Aveline
Thanks others for your responses. It seems quite true that they would share the same genetic markers as Palestinians as growstuff says. It still seems odd how unpopular they have appeared to be throughout the centuries.
tbh I think a better to try to understand racism and prejudice of any kind by asking ourselves what it says about humans in general. I see so many people write or say, "I'm not racist but" and then come out with some stereotypical comment which "others" people and puts them in a bad light. There is no such thing as a typical Jew, Muslim, Christian, Hindu etc. We can look at the basic tenets of a religion but that still says very little about how people actually live their life and view the world and people around them. For me, and it's a personal view, racism is about a fear of losing out to people with whom you don't identify. That's why it is such a useful political weapon as it can be used to bond people together against others and that's a powerful thing. Just use some of the trigger words, (and they are frequently used in posts on GN) put them into what sounds a reasonable argument and bingo, you have put people against each other. That's a bit simplistic but it's all around us!