--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I'll close by saying this. Because…" description: "\"“And I'll close by saying this. Because anti-Semitism is the godfather of racism and the gateway to tyranny and fascism and war, it is to be regarded n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/christopher-hitchens-117_anti-semitism_and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-an_2427806.jpg" --- # And I'll close by saying this. Because anti-Semitism is… ![“And I'll close by saying this. Because anti-Semitism is the godfather of racism and the gateway to tyranny and fascism and war, it is to be regarded not as the enemy of the Jewish people, I learned, but as the common enemy of humanity and of civilisation, and has to be fought against very…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/christopher-hitchens-117_anti-semitism_and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-an_2427806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/christopher-hitchens-117_anti-semitism_and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-an_2427806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/christopher-hitchens-117_anti-semitism_and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-an_2427806.jpg) > ““And I'll close by saying this. Because anti-Semitism is the godfather of racism and the gateway to tyranny and fascism and war, it is to be regarded not as the enemy of the Jewish people, I learned, but as the common enemy of humanity and of civilisation, and has to be fought against very tenaciously for that reason, most especially in its current, most virulent form of Islamic Jihad. Daniel Pearl's revolting murderer was educated at the London School of Economics. Our Christmas bomber over Detroit was from a neighboring London college, the chair of the Islamic Students' Society. Many pogroms against Jewish people are being reported from all over Europe today as I'm talking, and we can only expect this to get worse, and we must make sure our own defenses are not neglected. Our task is to call this filthy thing, this plague, this—this pest, by its right name; to make unceasing resistance to it, knowing all the time that it's probably ultimately ineradicable, and bearing in mind that its hatred towards us is a compliment, and resolving (some of the time, at any rate) to do a bit more to deserve it. Thank you.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anti‑Semitism is a root cause of broader racism, tyranny, and war, especially in its extremist Islamic form, and must be fought relentlessly as a threat to all humanity. **In simple terms:** Hate against Jews fuels wider oppression and must be opposed. Key Takeaway Resist hate fiercely. Themes human rights racism terrorism history politics Mood urgent determined serious Type political activist When to use this quote - policy advocacy - education programs - community vigilance - interfaith dialogue - counter‑terrorism Key Concepts extremism systemic oppression ideology radicalization Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance free speech with combating hate? - What role should education play in preventing radicalization? A Different Perspective Hate can be deeply entrenched, making eradication difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti semitism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-semitism/) [Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) [Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisation/) [Common enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-enemy/) [Detroit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detroit/) [Enemy Jewish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-jewish-241174/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Fascism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascism/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Hatred Compliment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-compliment-241175/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jewish people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jewish-people/) [Jews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jews/) [Jihad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jihad/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Pogroms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pogroms-146010/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Regarded Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarded-enemy-241176/) [Speeches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speeches/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Then all at once our personal and political quarrels were made very abruptly to converge. In the special edition of the London Review of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/then-all-at-once-our-personal-and-political-quarrels-were-made-very/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It will not do to say that international law is the enemy of the Jewish people, since the Jewish people surely did not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/it-will-not-do-to-say-that-international-law-is-the-enemy-of-the/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [“Pogroms need no reason, sir, none that can weather challenge, in any case. Difference in kind is the first recognition, the only one needed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/pogroms-need-no-reason-sir-none-that-can-weather-challenge-in-any/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Inherent to socialism is the absence of choice. If I want to choose my own pretzels or books or iphones, they prevent me -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/inherent-to-socialism-is-the-absence-of-choice-if-i-want-to-choose-my/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [Can you call a farm with a dozen geese a farm? Still, it was a little better for the Jews in Czechoslovakia. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-vishniac/can-you-call-a-farm-with-a-dozen-geese-a-farm-still-it-was-a-little/) [Roman Vishniac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-vishniac/) > [“Pogroms after all. Cut off just a hundred more heads, just a thousand more heads, just ten thousand more heads, and then we’ll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/pogroms-after-all-cut-off-just-a-hundred-more-heads-just-a-thousand/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [“I believe the pogroms of November '38 made less impression on the nation than cutting the bar of chocolate for Christmas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-klemperer/i-believe-the-pogroms-of-november-38-made-less-impression-on-the/) [Victor Klemperer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-klemperer/) > [“The worst violence was reserved for the Jews. There were 690 documented pogroms -- with over 3,000 reported murders -- during the two weeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/the-worst-violence-was-reserved-for-the-jews-there-were-690/) [Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/) > [“Like the Nazis, the cadres of jihad have a death wish that sets the seal on their nihilism. The goal of a world run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/like-the-nazis-the-cadres-of-jihad-have-a-death-wish-that-sets-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ “\[T\]his is an enemy for life, as well as an enemy of life.