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Writer's pictureProfiles in Catholicism
Nov 22, 202217 min read

Antisemitism

Updated: Nov 24, 2022


Photo of victims, mostly Jewish children, of a 1905 pogrom in Ekaterinoslav (today's Dnipro).Ukraine


A Message from the Editor


If the greatest commandment is to love our neighbor, then one the greatest sins is to hate our neighbor. We live in a culture of hate, driven by in part by politics and tribalism, and metastasizing through social media. Antisemitism corrodes minds and souls with increasing frequency.


To better combat antisemitism we have interviews with leaders in the local,

national, and global battle against antisemitism to gain more insight into this pernicious challenge and hopefully inspire some of us to be more effective combatants in this important battle. One way of reducing antisemitism is to teach about the Holocaust in schools.


December 1 is World AIDS Day. In the twenty years that I worked globally on AIDS challenges, the most memorable moment was in Odessa when I hugged a small girl who had just lost her mother to AIDS. That embrace seared my soul for eternity. It is critical not to forget the tens of thousands of children orphaned by AIDS. Please read my interview with Francis Otieno and, if possible, send him a donation to help him care for AIDS orphans.


A Quote to Remember “We must confront antisemitism whenever it occurs. We must continue our work to defeat this stubborn evil of antisemitism. This still infects too much of our world, the pernicious lies that surface time and again, including here in our own country. We have to speak out every time antisemitism rears its ugly head – a lesson I learned early on. Regardless of when, regardless of where it is, regardless of when it happens. The reason we have to…indifference is silence, silence is consent."

by President Joseph Biden


Prayers


A Prayer to Prevent Antisemitism

Lord God, through the covenant you established with the Jewish People, we Christians have been grafted into this covenantal tradition according to St. Paul. But very often throughout history, we have shown ourselves ungrateful for this gift given us through Jesus who imbued in his teachings this Jewish covenantal tradition through acts of antisemitism. We join with Popes St. John Paul II and Francis in confessing our sins of antisemitism past and present. Through this prayer, we commit ourselves to the elimination of any remaining anti-Semitic teachings in the Catholic community and pledge to add our public voice in denouncing any manifestations of antisemitism in contemporary society. We ask your blessing so that we may have the strength to fulfill this pledge we make in your presence.

by John T. Pawlikowski, OSM, Profiles in Catholicism


Prayer of Remembrance for the Pittsburgh synagogue’s shooting

victims and their families.

“I Am the God of the Living” (Luke 20: 38)

Lord, you planted a tree of life in the garden-gift of creation,

Nourishing our lives with your graced gifts, lasting forever.

With what sculptural brilliance you shaped the trunk that rose

From roots both deep within the world of nature and, like a vein

From the blood of God, you drew from the very mystery of your

Own existence, calling eternal life to rise, like sap, and soak into

Our nature the jewelled droplets of freshly sprung, sparklingly

Brilliant, clear, free-flowing, water-like perfecting gift of grace.

Lord, like deer, we stripped the bark of the burgeoning tree, leaked

And lost the gift of grace you gave, giving us a horizon of death.

But with what painful faithfulness you persevered, day in day out,

A thousand years each time, timeless to you, taking us through the

Turn, to turn us again to you, time and time again taking us back,

Resettling our compass and pointing us through the crises that

Surround us, disturbing peace, marriage, family and daily life, taking

Our talents, stretched out, calling us back to work together and live.

Lord, like a ploughman, you had in mind the future of mankind,

Digging deep into the history of your people you opened it up for all.

With what profound love you embraced a people out of slavery, led

Them through a sea, out of worshipping what their hands had made,

Throughout a desert journey, entering a promised land and

Overcoming enemies throughout a passage through time which, like

A tree surgeon, you grafted onto the nations of the world, showing us

A path of life through time, blossoming from beginning to end.

Lord, the tree you planted remains, taking the form of a crucified

Man with outstretched arms, risen, embracing all, excluding no one.

With what a beautiful understanding of love, you embodied your

Vision of husband and wife, unfolding your family life, forever

Reverberating between the natural and the mysterious marriage of

God and man, beholding us in all our afflictions but ever returning to

Heal, to hope, and to bring happiness out of the pain of sin and death,

Starting from the ordinary, you illuminate an extraordinary love.

Lord, what colours are the colours of the Resurrection: The bright

Glory of forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion and praise of you?

It is true that leaves and twigs and even branches are broken off what

You planted, but you are the “Dresser of Trees” and know how to

Bring amazing goodness from what seemed, for a while, a blundering

Pruning, so that we love what you love, faithful to your first promise,

Hoping against hope in the seeds-a-planting, inviting us all from

Death to life, to the Passover of the Lord, refreshing the Tree of Life.

by Francis Etheredge Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer to End Nigerian Terrorism


O God, look after those affected by terrorism. Soften the hearts of those who inflict violence on others. Grant courage to those who face terrorism.

