It has become widely understood that antisemitism, being an irrational hatred, is full of contradictions and anomalies. Since there is an inclination to view Jew-hatred in the context of broader manifestations of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and sexism, it is fascinating that in many ways the most powerful and insidious contradiction is the idea that Jews are simultaneously attacked as being too strong and in control of too much in society, and attacked as being too weak and inferior to others in society. 

Like so much of the history of antisemitism, this dynamic exploded in Nazi Germany. 

Hitler in Mein Kampf and the German government in the early years of the Nazi regime pointed to the forgery The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion as the hallmark of Jewish influence over the world, using it to justify persecuting the Jews. 

At the same time, the Nazis saw Jews as racially inferior in both mind and body, presenting them as an........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)