What Do They Have Against the Jews?

When people hear the word "Jew" negative things seem to come to mind.  Things come to mind like the Holocaust, people frugal with money, rejecting Jesus or the Israel and Palestine conflict.

Jews, however, have played a significant role in the world.  One could also look at the more positive roles they have played in history (other than not eating pigs).  One role they played was arguably the central role for humanity.

The Jews were the people God chose to work through to attain the salvation of all mankind.  That sounds pretty positive, doesn't it?

This does not mean the Jews were chosen so they could be given special privileges.  The Jews were chosen as a model for us to get a glimpse of the nature of God and how he works through humans.  The Jews were not more righteous or sinless than other groups around them.
 Picture from shutterstock
This is not saying the Jews are good or bad in general, if it was back then or now. 
Why Is So Much Said About The Jews?
There was so much said about them because they were a central part of the Old Testament.  This means that how the Jews responded to God and how God responded to the Jews is similar to how you can expect God to respond to you.  For instance in the Old Testament the Jews were often referred to as "stiff-necked"  and were even polytheistic before the Babylonian Captivity (a belief in many Gods).   They did not want to renounce their ways and follow God.  Despite these things God still loved them unconditionally and let his grace flow to them. 
Another reason there is much said about the Jews is that Judaism is the base for the three major world religions, which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  Jewish traditions and rituals appear in all three of these.  The early Christians were Jews previously and Islam uses the Old Testament as a central part of their faith.  In the Old Testament Jesus was a Jew, the 12 Apostles were Jews and the Prophets were Jews.  
(Albert Einstein and Karl Marx were Jews and they were also significant).
So What Do People Have Against The Jews?
This is a question I have asked people often.  How can a person not like God's chosen people?  The answers have ranged from "They have so much money and power" to "The Jews crucified Jesus"  to "The Jews rejected Jesus."  These each have an element of partial truth to them, but they are also exaggerated.

In modern times a big reason for the dislike of Jews is after the Holocaust of World War II the Jews sought a homeland in Palestine.  With the creation of the Jewish State in 1948 many thousands of Palestinians were uprooted from their land and forced out by a declaration of the United Nations.  This uprooting is widely viewed as unjust.  (If Al Qaeda came in and forced you to leave America and your life behind, how would YOU feel about them?)  Many throughout the world also view a Jewish homeland (Zionism) as going against God's Word.  They believe God ordained the Jews to disperse throughout the world (the Diaspora) in response to being "stiff-necked" to his word.

How many people do you know that have never been stiff-necked?   So What Does This Mean To You?
Despite all of this one thing to remember is that the salvation of all mankind came through the Jewish people.   Jesus called himself the "King Of The Jews" and showed the path to enlightenment, using Jews as an example.   Without them people would not be clear about the nature of God and the way to obtain salvation.  People would be lost.

Aspects of a more meaningful daily life, like this blog is about, involve the knowledge of where you came from and where you are going. The Jewish people played a role in this.

Have you been neighborly to a Jew today?

This adds meaning to life because:  God did not leave his creation wondering without a guide.  He chose to reveal his nature to humankind, using the Jews as subjects.  Through the Jews God showed humans the path to salvation.
You might also be interested in:
Salvation Is From The Jews
The Jewish Diaspora
Abraham - Father Of Three Faiths