We pray for peace and an end to suffering by Father John O'Brien, OFM Profiles in Catholicism


A Prayer for the Problems in Africa


God, our Father, we need your help! We are in a painful reality in regard to technology. Terrorism is the use of technology and the internet, particularly social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and other forms God, our Father, we need your help! For both Boko Haram and al-Shabaab, the use of internet or social media has been instrumental in achieving their objectives, and is useful for reaching out to young people, particularly during recruitment exercises- God, our Father, we need your help.. The internet has also been used by terrorist groups as a communication and coordination tool during attacks- God our Father, we need your help. As well as being used to raise operational finances God our Father, we need your help. Overall, the internet has significantly accelerated and changed the way wars have been fought God, our Father we need your help. Particularly in terms of the operation of terrorist groups and the methods for showcasing the impact that terrorist groups have. God, our Father, gentle and kind and merciful we need your help in union with Jesus Christ, your son and the Holy Spirit. by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism


A Prayer for the Children Affected by the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Kenya


Dear God of healing and hope,

The severe children's epidemic in Kenya that we ask you to help. Many times we know how you’d like us to react but our own discomforts and uneasiness cloud your vision for us. We know you to be a welcoming God perfectly exemplified in the person of Jesus, the one we call Christ One who extends grace to all people. May Mother Mary guide us in our plan to help all children in need.

O God, too often this is the case when we talk about HIV and AIDS. We’d rather not think about how it was contracted, but at the same time that is all we can think about. Too often we get caught up in a spirit of retributive justice, rather than responding out of the grace that was first extended to us.


Help us, Gracious One, to truly follow the ways of the One who healed without question, even on the Sabbath, instead of perpetuating a culture of “unclean” lepers. And challenge us to accept that our passing judgment against segments of our society contribute to new HIV infections rather than reducing them. Open our eyes—give us 20/20 vision—so that we may see that racism, homophobia, bi-phobia, and trans-phobia, in addition to a general reluctance to think about children becoming prey to the epidemic of HIV-AIDS in the continuing rise of HIV-infection rates as the evil they are and be delivered from them.

May your Holy Spirit comfort those children who are hurting and dying. Hold them in your loving embrace and in your healing and mercy, Amen.

In Christ our Lord,

by Chris Manion


Antisemitism Interviews

General Interviews

Antisemitism Articles/Commentaries

For more antisemitism articles, link to our Antisemitism webpage.


General Articles/Commentaries

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Book Reviews, Commentaries, and Excerpts

Film Reviews/Commentaries

Television Reviews/Commentaries

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  • Derry Girls Commentary by B Sean Barry, SJ The Jesuit Post

  • The Chosen Commentary by Kathy Schiffer The Catholic World Report

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Videos

Projections of Life: Jewish Life before World War II


The kidnapping campaign of Nazi Germany


Who Was Anne Frank? | History


Tour of the Secret Annex


Anne Frank The Whole Story Ending


Best Practices in Combating Antisemitism Online, on Campus, and on Both Sides of the Aisle


"Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem, it's a problem for the world" - Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein


How Jews in Germany live with anti-Semitism | Focus on Europe


The Holocaust in Hungary: Victimhood and Memory, December 18, 2017


Antisemitism on the rise in Australia - even in our schoolchildren


Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus Official Full Film


Rabbi Lord Sacks - House of Lords debate on antisemitism


Crisis of Conscience: Anti-Semite Learns He's a Jew


Anti-Zionism


Anti-Semitism in France | DW Documentary


Antisemitism Today


Former maid to Adolf Hitler interview

by KAN Digital


Father John Pawlikowski Reflects: Nostra Aetate and Arthur Szyk

by The Arthur Szyk Society  


Hate and Its Impact: Sowing the Seeds of Global Antisemitism

by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum


Dramatic spike in anti-Semitic incidents in US

by CNN  


Antisemitism in Europe 

by DW Documentary  


"All My Mothers" -The Story of Yehudith Kleinman  .

by Yad Vashem  


Antisemitism is on the rise in Britain  .

by Channel 4 News  

Holocaust Survivors on the Rise of Anti-Semitism by Urus

How I Escaped The Holocaust

by Buzz Feed

Dramatic spike in anti-Semitic incidents in US

by CNN


How anti-semitism persists in the United States

by Washington Post


Anti-Defamation League CEO: 'Anti-Semitism Is Everyone's Problem'

by Velshi & Ruhle | MSNBC


Antisemitism in France: 'It is the only country in Europe where Jews are being killed at the moment'

by France 24 now


Antisemitism | Anne Frank House | Explained


"The Diary of Anne Frank":  Meeting Otto Frank


What neo-Nazis have inherited from original Nazism | DW Documentary (neo-Nazi documentary)

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