Antisemitism: Why It Matters to Jews and Gentiles

Contrary to expectations, the unspeakable horrors of the Nazi Holocaust did not stop the age-old scourge of antisemitism. It merely went into hibernation, only to emerge as a roaring lion, fangs barred, after the Seventh of October pogrom of 2023.

Last month, we began our examination of antisemitism by focusing on the Bondi Beach
massacre in Sydney, Australia. Here is an example of Jews, for the first time ever in Australia, losing their lives for simply being Jews while celebrating a Jewish holiday.

In this article, our focus goes from Bondi Beach to the rest of the world. We will explore the
meaning of Antisemitism, its causes, and why it matters to Jews and Gentiles.

Antisemitism: What Is It and Why?

As a big phenomenon, any definition of Antisemitism will have its limitations, but we need
something to work with. Antisemitism is the irrational hatred of the Jewish people, which
can lead to attempts, by word or deed, to humiliate, marginalise, and physically harm
them.

While antisemitism can be considered a form of racism, it is also uniquely in a category of
its own. Its uniqueness includes the fact that it is universal or global in scope, and,
according to the Bible, it began 1,000s of years ago. It is irrational because antisemites
may have had little or no direct contact with Jews, nor any credible evidence of Jewish
wrongdoing. This hatred exists in nations that have no Jews at all. Antisemitism can be
multi-dimensional: Ethnic, religious, political and/or theological in nature.

Its uniqueness comes from its longevity: antisemitism dates back over two millennia. In the
fifth century BC, a bona fide card-carrying antisemite named Haman, the prime minister of
Persia, planned to destroy all Jews in the Persian Empire. Why? Simply because one Jew
named Mordecai refused to bow when Haman passed by. His nearly successful plot of
Jewish genocide - yet ultimate failure - is chronicled in the Bible book called Esther.

The current problem is that Haman may be long gone, but the murderous spirit ofantisemitism still lives on. Antisemitism can be found in a variety of sources: far left, far right, jihadist, fascist, Marxist, anarchist, socialist, Jew-hater, and communist. Even in Christendom, Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants demonstrated antisemitic thoughts and actions that were recorded throughout the centuries. This included the great reformer Martin Luther (though perhaps near the end of his life, when he was not fully functional). 

It has been said historically that antisemitism was greater in Christendom than in the Islamicworld. That would radically change with the advent of Zionism, the nationalist movement to establish a Jewishhomeland in Palestine. 

Political: Until the rise of Zionism, it is said there was no conflict between Arabs and Jewsin Ottoman Palestine. Once the Turks were gone, the Balfour Declaration was declared, and the League of Nations authorised the British Mandate to prepare for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine; the communal harmony vanished. For many, the politics of the Arab-Israeli conflict define the cause of antisemitism.

1. Theological: The great patriarch Abraham was promised by God (covenant) to have a ‘seed' (descendant) who would bring universal redemption and blessing. That seed was ‘Christ’ (Galatians 3:16), and the chain link between Him and Father Abraham was the Jewish people. The Saviour Himself said that salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22). Being chosen and anointed by God is wonderful, but it is also like painting a target on one’s back for the devil to attack. Ask a young shepherd boy named David;
his relationship with his father-in-law, King Saul, nosedived after he was (privately)
anointed as the next king by the Prophet Samuel.

2. Spiritual: The human antisemite can be ignorant of these things, but the malevolent spiritual forces in the heavenly realm are not; they know what the Bible teaches. The devil and his demons are 100% antisemitic, and for understandable reasons. The great salvation that comes from Jesus the Jewish Messiah, the continued preservation and existence of the Jewish people as a testament to the faithfulness of God (see Jeremiah 31:35-37), and finally, the indispensable role they play in end-time prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27), mean the devil’s reign of terror is finished, and his end is near. Since the devil cannot attack God directly, He attacks those who represent Him on earth: Jews and Christians. As history comes to a windup, persecution will increase. Yet the silver lining is that the Lord will use this evil to regather His people as per Jeremiah 16:14-16 and 23:7-8, even if He has to use ‘fishers’ and ‘hunters’ to do it.

3. The Bottom Line: Also, a clever Messianic author pointed out in Hebrew that theName of God YHWH is contained in the name Judah YHWDH, which means praise. It is from this name, Judah, that the word ‘Jew’ is derived. The Jewish people thus have the imprint of God’s name in their genes. And the world hates God!’ 1 This is the ultimate cause of antisemitism.

What About the Gentiles?

Antisemitism is a scourge that must be confronted. It is more than anti-Jewish racism: it’s
anti-Western and anti-Judeo-Christian, which is the foundation of Western civilisation. The
antisemites' temporary takeover of three iconic sites in Sydney: The Opera House, the
Harbour Bridge, and Bondi Beach symbolised their anti-West ambition; they want to take
over. All this is a mortal threat to Gentiles as much as Jewish people.

The dark shadow of antisemitism has a bad habit of moving from the ‘Saturday people' tothe ‘Sunday people.’ Antisemites hate God, hate Jews, and hate the other people who represent God: Christians. Anti-Jewish behaviour will eventually turn against the Church.In these last days, it is no coincidence that both antisemitism and anti-Christian persecution are on the rise worldwide.

What Can We Do About Antisemitism?

Now that we know what the problem is and why it exists, let us press into the presence of
God, who is always the solution. He can turn the deluge into rivers of living water (John
4:10; 7:37-39).
What can we do about all this? Be informed, prayerful, and take appropriate action, like
speaking up. On 22 January 2026, Australia observed a National Day of Mourning for the
Bondi victims. The theme: Light will win. Do these three steps, and you will be part of that
winning light, every time (Matthew 5:14-16).

1 Dov Chaikin, The Biblical Origins of Anti-Semitism, Israel Today Magazine, 1 June 2016.