Analyzing Discrimination Against Jews Essay

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Discrimination against the Jews is based on the global prejudice. Historically, the Jewish nation was a scapegoat for all troubles ranging from war to economic crisis. In the social context, the Jews are blamed for being rich. In the workplace setting, the Jews are considered to be paid more than they deserve. Notably, the attitude towards the Jewish nation is negative throughout the world, however, there are no evident reasons of this negativity. Even those people who have never met a Jewish person nurture negative perception. Nevertheless, very few people know that a true Jew is honest, careful, courteous, and prudent. The Jewish are truly religious and they act in a manner consistent with their religion. The Jews, however, are blamed for all global problems because their nation has managed to be more successful than the others.

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Defining Discrimination

There are no people who are free of stereotyping. Every person makes assumptions (conclusions based on limited knowledge of the facts) about others based on an incident, impression, or personal encounter. Stereotype is a mental image of a group based on the personal opinion without consideration of individual differences. All Jewish people are stereotyped as greedy and mean, even though the character is not predetermined with ethnicity. Prejudice is a negative judgment formed about the group without knowledge of the facts. In the case with the Jewish employees, the majority of Americans know nothing about the Jewish nation, while the judgment remains negative. Discrimination is treating people in a less favorable way because they are members of the specific group. In other words, discrimination is prejudice in action. The Jews are treated less favorably in the workplace because co-workers have negative judgments of them (prejudice). Finally, scapegoating is holding one group responsible for all community’s problems, isolating or rejecting a group. As it was mentioned, the Jews are blamed for all problems in the world, even for situations they were not part of.

Statistics

According to the nationwide survey released by the Anti-Defamation League, the number of Americans who hold anti-Semitic attitudes is slow to decrease. The survey findings point out that anti-Semitic views endure in the United States and are unlikely to reduce. According to the national poll of 1,600 American adults, 14% of Americans (35 million adults) hold views about Jews that are anti-Semitic (ADL Survey 2005). All of the efforts undertaken to build a more tolerant nation are fruitless. Moreover, there is an increasing anti-Semitic activity in the country. In 2004, for example, 1,821 anti-Semitic incidents were reported (ADL Survey 2005).

The indicator of anti-Jewish prejudice in the United States is the question of Jewish loyalty to America. The survey found that one third of Americans think that Jews are more loyal to Israel than America as well as that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus (ADL Survey 2005). The results of the survey are the following: 70% believe that Jews have too much power in the US, 80% that Jews have too much power in the business world, 75% believe that Jews have too much control of Wall Street. In addition, half of the foreign-born Hispanics and one third of African-American hold anti-Semitic beliefs. Education and age were found to play roles in determining anti-Semitism: less education Americans are more likely to hold anti-Semitic views.

Jewish People in the United States

“Thousands of young Jewish men and women spend several years engaged in full-time Torah study in yeshivot in the United States and in Israel, where they are exposed to the depth and richness of Judaism, but receive little or no preparation for confronting the challenges of the ‘real’ world” (Brafman 2006). Older people, gays, people with disabilities, women, African American, and Jews are the groups of people who are often discriminated against in the workplace setting. Notably, while the Jews are blamed for holding too much power in the United States, many Americans believe that Jews emphasize the importance of family life, contribute much to the cultural life of America, and are committed to social justice and civil rights (Graves 2007).

While the roots of discrimination against women in the workplace can be easily traced to the time when men enjoyed more rights and freedoms, the roots of discrimination against Jews in the workplace are hard to explain. There is no evidence that Jews were responsible for any attacks on American land; Jews were not responsible for the significant number of crimes compared to other groups; Jews were not guilty for economic problems or political instability. There are no evident reasons why the Jewish people are prejudiced so widely and openly.

The scapegoating of Jews differs from discrimination against other groups in the United States. For example, the African Americans are blamed for high crime rate and there are numerous studies devoted to research on criminal activity of African-American. Women, on the other, are discriminated because male-dominated society is not willing to accept the fact that mental development and abilities do not depend on gender. However, neither women nor African Americans are blamed for general social, economic, and political problems in the country compared to scapegoating of the Jews.

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Notably, educated people are less likely to discriminate against the Jews in the workplace, while uneducated individuals are open to prejudice. From psychological perspective, less educated individuals discriminate against Jews because Jews tend to be successful in life. Jews, being truly religious, emphasize the importance of hard work. As the result, Jews succeed in workplace because they are willing to work hard. The income level of uneducated people is significantly lower and they shift responsibility for their personal failure to Jews.

Reducing Prejudice

There are several ways to reduce prejudice in the workplace. The success of initiatives depends upon the commitment of the upper management. In particular, managers should make respect for diversity a core value in company and articulate it in the company’s handbook/employee manual (Stern-LaRosa & Bettman 2001). Ongoing awareness programs about the value of human diversity to all employees, diversity consultations and training programs may contribute to reduced prejudice as well. In addition, incorporating diversity as a business goal and creating environment conducive to the exploration of diversity, distributing a list of ethnic holidays and sponsoring a mentoring program are among the most effective tools to prevent discrimination against Jews and other ethnic minorities.

In conclusion, discrimination against Jews in the United States violates legal and moral laws. The Constitution states that all people enjoy equal rights and opportunities. Unfortunately, the United States is not free of discrimination and prejudice. Jews, African-American, women, gays and lesbians, disables, and other minor groups experience prejudice everyday. The American law does not allow any type of prejudice in the workplace, however, it does not mean that there is no discrimination in the workplace. According to surveys, less educated individuals are more likely to discriminate against Jews. Therefore, the key emphasis should be made on educating employees on diversity.

References

ADL Survey: Anti-Semitism Declines Slightly in America; 14 Percent of Americans Hold ‘Strong’ Anti-Semitic Beliefs. (2005). The Anti-Defamation League. Web.

Brafman, B. (2006). How to walk the business tightrope. Aish.com. Web.

Graves, N. (2007).New York Post. Web.

Stern-LaRosa, C & Bettman, EL, (2001). 101 ways to combat prejudice. Barnes & Noble and The Anti-Defamation League. Web.

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