The Causes, Extent, and Prevalence of Anti-Semitism and Racism
Although the Holocaust was the darkest period for Jews in Europe, additional calamitous eras are on the horizon, threatening Jews and other Semites such as Arabs. The discrimination against the Jews has seen their synagogues damaged and bombed as late as 2014, their treatment in the public sphere has been that of humiliation and even attack of Jewish owned buildings. This thesis will concentrate on the causes, extent, and prevalence of anti-Semitism and racism in Europe, as well as the effects of this discrimination on the victims, through a review of numerous periodicals and literature. Finally, the study will discuss a few suggestions that could help to improve the issue.
The Increasing Globalization and Immigration
The increasing globalization and immigration have increased racial diversity in many nations in Europe thus increasing the chances of racism. While the rates of racism vary from one region to another in Europe, the form and extent of racial discrimination and abuse are almost the same. For instance, the reason racism has increased in Ireland is that of immigration of people from China and Sub-Saharan Africa (p.1). Ireland would be regarded as a racist nation with most emigrants seeking to maintain their culture and way of life. It is notable that Ireland is among the most racist Afro-European compared to other EU nations. The implicit racism bias in modern Europe is ordinarily verbal although it gets physical in some instances. In 2000, a European man suffered hate crimes when he was severely stabbed and injured for defending his Jamaican wife from an attack by a group of racist men. Zhao Liu Tao was murdered in Dublin on the basis of his race as a Chinese (p.119). The occurrence of murder based on the race did not stop and remained common. In 2008, two Polish mechanics Mariusz Szwajkos and Paweł Kalita were attacked by youths in Dublin, stabbed with screwdrivers in their heads and succumbed to the injuries. A Nigerian fifteen-year-old schoolboy brought up in Dublin was killed for no any substantial reason. In such cases, it is evident that racism is still rampant in Europe. The racism in Ireland has been regarded as Neo-Nazi racism mainly because people in authority propagate it. For instance, in 2011, a mayor in Ireland was forced to resign for his derogatory remarks in a local station that depicted aggressive attitude against the Black Africans. In affirming that Black Africans are inferior and could not be regarded as human equals, he was setting the pace of official racism and also the enlightenment movement towards Neo-Nazi in Ireland.
Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
Anti-Semitism is not just a random hatred for all the Semites but a precise xenophobia against the Jews with specific characteristics (p.1). This hatred against the Jews that is experienced this modern times currently in Europe is also associated with Islam-phobia and is embedded on the historical experiences but escalated by the prevailing political and economic situations (p.322). As such racism, phobia towards the Muslims and the Anti-Semitism acquire an intersection and are all interwoven. The Muslims are prejudiced because of the increased terrorism by individuals of Arab nations like Al Qaeda who profess Muslim. In Europe, the prejudices against the Muslims occurs because of the implicit bias mainly related to security as they are regarded as potential bombers. In fact, in the airport or other areas of security concerns, Muslims are likely to be scrutinized more than their White counterparts or even other non-White but non-Muslims. Such inequality has significant impacts and is also translated into the daily experiences where natives use derogatory terms or words that depict implicit prejudice. Hussain and Bagguley assert that the relationship between the natives and the Islams heightened following the 7/7 2005 London Bombing by individuals of Muslim origin from Yorkshire (p.718). In a sense, the citizens consider the Muslims as potential bombers, and the situation is even challenging for them living in Yorkshire. The verbal abuse and segregation in the social gatherings or unnecessary inspection leave the Muslims feeling humiliated and less human equals. Kogan suggests that such treatment has adverse psychological impacts on the lives of the Muslims living in Europe thus affecting the quality of their lives and the ability to enjoy their liberty (p.13). Additionally, the Muslims in Europe, and particularly Netherlands suffer racial discrimination associated with moral and religious stands and their conservativeness regarding gayism (p. 965). Such a position that considers gayism as an abomination is highly criticized by the modern European society. All this political violence meted out to the Muslims is a quest for a monoculture Europe where values, beliefs, and inclination have little variation especially after the 22/7 Oslo terrorist attack (p.130). Following these stereotypes, the representation of Muslims in public offices has reduced, and one such affected area is their representation in the European media as noted by Saeed (p.444).
The Continuing Discrimination Against Jews
Since the German Nazi, the discrimination against the Jews has continued to be a central but it is shocking that it is still prevalent in the 21st century. Although the legal provisions allow the Jews the freedom of worship and also rights to enjoy their human dignity, such are curtailed by the insults and poor treatment among EU member countries. Physical abuse and harassment in the public spaces for Jewish men and women are not uncommon and mostly because of their indigenous and conservative religion that they profess. Since the policymakers are the same people in authority, it becomes difficult to formulate and implement policies that address current situations of anti-Semitism. Additionally, the availability of information related to the nature and scope of anti-Semitism is insufficient making it challenging to fight the anti-Semitic related crimes. In 2015, Denmark witnessed the deaths of Jews in different situations. For instance, four Jews got murdered in a Jewish supermarket, and another man killed outside the synagogue. The rising animosity affects even school going children leading their teachers and parents to devise strategies to help them maintain their religion. For example, in 2013 school going children were instructed to only put on their religious scarfs only in schools or at times to prevent physical attacks in Belgium.
Conclusion
In conclusion, racism and anti-Semitism are rampant in Europe in this 21st century and mostly targets Jews and Muslims and other non-natives although to a smaller extent. Islam prejudices are associated with recent bombings and the conservative religion while that of Jews is based on their loyalty to their faith. Racism is manifested in verbal and physical abuse to the victims including deaths.
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