Whilst some consider anti-Semitism to be a more recent problem, this form of prejudice actually has a long history which is described by Bernard Lazare in his book “Antisemitism: Its History and Causes”.
Lazare was born “Lazare Marcus Manassé Bernard” in June 1865 but later swapped his first and last names. He was the eldest of four children and part of the bourgeoisie; his family founded one of the first successful French textile mills. His family was Jewish but were not very religious. He was a literary critic and political journalist as well as on of the first to defend Dreyfus during the Dreyfus affair. He died in September 1903, aged 38, leaving authorisation to republish “Anti-semitism: Its History and Causes” with a preface stating "my opinions have changed on many points".
According to the first chapter of “Antisemitism: Its History and Causes”, Jews met hostility where ever they settled and deliberates the possibility that, in fact, they were “the cause of their own ills” considering that they inhabited a diverse range of places and were met with the same prejudices despite each country having its own distinct ideas, laws and values.
Lazare continues to say that, though many consider this to be solely due to religious wars, this was not the case and that it was in fact because Jews were unsociable due to their political and religious exclusivity. This essentially means that people disliked Jewish people because they were not part of their culture and, perhaps were jealous of this. It certainly could also suggest that they were not well understood by others and therefore people disliked them out of ignorance. This perception could be implemented to a variety of other, more modern, religions or groups such as the current trends of Islamophobia, homophobia and even gang culture.
He then discusses how Christianity came to be popular as it used Jewish networks and resources, such as synagogues, whilst trying to separate itself from Judaism, resulting in many Jews being converted. He continues to say “Without the existence of Jewish colonies Christianity would have encountered much greater obstacles; it would have had greater difficulties in establishing itself.” However, tensions began to form between the two religions which resulted in both separating themselves from one another. This is particularly noticeable in Christianity as before, Christianity drew upon many of Judaism’s ancient laws however, under the influence of St. Paul, the Church decided to “rid itself of Jewish particularism, to break the narrow chains of the ancient law, so as to be able to spread the new one.” However, this resulted in resentment and Holy wars which only served to enforce anti-Semitic ideas within Christian society.
In chapter 11, Lazare begins by stating that, at the time, “There are about eight million Jews scattered over the face of the earth, nearly seven-eighths of which inhabit Europe”. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics there were 13,421,000 Jews worldwide in 2009, most of which lived in Israel or America.
He continues by dividing Jewish people into different ethnicities and suggests “that the race is not an ethnologic unity, i.e., that no people is a descendant of common parents, and that no nation has been formed from the aggregation of cells of this kind” which is to say that as they do not seem to have a common ancestor and therefore are only a race in the sense that they share the same values. However, he suggests that they still as a nation as they are still united by their religion and that nations exist as long as there are common beliefs and interests.
Having said that during the Middle Ages, Jews were led, by “internal and external causes, proceeding from economic and psychological laws …to become almost exclusively traders,” Lazare says that nations at the time found it easy (and desirable) to shut off the Jews from the rest of the country, isolating them further. Countries all over Europe came up with the same or very similar legislation that allowed them to keep Jews imprisoned in “Jewries” which stopped both sides understanding each other’s cultures. This was also seen in the time between the Reformation and the French Revolution, where it is described that Jews were “cooped up in the ghettoes … they were retired from human society, and, for the most part, lived in a state of lamentable and heartrending abjection.” He suggests that this separation strengthened their beliefs and practices, though it did create deterioration in the Hebrew language. He also implies that this dedication to their religion kept them trapped in their secular ‘prisons’ as the reason that nations excluded them was fear that the Jews would alter their culture.
With this historical background in mind, The Dreyfus Affair almost seems inevitable; following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, the Jewish community became a scape goat for the country’s loss.
When a secret French document was found in a bin in the German Embassy, after growing tension between France and Germany, the French government needed someone to blame. Hastily, they accused Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew from one of the French provinces that had been taken over by Germany. This split the country into Dreyfusards, who maintained his innocence (largely Socialists, Jews and Republicans), and Anti-Dreyfusards who believed him to be guilty (the Army, the Catholic Church and monarchists).
Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was court martialled and found guilty of treason. He was exiled to Devil’s Island in 1894. Another officer looked into the story and found the army’s conclusion to be wrong. When he reported this to his superior, his theory was dismissed. The real culprit was the put on trial and acquitted to preserve the military’s integrity.
Emile Zola, a famous French writer and journalist, wrote an article titled “J’Accuse” (which roughly translates to “I accuse”) which named those he thought were involved in the conspiracy. For this, he was convicted of Libel and sentenced to prison but instead fled to London. Following this there were riots and Jews in France lost their citizenship.
The military then see the flaws in the case. One soldier tried to forge evidence to support their original case and is caught but committed suicide before it is brought to trial. They then tried Dreyfus again but still found him guilty.
Eventually, Dreyfus was pardoned and released under “extenuating circumstances.”
