--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What strikes the historian surveying…" description: "\"What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism worldwide over more than two millennia is its fundamental irrationality. It seems to make no sense, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/paul-johnson-4585_anti-semitism_what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-ant_1197768.jpg" --- # What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism… ![“What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism worldwide over more than two millennia is its fundamental irrationality. It seems to make no sense, any more than malaria or meningitis makes sense.” quote by Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/paul-johnson-4585_anti-semitism_what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-ant_1197768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/paul-johnson-4585_anti-semitism_what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-ant_1197768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/paul-johnson-4585_anti-semitism_what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-ant_1197768.jpg) > “What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism worldwide over more than two millennia is its fundamental irrationality. It seems to make no sense, any more than malaria or meningitis makes sense.” [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) ## 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 fundamentally irrational, persisting across centuries without logical basis. **In simple terms:** Anti‑Semitism is irrational and long‑standing. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge baseless hatred. Themes history prejudice irrationality human rights Mood somber reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - academic research - policy making - education curricula - community dialogue Key Concepts bigotry social psychology collective memory Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies cling to irrational prejudices? - How can education reduce such deep‑rooted bias? A Different Perspective It can be fueled by political agendas, making rational debate difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti semitism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-semitism/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Irrationality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrationality/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) ## Related quotes > [The mystery lies in the irrationality by which you make appearance - if it is not irrational, you make illustration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-mystery-lies-in-the-irrationality-by-which-you-make-appearance-if/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [We have been telling and hearing and reading war stories for millennia. Their endurance may lie in their impossibility; they can never be complete,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-gilpin-faust/we-have-been-telling-and-hearing-and-reading-war-stories-for/) [Drew Gilpin Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-gilpin-faust/) > [Ethnically, Tuareg describe themselves as white. And they don't look Arab or black. Many Tuareg have light skin, light eyes and sharp angular noses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/ethnically-tuareg-describe-themselves-as-white-and-they-don-t-look/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [We are fascinated with our own history, and we are fascinated with the Romans because they were millennia ago, and yet they still capture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-harington/we-are-fascinated-with-our-own-history-and-we-are-fascinated-with-the/) [Kit Harington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-harington/) > [If you go back to the really long-run questions that interested me, the big question was why, over the centuries, the millennia, has growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-romer/if-you-go-back-to-the-really-long-run-questions-that-interested-me/) [Paul Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-romer/) > [People sense that our reaction to phenomena such as epidemics or religious war is not that different to how we reacted to plagues or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-maitland/people-sense-that-our-reaction-to-phenomena-such-as-epidemics-or/) [Karen Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-maitland/) > [In most, if not quite all, parts of the world, the size, shape and longevity of the human body have changed more substantially, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fogel/in-most-if-not-quite-all-parts-of-the-world-the-size-shape-and/) [Robert Fogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fogel/) > [“Part of the resistance to Darwin and Wallace derives from our difficulty in imagining the passage of the millennia, much less the aeons. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/part-of-the-resistance-to-darwin-and-wallace-derives-from-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Awakened by a thousand dogs, a passing truck, the tailspin of a poisoned mosquito (or, perhaps, merely the silence of my dreams), I had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-calder/awakened-by-a-thousand-dogs-a-passing-truck-the-tailspin-of-a/) Richard Calder > [The spiritual activity of millennia is deposited in language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-spiritual-activity-of-millennia-is-deposited-in-language/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A university is not about results in the next quarter; it is not even about who a student has become by graduation. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-gilpin-faust/a-university-is-not-about-results-in-the-next-quarter-it-is-not-even/) [Drew Gilpin Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-gilpin-faust/) > [Well documented, the relationship of literature to myth in the Western world has undergone much change over the millennia, as first the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bernheimer/well-documented-the-relationship-of-literature-to-myth-in-the-western/) [Kate Bernheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bernheimer/) > [“As has also been demonstrated thoroughly, one of the principal objects of worship over the millennia has been the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-m-murdock/as-has-also-been-demonstrated-thoroughly-one-of-the-principal-objects/) [D.M. