What is the Jewish Identity in Germany, Israel, and America? And how does it contribute to the evolution of anti-Semitism?

     The Jewish Identity today is defined through the development of Israel and the legacy of the Holocaust, because it is a question of the future and the past. After the Holocaust, it was difficult to establish a Jewish identity anywhere in Europe. Many European Jews were more inclined to abandon their Jewish identity because it was easier and safer. However, in today's modern world, the establishment of Israel has a large influence on the development of the European, Israeli, and American Jewish identity as well as the evolution of anti-Semitism. We have already seen how anti-Semitism has evolved as a "new anti-Semitism" in Germany and as a goal of Neo-Nazi Skinhead groups in America, but now we will see what role Israel plays in the progression of a Jewish Identity and the fight against anti-Semitism.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the significance of Israel, and why it is so important for Jewish people to have a homeland, you can watch this short video which will give you a rough idea about Israel 

The Perception of Jewish Identity in Germany is driven largely by the development of the diverse European Union. After the Holocaust, there was no existing authentic Jewish culture because most European Jews were either gassed, incarcerated, in exile, or not practicing. Even today, the European Jewry is a melting pot of different nationalities practicing the same religion in their own unique way. However, because the European Union is uniting the countries of Europe, it is also uniting the Jews of Europe. Unlike in America and Israel, the German Jews perceive their Jewish Identity as a choice, because even if they are of Jewish decent, they can make a choice, whether or not to accept and embrace their identity. This choice is also based upon exactly where in Europe they are living as well as the nature of their surroundings. The Jewish Identity in Germany and Europe as a whole is truly shaped from the outside and the inside. The book that I have been using throughout all of my blog entries is called Being Jewish in the New Germany, by Jeffrey Peck, and has a lot to say about the European Jewish identity such as: 

"While being a "Jew" may only be defined through Jewish law and Judaism by religious belief or observance, "Jewishness" is more of an ethnicity or cultural definition, a sociological and anthropological category that is fluid, socially constructed, and open to interpretation (Peck 120)."

I think this is a very true statement, and to add to it I would say that Jews are culturally defined in Germany as a symbol for tolerance and diversity. They represent the defeat of Hitler's Final Solution, a new Jewish life in Germany, and the hope for acceptance and diversity.

This video from Jewish News One shows the current state of the development of Jewish Identity in Germany, Frankfurt (where I happened to grow up!) in particular. 

     The story is a little bit different in America, because here in the US, the Jewish Identity is proclaimed through identification with the Holocaust, as I have mentioned in previous blog posts. This identification manifests itself into current prejudices against Germany because some of the American Jews still view Germany in light of Nazi and Third Reich horrors. I can relate to this because it is hard for a person like myself who is German, Jewish and American to identify with either one of them without considering the ethnic and social history of these three groups within the definition of myself. On the other hand, my experience is different, since as you know, I didn't have an open Jewish identity until I moved from Germany to the US. Nevertheless, the thing about Jewish identity that only exists in America is centered around humor with Jewish actors/actresses, singers and comedians, who embrace their Jewish identity through laughter. 

                                                              

     In Israel is where the central issue of Jewish identity really unfolds. Not a lot of people in the world understand that Israel and Israeli Jews are much different from Jews all around the world. The Jewish Identity in Israel seems to be far removed from religion and places more emphasis of a "strength in the family" concept. This concept means that some of the Jews in Israel are only united because of their nationality and obviously the conflict with Palestine (I won't even get started on that one), instead of uniting through our religious history. The Jewish identity is perceived as shooting up Palestine through a militant way of life.
The following video will show how disconnected the everyday citizens of Israel are to Judaism, and what is being done to improve that situation.

     A "new anti-Semitism" has developed out of the status of Jewish identity in these three nations, which are by the way the three nations with the highest Jewish populations in the world. The "new anti-Semitism" has spread against Israel and is manifested in American and even more so in German society. This dates back to the 1960s/70s having to do with the American affiliation with Israel and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Since during this time, America was occupying west Germany, and the Germans were protesting against the Israel-Palestine conflict, this quickly turned into anti-Americanism. Some even compared the acts of the Israelis on the Palestinians to the acts of the Nazis (ironic right?).  However, we have seen that anti-Semitism is always in evolution and will always prevail around the world. All that people like myself can hope for is that we will never be persecuted for our nationality or religion, and that the terrible history will never repeat itself. 

Thank you for reading! :)

How do the Neo-Nazi and Skinhead movements affect the development of anti-Semitism in Germany and America?

     Neo-Nazis and White Supremacist movements have been making their way across Germany and the United States through terrorism, violence, discriminating music and the belief that there is a Jewish Conspiracy seeking to control the world. The question is WHY?!?!?!? 

