My understanding is that most modern anti-semitism stems from a roman practice that made it illegal for a Jew to be anything other than a money handler (money handlers were considered dirty), and then the roman economy collapsed. Who do you blame for that event other than the race of people pigeonholed into controlling the money?

[removed]

In short form, Christians weren’t allowed to loan money for a long part of history. Jews didn’t have these same rules, and would often loan money. This lead to the common trope of Jewish people being greedy and/or running the banks. Then a false text called the protocols of the elders of Zion was widely spread. This text informed a lot of hitlers views and was even included in school curriculum.

Firstly, Jews are a minority group in most countries. If you're a wannabe dictator (or an actual dictator), a tactic as old as civilization is to blame all of society's ills on some group of people who don't have the clout to defend themselves.

Secondly, Christianity. Since the earliest days of the religion, certain Christians have concluded that the Jewish people were responsible for Jesus' execution. If you believe that a group literally killed God, then you can justify doing horrible things.

Thirdly, more Christianity. In medieval Europe, Christians were forbidden from charging interest on loans. At the same time, Jews were often forbidden from owning land. Naturally, some Jews tried to make the best of a bad situation by becoming money lenders - people still needed loans, after all. But of course, if you suddenly find that you can't pay back your loan, then you're probably going to lash out at the person who gave you the loan in the first place.

Please read this entire message

Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):

Subjective or speculative replies are not allowed on ELI5. Only objective explanations are permitted here; your question is asking for speculation or subjective responses. This includes anything asking for peoples' subjective opinions, any kind of discussion, and anything where we would have to speculate on the answer. This very much includes asking about motivations of people or companies. This includes Just-so stories.

If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the detailed rules first. If you believe this submission was removed erroneously, please use this form and we will review your submission.

A long cycle of, being seen as "others", being persecuted for being "others", rallying around each other because of persecution, being seen as "others" for rallying around each other, so on and so on for several thousand years.

There are a few ideas. Anti-Semitism has been around for a long time.

One is that Judaism was one of the few religions that allowed money lending with interest. This was considered usury and prohibited in some other religions, namely Christianity and Islam. The idea being Jews would be money lenders, and would suffer the wrath of anyone who couldn't or didn't want to pay them back. In fact Jews sometimes played an important role in the economy of European powers, often they were prohibited from other trades. Leaders could tax/extort them or borrow money from them, bypassing rules on taxation or religious laws on lending. This could lead to persecution and expulsion, often without any real concern for their safety.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Expulsion

Ultimately they were a people without a nation or homeland. Humans aren't always the most welcoming of creatures, or the most fair. It's historically been easy to use Jews and other minorities as a scapegoat. We still see it today.

Keep in mind it's not really like today where we have minorities but they're at least ostensibly citizens with rights. Jews were often forced to live in ghettos, Jewish quarters or areas, or have identifying marks. There was no pretence, they were the other. It's not easy to break that sort of ingrained social structure.

I'm sure any Christian you asked might have had their reasons, but I think the fundamental reason, as depressing as it is, is simple: The Jews were often treated so poorly because they could be treated poorly, like any minority group. It was just their misfortune to always be a minority group.

It started with the Jewish diaspora under the ancient Romans. After a series of Jewish revolts against Roman rule, Jews were not allowed to settle or worship in Jerusalem for 500 years. Only when the Muslims took Jerusalem were Jews invited back, but they were not given political power.

As a result Jews formed communities elsewhere in the Roman Empire. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman and Byzantine empires, it created a tense relationship with Jews. The same was true in the Muslim empire. Throughout the Middle Ages, at times Jews were tolerated, and at other times they were persecuted.

Since they were often not allowed to own land, and their existence in any particular land was always subject to change, many Jews formed international relationships with fellow Jews in other countries, and took advantage of those relationships in trade and finance. This helped them survive and even thrive, but their success often made them even more of a target of discrimination.

They were, in short, a common and easily identified minority in every European and Middle Eastern country, at a time when there were few other minorities. There were some other minorities also subjected to discrimination. In fact, pretty much any outsider was suspicious. But none were more pervasive or visible than Jews. The fact that many were successful in business despite or even because of the discrimination just made the hatred directed at them more intense.

That remained the case in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Furthermore, as aristocrats lost power and capitalists gained power, it was convenient to deflect anger away from other capitalists by pointing the finger at wealthy Jews. That has continued to be the case throughout the West.

Of course, today there’s also the issue of the State of Israel, which has never really been accepted in the Muslim world. And Israel’s response to Muslim aggression has turned them into an occupying force that has been accused of human rights violations. In other words, in the one country run by Jews they treat Muslims as outsiders, and have been accused of unjustified discrimination against them. And since the U.S. backs Israel with massive military and economic aid, the U.S. is often blamed for Israel’s actions.