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-m-murdock/) > [The decline of violence is a fractal phenomenon. You can see it over millennia, over centuries, over decades and over years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-decline-of-violence-is-a-fractal-phenomenon-you-can-see-it-over/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If we look to the saints, this great luminous wake with which God has passed through history, we truly see that here is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-we-look-to-the-saints-this-great-luminous-wake-with-which-god-has/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) ## More by Paul Johnson > [“Partly by accident, partly by instinct, partly by deliberate contrivance, he was the first intellectual systematically to exploit the guilt of the privileged. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/partly-by-accident-partly-by-instinct-partly-by-deliberate/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [ “The Salem \[witch\] trials…can be seen as an example of the propensity of the American people to be convulsed by spasms of self-righteous rage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/the-salem-witch-trials-can-be-seen-as-an-example-of-the-propensity-of/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [“Much of Sartre’s time in the 1960s was spent travelling in China and the Third World, a term invented by the geographer Alfred Sauvy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/much-of-sartre-s-time-in-the-1960s-was-spent-travelling-in-china-and/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [ “He \[Augustine\] admitted: 'I am the sort of man who writes because he has made progress, and who makes progress by writing.' ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/he-augustine-admitted-i-am-the-sort-of-man-who-writes-because-he-has/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [The most intimidating world leader was Lyndon Johnson, who became U.S. President when John Kennedy was assassinated. He exulted in this power and liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/the-most-intimidating-world-leader-was-lyndon-johnson-who-became-u-s/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [Democracy has many enemies, and the terrorist is only one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/democracy-has-many-enemies-and-the-terrorist-is-only-one-of-them/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [“Marx wrote about finance and industry all his life but he only knew two people connected with financial and industrial processes. One was his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/marx-wrote-about-finance-and-industry-all-his-life-but-he-only-knew/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [“When we are dealing with concepts like freedom and equality, it is essential to use words accurately and in good faith. So the eighth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/when-we-are-dealing-with-concepts-like-freedom-and-equality-it-is/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [Margaret Thatcher had more impact on the world than any woman ruler since Catherine the Great of Russia. Not only did she turn around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/margaret-thatcher-had-more-impact-on-the-world-than-any-woman-ruler/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [Wisdom lies not in possessing knowledge - which quickly becomes outdated - but in perpetually seeking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/wisdom-lies-not-in-possessing-knowledge-which-quickly-becomes/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [The planet Earth, though not threatened with destruction by man-made global warming, is by no means indestructible. There are many unpredictable events within our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/the-planet-earth-though-not-threatened-with-destruction-by-man-made/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [“As Khrushchev put it, “He prodded the capitalist world with the tip of his bayonet.” He himself put it, “If I see a door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/as-khrushchev-put-it-he-prodded-the-capitalist-world-with-the-tip-of/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [“We must never forget that the settlement of what is now the United States was only part of a larger enterprise. And this was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/we-must-never-forget-that-the-settlement-of-what-is-now-the-united/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [Where the quest for knowledge is relatively, and now almost absolutely, unrestrained, the public benefit will be great, especially where the certainty of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/where-the-quest-for-knowledge-is-relatively-and-now-almost-absolutely/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [If anti-Semitism is a variety of racism, it is a most peculiar variety, with many unique characteristics. In my view as a historian, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/if-anti-semitism-is-a-variety-of-racism-it-is-a-most-peculiar-variety/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) [Explore all 109 Paul Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) ## 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": "What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism worldwide over more than two millennia is its fundamental irrationality. It seems to make no sense, any more than malaria or meningitis makes sense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-anti-semitism-worldwide-over/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anti semitism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-anti-semitism-worldwide-over/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/paul-johnson-4585_anti-semitism_what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-ant_1197768.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/paul-johnson-4585_anti-semitism_what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-ant_1197768.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/paul-johnson-4585_anti-semitism_what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-ant_1197768.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism worldwide over more than two millennia is its fundamental…” — Paul Johnson", "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": "Paul Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-anti-semitism-worldwide-over/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/what-strikes-the-historian-surveying-anti-semitism-worldwide-over/#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 } } ] } ```