     The men that you see in the photos above think that the white race is on the verge of extinction and that they are the victims of the world as opposed to "non-whites". I argue that this movement exists because they need to victimize themselves to cope with everything the white race has done to absolutely every other racial, religious, or "non-white" group in the past, even though these men are not fully aware of it. The many subcultures of the White Supremacist Skinhead movement such as Neo-Nazis, Klu Klux Klan members, Hammerskins, White Aryan Resistance, and Blood and Honour, all have a different central focus of hatred, but a common belief that the white race is the most superior race in the whole world. They conduct their society on the principle of preserving "genetic purity", which means that they will not pollute their white gene pool with other races or people of color. This foundation of their beliefs makes them feel as though violence and terrorism against "non-whites" is ok. The movement carries out the Nazi ideology of a supreme Aryan race and is linking the past to the present in doing this.

     Anti-Semitism is the driving force behind these movements and is expressed to different lengths in Germany and America. However, the common form of expression and recruitment in both countries is through music. Click hear to read a story about the seriousness of Neo-Nazi music:

http://www.voanews.com/content/shooting_neo_nazi_spotlight/1476628.html

     
WARNING: THERE ARE GROTESQUE AND OFFENSIVE IMAGES IN THIS VIDEO

This is an accurate and chilling portrayal of the skinhead culture, as opposed to this next video, which is even more horrifying. This next song displays the raw and blunt hatred of “non-whites” in a very crude way. I think that this would be something that the skin-heads would think is funny. 

This type of music creates a sense of community for the skinheads and enables them to express their beliefs while avoiding the risk of persecution and nurturing racism. These lyrics are from a Neo-Nazi band called Razzia and their song is titled "Neo-Nazi" of course. 

Lyrics to Neo-Nazi :

Dort marschieren sie wieder in Reih und Glied
Neo Nazis kämpfen für den Sieg
Sie schmieren Hakenkreuze an fast jedes Haus
Das Symbol für Völkermord und Ausländer raus
Denken ist ihn' fremd für sie kein deutscher Brauch
Faschismus baut auf ihrer Dummheit auf
Kommt ein Befehl von oben, dann führen sie ihn aus
sonts fliegen sie, aus dem Kindergarten raus
Neo Nazi - hast'n Gehirn wir ein Kind
Neo Nazi - doch Kinder sind nicht Blind
Neo Nazi - behalt deine Parolen für dich
1000 Jahre Hitler haben vollauf genügt

As hard as it is to believe, these people really do want to carry out Hitler's dream still today, and they recruit members to support their cause through lyrics such as these.

Anti-Semitism~Xenophobia

            The Neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism is much more publicly outspoken in America rather than Germany because it is illegal in Germany and it is protected under 1^st Amendment in the American Constitution. As for example you will see below a German Neo-Nazi/Skinhead taken under arrest by the German Police, for associating with propaganda from the Third Reich.

Therefore, Neo-Nazism is more of an underground movement in Germany. However, since only anti-Semitism is illegal in Germany, it has turned to Xenophobia, the hate or dislike of someone or something different. This hatred is directed towards the Turks and the eastern Europeans. Especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there were many new racist attacks on the Turks and the Gastarbeiter in Germany, which sparked new concerns about the resurrection of anti-Semitism and genocide. At the same time, the Muslim youth and skinhead movements are on the rise of collaborating their hatred toward Jews all over Germany, of course increasingly after the conflicts in Israel progressed.

In the United States, the story is a little bit different. American Jews identify strongly with the Holocaust. They are very connected to their roots and interested to become educated on them. However, they have the tendency to blow the concept of the Holocaust out of proportion because they associate every-day events with it. For example, they will say “He was such a Nazi today!” I didn’t realize how twisted this was until I thought about it and the interesting part it that almost none of them have no direct connection to the Holocaust or the experience of it. They have never been to Germany and therefore their imagination could not even fathom the real experience. They monitor the anti-Semitism that goes around in Germany from the Germans not the Muslims, when in reality, I think that they should take a good look at their own society. When you really think about it, is German history that different from American history?

     The following video will give you very good insight to the understanding of the lifestyle of an American Neo-Nazi Skinhead:

I think this video says a lot about the twisted ways of skinhead thought because the man in the video was raised in this way and he accepts and embraces his lifestyle for what it is. 

      Through these different ways, Neo-Nazi and Skinhead Groups have contributed to the development of anti-Semitism in both Germany and America. It is a very controversial thing to be anti-Semitic living in America, because nobody can tell you what to believe it or how, when and to what extent to express it. That is the good and bad thing about the foundation of American society. Everyone has the right to say and believe what they like, so this means that they cannot be persecuted by the government. The German government however, makes very strong efforts to keep anti-Semitic beliefs under control and not resurrect an image of the Third Reich. Nevertheless, anti-Semitism will always continue to evolve under these racist groups and cannot be stopped no matter what. 

Stay tuned for the next post on the establishment of a Jewish identity through Israel in Germany and America. 

Sources:

http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.opac.sfsu.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?

http://www.lyricsmania.com/neo-nazi_lyrics_razzia.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec12/hate_08-08.html