In a 2008 lecture on Leviticus 19, Dennis Prager is asked: “Do you think any aspect of anti-Semitism is spiritual as opposed to practical?”
Dennis: It’s all spiritual and theological. It’s not practical at all. Anti-Semitism is among the most impractical things a Jew hater came up with. When Spain kicked out its Jews in 1492, it devastated itself.
The same holds true for Europe after the Holocaust. Europe was the center of world culture. Then they killed the Jews off. Can you name a living Austrian? A living German (outside of politics and sports)?
In 1900, Vienna was the cultural center of the world. Look who came from Europe — Freud and Einstein to give two examples. Two Jews.
The devastation of Jewry has never helped a non-Jew.
The biggest example is Hitler. If the Nazis really hated Jews, they should’ve used them as slaves. Killing them took away from their war effort.
Hating Jews is entirely unproductive. That’s why it is so deep. If it was practical, you could buy your way out.
The Jews of Europe couldn’t believe that they were going to be wiped out. It didn’t make any sense. It was impractical.
