Anti-semitism is portrayed strongly in 'The Merchant of Venice'. Anti-semitism is defined as the hatred towards and the discrimination against the Jews. Shylock is a perfect example in 'The Merchant of Venice'. He had been looked down on in the society of Venice. Antonio spat at him, defamed and dehumanised him because Shylocky was a Jew. Jews are often discriminated by the societies around them. They are labelled as money-grubbing and heartless people. This is a common occurence in the Elizabethan era.
Anti-semitism is a cruel and violent form of discrimination. The Jews had suffered from torture and was even executed in the past, because they were hated for their religion. They were dehumanised and labelled as dogs and other beasts, which was a great insult them because these beasts were treated as filthy creatures in their religion. By insulting them as dogs, they are not only defaming the person, but also insulting the culture. This is very cruel, because the Jews are poorly treated for doing nothing wrong.
I feel that anti-semitism is a selfish and cruel form of prejudice. Forcing another person to follow your beliefs is ridiculous because everyone has their rights to follow their own beliefs. Men are equal, we do not have to be inferior to another party. People are being discriminated for doing nothing wrong. I feel that anti-semitism should be discontinued because it is just ufair and it will only bring harm to that innocent population.