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/t-his-is-an-enemy-for-life-as-well-as-an-enemy-of-life/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“As to the 'Left' I'll say briefly why this was the finish for me. Here is American society, attacked under open skies in broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-to-the-left-i-ll-say-briefly-why-this-was-the-finish-for-me-here/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Now is as good a time as ever to revisit the history of the Crusades, or the sorry history of partition in Kashmir, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/now-is-as-good-a-time-as-ever-to-revisit-the-history-of-the-crusades/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The neo-cons, or some of them, decided that they would back Clinton when he belatedly decided for Bosnia and Kosovo against Milosevic, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-neo-cons-or-some-of-them-decided-that-they-would-back-clinton/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It can certainly be misleading to take the attributes of a movement, or the anxieties and contradictions of a moment, and to personalize or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-can-certainly-be-misleading-to-take-the-attributes-of-a-movement/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Anti semitism quotes > [“. Despite the considerable horror they had felt when the SA men were bellowing crude anti-Semitic slogans, in retrospect the joke-tellers were very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-herzog/despite-the-considerable-horror-they-had-felt-when-the-sa-men-were/) [Rudolph Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-herzog/) > [Even in the Western world, one cannot argue that the ideal has been achieved given the existence of issues like the integration, participation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/even-in-the-western-world-one-cannot-argue-that-the-ideal-has-been/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [Rest assured that our work is not over because our work has never been only hunting Nazi war criminals. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-hier/rest-assured-that-our-work-is-not-over-because-our-work-has-never/) [Marvin Hier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-hier/) > [With little knowledge of what it meant to be a Jew, I found myself passionately defending the Jewish people. Now, half a century later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/with-little-knowledge-of-what-it-meant-to-be-a-jew-i-found-myself/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I have never, ever, received any taunts or any form of anti-Semitism. And I suppose being a Jewish football player with the Atlanta Falcons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-goldberg/i-have-never-ever-received-any-taunts-or-any-form-of-anti-semitism/) [Bill Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-goldberg/) > [It is not possible for Christians to take part in anti-Semitism. We are Semites spiritually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/it-is-not-possible-for-christians-to-take-part-in-anti-semitism-we/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) > [I believe I understand anti-Semitism which is a very complex movement. I see it as a Jew, but without hatred or fear. I recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-herzl/i-believe-i-understand-anti-semitism-which-is-a-very-complex-movement/) [Theodor Herzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-herzl/) > [Israel is stupid for allowing people to vent their anti-Semitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-margolyes/israel-is-stupid-for-allowing-people-to-vent-their-anti-semitism/) [Miriam Margolyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-margolyes/) > [Anti-Catholicism is the anti-Semitism of the intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/anti-catholicism-is-the-anti-semitism-of-the-intellectual/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [We always come back to the same misunderstanding. The Jews because of their spirit of revolt, their exclusiveness and the Messianic tendencies which animate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-v-deponcins/we-always-come-back-to-the-same-misunderstanding-the-jews-because-of/) [Leon V. DePoncins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-v-deponcins/) > [The bankers' Satanic Conspiracy is the source of anti Semitism. The sooner Jews rise up to oppose it; the sooner anti-Semitism will end.. Obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-makow/the-bankers-satanic-conspiracy-is-the-source-of-anti-semitism-the/) [Henry Makow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-makow/) > [Yet, nearly 6 decades after the Holocaust concluded, Anti-Semitism still exists as the scourge of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-engel/yet-nearly-6-decades-after-the-holocaust-concluded-anti-semitism/) [Eliot Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-engel/) > [If, to the end of its existence, America harbors white supremacy, I don't know how remarkable that would be. France has dealt with anti-Semitism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/if-to-the-end-of-its-existence-america-harbors-white-supremacy-i-don/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [As for me, even though I have been accused of anti-Semitism countless times, no one has ever heard me make anti-Semitic statements or engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/as-for-me-even-though-i-have-been-accused-of-anti-semitism-countless/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) > [There was no reason to label us as anti-Semitic. No reason at all. I do not know one person in the National Front who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/there-was-no-reason-to-label-us-as-anti-semitic-no-reason-at-all-i-do/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) [Browse all 296 Anti semitism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-semitism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And I'll close by saying this. Because anti-Semitism is the godfather of racism and the gateway to tyranny and fascism and war, it is to be regarded not as the enemy of the Jewish people, I learned, but as the common enemy of humanity and of civilisation, and has to be fought against very tenaciously for that reason, most especially in its current, most virulent form of Islamic Jihad. Daniel Pearl's revolting murderer was educated at the London School of Economics. Our Christmas bomber over Detroit was from a neighboring London college, the chair of the Islamic Students' Society. Many pogroms against Jewish people are being reported from all over Europe today as I'm talking, and we can only expect this to get worse, and we must make sure our own defenses are not neglected. Our task is to call this filthy thing, this plague, this—this pest, by its right name; to make unceasing resistance to it, knowing all the time that it's probably ultimately ineradicable, and bearing in mind that its hatred towards us is a compliment, and resolving (some of the time, at any rate) to do a bit more to deserve it. Thank you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-anti-semitism-is-the-godfather/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anti semitism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-anti-semitism-is-the-godfather/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/christopher-hitchens-117_anti-semitism_and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-an_2427806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/christopher-hitchens-117_anti-semitism_and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-an_2427806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/christopher-hitchens-117_anti-semitism_and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-an_2427806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And I'll close by saying this. Because anti-Semitism is the godfather of racism and the gateway to tyranny…” — Christopher Hitchens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And I'll close by saying this....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-anti-semitism-is-the-godfather/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-anti-semitism-is-the-godfather/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```