - approximately two thirds of European Jewry - in a campaign of industrial-scale killing unprecedented in human history. The Holocaust was not an aberration. It was the culmination of centuries of dehumanization, conspiracy thinking, and institutional persecution.

Postwar and Contemporary Antisemitism

After 1945, antisemitism became socially unacceptable in most Western societies - but it did not disappear. It adapted once again. Key developments:

Left-wing antisemitism: Anti-Zionism became a vehicle for antisemitic expression in parts of the political left, particularly after 1967.

Islamist antisemitism: Drawing on both European antisemitic traditions and selective readings of Islamic texts, Islamist movements incorporated virulent antisemitism into their ideology.

Internet antisemitism: The digital age democratized antisemitic expression, enabling rapid global dissemination of conspiracy theories, memes, and coordinated harassment campaigns.

The current crisis: Since October 2023, antisemitism has surged globally, with the Netherlands experiencing some of the sharpest increases in Europe.

The history matters because antisemitism is not a series of disconnected incidents. It is a continuous tradition that adapts its language and justifications to each era while maintaining the same core structure: Jews as alien, Jews as powerful, Jews as dangerous, Jews as collectively guilty.