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are communists necessarily anti-semitic?

bikerdruid

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in another thread, i read this:
Originally Posted by Skeptic
Actually communism has been antisemitic for a long time. Its founder had denounced his Jewish origins and was disgusted by Judaism (he hoped to convert all ethnic Jews to communism instead). It went downhill from there.

Communist dogma almost by definition must hate Judaism, for various reasons. But since communist dogma is thoroughly-disproved economic hocus-focus which never works, all that is left of it, after a while, is the one enduring part, namely, hatred of Judaism.


i am a communist and i don''t hate jews, although i am often accused of anti-semitisism in this forum.
i am interested in hearing why communism, "by definition must hate judaism."
 
bikerdruid said:
i am a communist and i don''t hate jews, although i am often accused of anti-semitisism in this forum.
i am interested in hearing why communism, "by definition must hate judaism."
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I know many Communists who are Jewish.

My great-aunt and great-uncle are two of them. NYC is full of Communist, Socialist, and other very left-wing Jews.

Communism and anti-Semitism are clearly not mutually inclusive.
 
bikerdruid said:
Are communists necessarily anti-semitic?
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Yes, it is the standard Communist pledge of allegiance ;).

In all seriousness, no, but there have been high profile Communists who have been anti-Semitic. But I don't know if it is a higher percentage than other groups.

What Skeptic said about the founder of Communism being anti-Semitic is true, and that may have some impact on some Communists. However of all the Communist supporters that I know of, I would not call any of them anti-Semitic, just naive about the flaws and failures of Communism as a functional economic system.

I would not call you for instance anti-Semitic. You are definitely unfair to Israel, and are critical of Israel in a lot of unjustified ways (which I don't think is helpful to the Palestinians), but I do not think that you are critical of Israel in a way that would be defined as anti-Semitic.
 
HoverBoarder said:
Yes, it is the standard Communist pledge of allegiance ;).

In all seriousness, no, but there have been high profile Communists who have been anti-Semitic. But I don't know if it is a higher percentage than other groups.

What Skeptic said about the founder of Communism being anti-Semitic is true, and that may have some impact on some Communists. However of all the Communist supporters that I know of, I would not call any of them anti-Semitic, just naive about the flaws and failures of Communism as a functional economic system.

I would not call you for instance anti-Semitic. You are definitely unfair to Israel, and are critical of Israel in a lot of unjustified ways (which I don't think is helpful to the Palestinians), but I do not think that you are critical of Israel in a way that would be defined as anti-Semitic.
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although i am a commune- ist, i am not a marxist.
thanks for the honest answer.
 
If my opponent in any debate is a Communist, then Communism is anti-Semitic..since I am a Jew.

;)

Many free-market Capitalists are and were anti-Semitic. But that doesn't in any way mean Capitalism is anti-Jewish. Only Communism.

:)
 
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For some people, I think accusations of anti-semitism are just a knee-jerk reaction to anything they don't like. Communists, Muslims, Arabs, Hugo Chavez, immigrants, Volkswagen, liverwurst, whatever.
 
Cleon said:
For some people, I think accusations of anti-semitism are just a knee-jerk reaction to anything they don't like. Communists, Muslims, Arabs, Hugo Chavez, immigrants, Volkswagen, liverwurst, whatever.
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I like blue.

Well, I prefer green.

Green?? what??? anti-Semite!!!!!

..or even more appropriately:

I think Israeli oranges are the best.

Personally, I prefer Spanish oranges.

what? Spanish oranges?? anti-Semite!!!!


;)
 
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Skeptic probably needs to understand that karl marx hating judaism doesn't equate anti-semitism.
 
Undesired Walrus said:
Skeptic probably needs to understand that karl marx hating judaism doesn't equate anti-semitism.
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No, Marx was certainly an anti-Semite.

Have you read his book "On the Jewish Question"?

there is this lovely quote: "Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist."

and the last line: "it is not Judaism that needs to be liberated from the world, but the world from Judaism".
 
Except that wasn't what I was taking protest at. Skeptic equated hatred of judaism with anti-semitism, which isn't the case.
 
Okay help me out here - by definition communism is against religion. So Jewish people wonly be attacked if they attempted to practice their religion...yes?

So if a Jewish person doesn't practice their religion they are treated like any other member in the society. However if that society attacks a Jewish person because of their heritage, then that is anti-sematic correct?
 
one can be a Communist and love Jews.

one can be a Communist and hate Jews.

it totally depends on the person. yes, Communism is not a fan of religion, but the bulk of the philosophy is political and economic, not cultural & spiritual.

clearly, Skeptic's notion that all that remains of Communism...is hatred of Jews..is absurdly ridiculous.
 
MG1962 said:
So if a Jewish person doesn't practice their religion they are treated like any other member in the society. However if that society attacks a Jewish person because of their heritage, then that is anti-sematic correct?
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the USSR was notorious for persecuting non-religious Jews, simply due to their heritage. Stalin was big on that..and my great-uncle was a victim of just such persecution.
 
Thunder said:
the USSR was notorious for persecuting non-religious Jews, simply due to their heritage. Stalin was big on that..and my great-uncle was a victim of just such persecution.
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But Joe hated everyone
 
Certainly communists are anti-Israel, and it seems to me that often the most deranged anti-Israel screeds come from communists sources.

It's also true that there existed a great deal of anti-Semitism within the Soviet Union, and continues to this day in Russia and other former Soviet states.

I personally have always wondered about the connection between communism and hatred of Israel. It doesn't seem logical to me, except possibly as a relic of the cold war, which is my own personal theory.
 
Mycroft said:
Certainly communists are anti-Israel, and it seems to me that often the most deranged anti-Israel screeds come from communists sources.

It's also true that there existed a great deal of anti-Semitism within the Soviet Union, and continues to this day in Russia and other former Soviet states.

I personally have always wondered about the connection between communism and hatred of Israel. It doesn't seem logical to me, except possibly as a relic of the cold war, which is my own personal theory.
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this presumes that the soviet union is the defining principle in communism, which is untrue.
 
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