Anti-Semitism

Dear Rabbi, I am a 3/4 goy with no jewish culture preserved in my current family so I apologize in advance for my ignorance. Recently I was digging into the David star (magen David), nazi jewish badge, nazi badges used in KZ-Lagers and the flag of Israel issue and I got completely lost in the fine details. Can you shed some light on these issues? I got really confused by the role of the David Star in jewish tradition. I understand that it is one very old symbol going back to probably King Solomon. I can not tell how important this symbol is. Is it just one "seal" or "talisman" among many others or is it some very fundamental symbol? I ask this in historical context. The jewish badge was very prominently used by the nazis to mark jewish people. I refer to the yellow hexagram, which is similar to the magen David. What was the reason this badge was chosen? What was the "message" and "motivation" of the nazis? I also got confused by the badge system used by the nazis in the KZ-camps. As I understand it, they used colored triangles to indicate the group that the inmate belonged to (jewish, gay, gipsy, etc.) and a second colored triangle indicating the crime that the inmate is guilty of (socialist, common criminal, etc.). For a very long time I assumed that the yellow star was actually two of these triangles, both yellow, combined. Somewhat supporting this, there was the yellow-red combination to indicate socialist jews, etc. Does this theory hold any water? Either inside the camps or outside in the streets. Why was the magen David chosen to be part of the flag of Israel? Would it have happened without the nazi holocaust? I go back to the original first question: how important is this symbol, what does it mean and what did it use to mean many centuries ago? Is there any fundamental difference between the solid David star I see and the outline of a hexagram in the flag? Sometimes I see a three dimensional magen David, with well articulated, intertwining triangles. Sometimes a plain hexagram like the flag of Israel. Is this just "decorative" or is there a deeper meaning to this? Thanks in advance and sorry for the ignorant questions,   Gyula  

I recently had a scary experience. I got a flat tire and stopped at the first tire shop I could find to get it fixed. I was in a rural area, far from any Jewish population. I was the only customer there at the time. Two men who appeared in their forties were working there. As they were changing my tire, the men were having a lively conversation in which they were saying some vicious antisemitic things. They sounded so hateful in the way they were talking. They were describing conspiracies blaming Jews for problems in this world. I wasn’t dressed in a manner that screamed Jew. I had on a polo shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap. And I do not have an identifiably Jewish name or look. They had no clue that I, a Jew, was in their presence as they were mouthing away. I was relieved to have my tire changed and be out of that place, hopefully never to go near there again. My one regret was not secretly videotaping it to show others and expose them. I truly believe that one who behaves like this cannot sincerely apologize for their feelings or actions. They can only feel sorry for the consequences they might face if caught. What is the appropriate way to act when faced with this predicament? Should one stay safe and keep quiet and hope to not get noticed? Or be brave and speak up about being Jewish and confront them? I wanted to be safe and I chose the first option.

Dear Rabbi, the recent attack (January 14, 2022) on a Texas synagogue got me thinking: What was the first incident of an anti-Semitic act? And when will it end? Thank you and may God bless and protect us all from anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred!

After the conversion of my grandparent to the Christianity, my family goes to church. I grow up reading the christian new testament. There, orthodox Jews are depicted as evil hypocrites. But when I observe orthodox Jews, all I see is a group of harmless people who love to study Torah and share it with other people! I cannot understand why Jesus said that orthodox Jews are demonic. Why is Christianity so hostile to Judaism?

What do you think is one thing that non-Jews believe about Jews that is often misinformed or flat out incorrect? I'm asking in strictly a religious sense rather than relating to Israel or the Palestinian conflict.