It was great to see the Victoria Multi Faith Society’s firm stand against bigotry and heartwarming to see the turnout for the vigil at the Jewish Cemetery.
Also there are many good articles and comments on this topic, but I still get the sense that religion sees itself as the victim rather than the cause of such hatred.
It was the Christian church that vilified and harassed the Jews for many centuries. Furious that Jews would not convert, Luther among others demanded their expulsion from the land and accused them of killing Christ. No wonder Hitler was moved to say: “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.” (Mein Kampf)
Trouble is that anti-Semitism is ingrained into Western culture and unless we burn a pile of books, the only way we will ever be free from this curse is if the church openly accepts responsibility for generating such hatred towards the Jews -- since most of its members seem unaware of our involvement in the Holocaust.
Otherwise I’m afraid that anti-Semitism will continue to rise to the surface from the depths of our culture whenever opportunity arises.
Andy Mulcahy
Victoria