Antisemitism

Flag of the Nazi Party, an extremist antisemitic political movement in 20th century Germany

Antisemitism is a hatred of Judaism or of Jewish people.

Early Christianity was not inherently antisemitic; the Apostle Paul, for instance, affirms in Romans 11:1 that "God has not rejected his people" and emphasizes a spiritual unity between Jews and Gentiles. However, over time, certain Church figures began to interpret Jewish rejection of Jesus as deserving divine punishment. The heretic, Marcion of Sinope is an early exception, and he is known to have referred to orthodox Christians as "Jew-lovers". Eusebius of Caesarea, a 4th-century historian, subtly reflected this in his writings by portraying the fall of Jerusalem as a result of this rejection.

In the medieval period, anti-Jewish sentiment was perpetuated within various Roman Catholic doctrines, which labeled Jews as "Christ-killers" and fostered a climate of suspicion and hostility. These beliefs often led to widespread discrimination, forced conversions, and, in extreme cases, violence against Jewish communities.

By the 20th century, antisemitic ideas had evolved to include pseudo-scientific racial theories, most notoriously espoused by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Hitler's ideology presented Jews as an existential threat to the "Aryan" race and used deeply rooted antisemitic prejudices to justify the Holocaust, during which six million Jews were systematically murdered. Although the Catholic Church officially condemned antisemitism, the response from some members of the clergy and Church leadership during this period was often muted, with Pope Pius XII’s stance during the Holocaust remaining a point of historical debate.