There are academics in America who study just that. It is indeed an interesting question. It goes back all the way to Roman times. Already Rome had considerable problems with Judea. Rome was highly tolerant, and used to assimilate other beliefs. Judaism, however, was not. But it wasn't just monotheism vs polytheism. The Jewish expectation of a Messiah, a leader who would liberate them from foreign oppression, frequently manifested as political and military uprisings against Rome. This culminated in three catastrophic wars. So the Jews had this intense monotheism. Their religion helped them to forge close ties which many polytheistic tribes did not, and paradoxically, the more these close ties got them into conflict with powers like Rome, the closer those ties became. I mean think about Larry Ellison today, a man who has nothing to do with Israel really, raised as a Reform jew in the US, who says he does not subscribe to Judaism. And yet his support for Israel is immense. Of course, then there's the inbuilt chauvinism, which does not just stem from the chosen people belief, but also you have verses like Numbers 31:18, where Moses tells the Judean soldiers the following: "Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves." (Numbers 31:17–18, ESV". There is this prayer where Jews thank God for not making them Gentile, and no doubt this has contributed to the appropriation from host societies in a merciless way. Of course there must be many more reasons. On a personal level my interactions with Jews have only been highly positive and I would be loathe to make a generalised view on this. Again, we should not forget that people like Norman Finkelstein or Naom Chomsky oppose Israel more vehemently than most others.
Create an account or sign in to comment