Translate Hate

deicide

noun \ 'di ə,said \

: the killing of a god

WHEN IT’S ANTISEMITIC:

Deicide is the charge that Jews bear eternal responsibility for the death of Jesus Christ. This claim is based on a misguided interpretation of Matthew 27:24-25, “His blood be on us, and on our children,” also known as the blood curse. This verse (25) has led to more Jewish suffering than any other passage in the Christian Bible.

This source of antisemitism among Christians was only refuted by the Catholic Church in 1965, with Nostra Aetate the landmark document that rejected collective Jewish responsibility for this crime. Protestant churches have also repudiated the deicide charge. Nevertheless, some churches today continue to teach that Jews killed Jesus. While this preaching may not be intended to cause harm, antisemites use the deicide charge to justify their anti-Jewish hatred. Additionally, the same wrongful accusation and imagery connected with Jews as Christ-killers has been recycled in the Middle East, often in the form of Jesus representing Palestinians who are “crucified” by the Israeli Defense Forces or the Israeli Government.

 

 

Return to Glossary