No Tanakh, no Israel and Jews today. Thus, no Jew hatred.
Something predates every society, but simply having earlier customs or ancestors does not guarantee the later existence of a particular nation or identity. In the case of the Jews and Israel, while there were people and traditions in the region before the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), it is the Tanakh that unified those elements into a coherent, lasting Jewish identity.
Without the Tanakh, the specific stories, laws, and sense of purpose that define Jews and Israel as a distinct people would likely not have formed or persisted in the way they did. Earlier people and customs alone are not enough; it was the unifying and enduring power of the Tanakh that made the Jewish nation possible as we know it.
The Tanakh is described as “the story of the Jewish people,” the foundational narrative that unifies and shapes Jewish identity, values, and history. It provides the shared stories, laws, and sense of purpose that have bound Jews together across centuries and continents.
Jewish tradition and education explicitly use the Tanakh to build and transmit Jewish identity, character, and moral foundation to each generation.
While Jewish identity can include elements of ancestry, ethnicity, and culture, these alone have not historically been enough to sustain a distinct nation over millennia once the people have been dispersed.
Without the Tanakh and the resulting Jewish identity, the specific phenomenon of antisemitism as it developed in history-targeting Jews as a distinct religious, cultural, and later ethnic group-would not have existed in the same way. The unique identity shaped by the Tanakh is what made Jews visible and distinct, which, tragically, also made them targets of hatred and persecution throughout history.
Without the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), there would be no enduring Jewish nation or identity-the Torah is often described as the “water” in which Jewish life exists. The stories, values, traditions and culture built up with and around the Tanakh have been central to Jewish continuity, especially through times of crisis and dispersion.
In summary: No Tanakh, no enduring Jewish people or Israel as we know them-and likely no antisemitism in the form it has taken throughout history. The Tanakh is the essential foundation for both Jewish continuity and the historical responses to Jewish distinctiveness.
P.S. It is notable as well that without the Tanakh there would have been no Jesus and Christianity as we know it today as well.
