I wrote several month ago about the
fact that anti-semitism
is on the rise in a serious way in Hungary. So, while
fascinating, I found this most recent news to be totally and
completely unsurprising. One of the leaders of the anti-semitic
Jobbik party in Hungary took a DNA test and found out that his parents are of Jewish heritage.
Anyone who knows even the first thing
about Jewish history knows that this is a confusing, disturbing and repetitive pattern. Some of the worst Jew haters in the world
have been Jews, ex-Jews, or people of Jewish heritage. To list only a few:
Tomas de Torquemada, a Dominican friar and the Grand Inquisitor of Spain who presided over the Jewish expulsion in 1492 was of Jewish ancestry.
In the middle ages when disputations between the European Jewish community and the Catholic Church were common, it was well known that many of these were coordinated with converts from the Jewish community. Sincere converts to Christianity were especially feared, because they held a special zeal to convert their fellow Jews.
Karl Marx was the child of converted Jews and in addition to providing the intellectual basis for communism, he hated Jews so much he dedicated an entire scholarly work to envision a world without them.
Karl Marx was the child of converted Jews and in addition to providing the intellectual basis for communism, he hated Jews so much he dedicated an entire scholarly work to envision a world without them.
It has long been rumored in Libya that brutal dictator Moammar Gadhafi was in fact secretly Jewish.
It is also believed by some that the most notorious Jew hater in the the word today, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has Jewish ancestry (a charge which he vociferously denies).
The interesting thing is that usually the Jewish community attributes this desire to annihilate the Jews to some insecurity born of being a convert. It is often described as being a self-hating Jew. But this situation in Hungary puts a lie to that notion. How could he possibly have a deep psychological need to eliminate Jews born of self hatred, when it is obvious that he had no idea of his Jewish heritage?
Really, if he had any inkling, there is no way he would have taken a DNA test to prove his Hungarian bone fides. So, why this deep and pathological loathing of the Jews? There is something unique and deeply spiritual at work with this one... God has thrown this poor guy a really big curve ball. Of course, the Jewish community in Hungary is taking the opportunity to mock him, but I think that is probably the wrong approach.
He will never have the credibility in the anti-semitic world in Hungary that he had the moment before his Jewish heritage was revealed. He is in for a time of soul searching ahead and I think it would be appropriate to say a prayer or two on his behalf.
The interesting thing is that usually the Jewish community attributes this desire to annihilate the Jews to some insecurity born of being a convert. It is often described as being a self-hating Jew. But this situation in Hungary puts a lie to that notion. How could he possibly have a deep psychological need to eliminate Jews born of self hatred, when it is obvious that he had no idea of his Jewish heritage?
Really, if he had any inkling, there is no way he would have taken a DNA test to prove his Hungarian bone fides. So, why this deep and pathological loathing of the Jews? There is something unique and deeply spiritual at work with this one... God has thrown this poor guy a really big curve ball. Of course, the Jewish community in Hungary is taking the opportunity to mock him, but I think that is probably the wrong approach.
He will never have the credibility in the anti-semitic world in Hungary that he had the moment before his Jewish heritage was revealed. He is in for a time of soul searching ahead and I think it would be appropriate to say a prayer or two on his behalf.
