Antisemitism in Mexico

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Antisemitism in Mexico dates to the establishment of the Mexican Inquisition in the 16th Century which involved the persecution of Jews as well as others accused of being crypto-Jews. [1] [2] This early form of anti-Judaism morphed over the centuries. [3] In modern times, manifestations of antisemitism in Mexico have occurred throughout the 20th Century at various historical moments, although without forming official state policy. [4] Similarly, such incidents have continued to be present in the early 21st Century. [5]

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In the early 20th Century, Mexican attitudes towards Jews was characterised as one of sympathetic curiosity, and immigration was permitted during the period when the United States and Canada had closed its borders. Subsequently, concerns over increased Jewish immigration led to public protests, anti-Jewish sentiments were expressed in local newspapers, and antisemitic campaigns were initiated to boycott Jewish businesses. [1] Notwithstanding the migration issue, the full extent of antisemitic activity during this period cannot be attributed to the sole cause of Jewish immigration. [6] In this period, manifestations of antisemitism were documented; however, they seldomly were expressed through physical violence. [7]

Manifestations of antisemitism in Mexico that have persisted into the 21st Century include the use of swastika graffiti along with hateful language, the targeting of Jewish public intellectuals, media personalities, and politicians. [8] Targets of antisemitic speech included Claudia Sheinbaum, who successfully ran for the Mexican presidency in 2024. [9] [10] [11]

Incidents and trends of antisemitism are tracked by the Jewish community organization, Tribuna Israelita. [12] In 2014, the Anti-Defamation League Global100 survey results found that 24% of the adult population harbor antisemitic views and beliefs. [13]

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Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against, Jews. This sentiment is a form of racism, and a person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Primarily, antisemitic tendencies may be motivated by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or by negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. In the former case, usually presented as racial antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by the belief that Jews constitute a distinct race with inherent traits or characteristics that are repulsive or inferior to the preferred traits or characteristics within that person's society. In the latter case, known as religious antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by their religion's perception of Jews and Judaism, typically encompassing doctrines of supersession that expect or demand Jews to turn away from Judaism and submit to the religion presenting itself as Judaism's successor faith—this is a common theme within the other Abrahamic religions. The development of racial and religious antisemitism has historically been encouraged by the concept of anti-Judaism, which is distinct from antisemitism itself.

New Christian was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction in the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire. The term was used from the 15th century onwards primarily to describe the descendants of the Sephardic Jews and Moors baptised into the Catholic Church following the Alhambra Decree. The Alhambra Decree of 1492, also known as the Edict of Expulsion, was an anti-Jewish law made by the Catholic Monarchs upon the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. It required Jews to convert to Catholic Christianity or be expelled from Spain. Most of the history of the "New Christians" refers to the Jewish converts, who were generally known as Conversos while the Muslim converts were known as Moriscos.

The history of the Jews in Latin America began with conversos who joined the Spanish and Portuguese expeditions to the continents. The Alhambra Decree of 1492 led to the mass conversion of Spain's Jews to Catholicism and the expulsion of those who refused to do so. However, the vast majority of conversos never made it to the New World and remained in Spain slowly assimilating to the dominant Catholic culture. This was due to the requirement by Spain's Blood Statutes to provide written documentation of Old Christian lineage to travel to the New World. However, the first Jews came with the first expedition of Christopher Columbus, including Rodrigo de Triana and Luis De Torres.

Limpieza de sangre, also known as limpeza de sangue or neteja de sang, literally 'cleanliness of blood' and meaning 'blood purity', was a racially discriminatory term used in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires during the early modern period to refer to those who were considered to be Old Christians by virtue of not having Muslim, Jewish, Romani, or Agote ancestors. In both empires, the term played a major role in discrimination against suspected crypto-Jews or crypto-Muslims. Over the years it manifested into law which excluded New Christians from almost every part of society. In Spain's American colonies, it helped define the casta system and was expanded to include those who were not of indigenous or African descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racial antisemitism</span> Prejudice and discrimination against Jews based on race or ethnicity

Racial antisemitism is prejudice against Jews based on a belief or assertion that Jews constitute a distinct race that has inherent traits or characteristics that appear in some way abhorrent or inherently inferior or otherwise different from the traits or characteristics of the rest of a society. The abhorrence may find expression in the form of discrimination, stereotypes or caricatures. Racial antisemitism may present Jews, as a group, as a threat in some way to the values or safety of a society. Racial antisemitism can seem deeper-rooted than religious antisemitism, because for religious antisemites conversion of Jews remains an option and once converted the "Jew" is gone. In the context of racial antisemitism Jews cannot get rid of their Jewishness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Brazil</span> Ethnic group

The history of the Jews in Brazil begins during the settlement of Europeans in the new world. Although only baptized Christians were subject to the Inquisition, Jews started settling in Brazil when the Inquisition reached Portugal, in the 16th century. They arrived in Brazil during the period of Dutch rule, setting up in Recife the first synagogue in the Americas, the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, as early as 1636. Most of those Jews were Sephardic Jews who had fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal to the religious freedom of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Argentina</span> Ethnic group

The history of the Jews in Argentina goes back to the early sixteenth century, following the Jewish expulsion from Spain. Sephardi Jews fleeing persecution immigrated with explorers and colonists to settle in what is now Argentina, in spite of being forbidden from travelling to the American colonies. In addition, many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata were Jewish. An organized Jewish community, however, did not develop until after Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816. By mid-century, Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe, fleeing the social and economic disruptions of revolutions, began to settle in Argentina. Argentines of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic heritage have left their mark on all aspects of Argentine culture, including in areas such as cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Venezuela</span>

The history of the Jews in Venezuela dates to the middle of the 17th century, when records suggest that groups of marranos lived in Tucacas, Caracas and Maracaibo. The Jewish community, however, did not become established in Venezuela until the middle of the 19th century. Since Hugo Chávez took power in 1999, tension has existed between the government and Jewish population, which has seen large numbers emigrating. Today, the majority of Venezuelan Jews live in Israel, while modern-day Venezuela continues to host a modest Jewish population.

Antisemitic tropes or antisemitic canards are "sensational reports, misrepresentations, or fabrications" that are defamatory towards Judaism as a religion or defamatory towards Jews as an ethnic or religious group. Since as early as the 2nd century, libels or allegations of Jewish guilt and cruelty emerged as a recurring motif along with antisemitic conspiracy theories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Belgium</span> Ethnic group

The history of the Jews in Belgium goes back to the 1st century CE until today. The Jewish community numbered 66,000 on the eve of the Second World War but after the war and The Holocaust, now is less than half that number.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Mexico</span> Ethnic group

The history of the Jews in Mexico began in 1519 with the arrival of Conversos, often called Marranos or "Crypto-Jews", referring to those Jews forcibly converted to Catholicism and that then became subject to the Spanish Inquisition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of antisemitism in the United States</span>

Different opinions exist among historians regarding the extent of antisemitism in American history and how American antisemitism contrasted with its European counterpart. In contrast to the horrors of European history, John Higham states that in the United States "no decisive event, no deep crisis, no powerful social movement, no great individual is associated primarily with, or significant chiefly because of anti-Semitism." Accordingly, David A. Gerber concludes that antisemitism "has been a distinctly minor feature of the nation's historical development." Historian Britt Tevis argue that, "Handlin and Higham’s ideas remain influential, and many American Jewish historians continue to present antisemitism as largely insignificant, momentary, primarily social."

Antisemitism—prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews—has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-Christian civilizations of Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antisemitism in the United States</span> Hatred towards the Jewish people within the US

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Defamation League</span> International Jewish organization

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Antisemitism in Australia is the manifestation of hostility, prejudice or discrimination against the Australian Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group. This form of racism has affected Jews since Australia's Jewish community was established in the 18th century. There are a number of organisations that track antisemitic activities, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, that publish an annual list of all reported antisemitic activities. According to the Anti-Defamation League's 2014 Global100 survey, an estimated 14% of Australians harbour antisemitic views. Antisemitism in Australia is perpetrated by a variety of groups, and it has manifested in the publication of antisemitic publications, in efforts to prevent Jewish immigration, and in attacks on Australian Jews and their communal institutions.

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References

  1. 1 2 Kahan, S. (1940). The Jewish Community in Mexico. Contemporary Jewish Record, 1(1940).
  2. Matthew D. Warshwsky, "Inquisitorial Prosecution of Tomás Treviño de Sobremontes, a Crypto Jew in Colonial Mexico", Colonial Latin American Review 17, no. 1 2008, pp. 101-23.
  3. Aragón, R. (2021). The Rise of “Scientific” Antisemitism in Latin America. In Social, Political, and Religious Movements in the Modern Americas (pp. 302-324). Routledge.
  4. Dayan, R. (2016). Community of Communities: Jews in Mexico. Judaic Notebooks , (33), 88-115.
  5. Liwerant, J. B., & Siman, Y. (2016). 7 Antisemitism in Mexico and Latin America: Recurrences and Changes. In Antisemitism in North America (pp. 119-173). Brill.
  6. Knudson, J. W. (1972). Antisemitism in Latin America (i) Barometer of social change. Patterns of Prejudice, 6(5), 1-11.
  7. Liwerant, J. B. (2011). Mexico in a Region under Change. Journal for the Study of Antisemitism, 3(1), 27-38.
  8. Palacio, R. (2023). "Mexican antisemitism". La Politica Online. www.lapoliticaonline.com. Oct. 17, 2023. Accessed June 3, 2024.
  9. Cramer, P. (2024). "Claudia Sheinbaum elected president of Mexico, breaking barriers as woman and Jew" The Forward. June 3, 2024. Accessed June 3, 2024.
  10. Bouchard, J. (2024). "Will Mexico having a Jewish president fix antisemitism in Latin America?" Israel Hayom. June 3, 2024. Accessed June 3, 2024.
  11. Friedman, G. (2023). "Former Mexican president calls leading Jewish Mexican politician a ‘Bulgarian Jew’". Times of Israel. July 28, 2023. Accessed June 3, 2024.
  12. Siman, Y., & Kahan, EN (2021). The global memory of the Holocaust in national contexts: Commemorative practices in Argentina and Mexico. Istor. Journal of International History , (82), 79-10.
  13. "Mexico (2014)". Anti-Defamation League. Accessed June 3, 2024.
  14. Aguilar, Carlos (2023). "The greatest Mexican filmmaker you've never heard of". LA Times. September 12, 2023. Accessed June 4, 2024.