Anti-antisemitism

Last updated September 13, 2024

Anti-antisemitism is opposition to antisemitism or prejudice against Jews, and just like the history of antisemitism, the history of anti-antisemitism is long and multifaceted. According to historian Omer Bartov, political controversies around antisemitism involve "those who see the world through an antisemitic prism, for whom everything that has gone wrong with the world, or with their personal lives, is the fault of the Jews; and those who see the world through an anti-antisemitic prism, for whom every critical observation of Jews as individuals or as a community, or, most crucially, of the state of Israel, is inherently antisemitic".^[1] It is disputed whether or not anti-antisemitism is synonymous with philosemitism, but anti-antisemitism often includes the "imaginary and symbolic idealization of ‘the Jew’" which is similar to philosemitism.^[2]

Strategies

A key Zionist belief is that antisemitism cannot be meaningfully addressed in any way other than the establishment of an independent state where Jews make up the majority of the population.^[1]

Yair Wallach argues that non-Bolshevik Jewish activists played an essential role in the successes of early Soviet anti-antisemitism, and he also argues that this fact proves that Jewish activists are essential to effectively combating antisemitism in 2021.^[3]

In the US, a plethora of novels which opposed antisemitism was published in the 1940s, a subgenre of social protest literature.^[4]

After the 2015 European migrant crisis, the German institutions have created positions for fighting antisemitism, sometimes specifically, sometimes with additional responsibilities. These positions are covered by non-Jews, but they work with German Jewish organizations and the German-Israeli Society.^[5]

Anti-antisemitism and antiracism

Opposition to antisemitism in the United Kingdom is historically connected to anti-racism, but in the 1990s, it began to diverge. Anthony Lester, the drafter of the Race Relations Act 1976, cited his experience of antisemitism to write a bill combating all forms of racial prejudice. According to Gidley et al, this divergence came about in part due to disagreement over Zionism and anti-Zionism.^[6] The idea of white privilege, structural racism, and perceptions that racism is based on skin color and colonialism made it harder to identify antisemitism.^[3]^[6]

Islamophobia is similar to antisemitism because both prejudices are ethnoreligious prejudices.^[7] In the twenty-first century, several populist radical right parties in Western Europe began to use anti-antisemitic and pro-Israel rhetoric as a means to oppose Muslim immigration and promote the belief that a clash of civilizations is occurring between Judeo-Christian Europe and the Muslim world.^[8] This belief is expressed along with the belief that Jews who live outside Israel are not part of the nations in which they live because they are only tolerated guests.^[8] In Hungary, right-wing parties such as Fidesz and later Jobbik distanced themselves from antisemitism and expressed pro-Israel beliefs, although Fidesz also promotes George Soros conspiracy theories. According to anthropologist Ivan Kalmar, "Anti-antisemitism allows populists to promote Islamophobia openly without the fear of being labelled Nazis."^[7]

Anti-antisemitism is "a defining marker of post-war German identity". The belief that Germany has successfully confronted The Holocaust enables the projection of antisemitism onto the outside world, especially to Muslim immigrants—a subtle form of Islamophobia that coexists with the vehement rejection of antisemitism.^[9] Hannah C. Tzuberi argues that in Germany, anti-antisemitism can go beyond the identification of Germans with Jews because it can even include the identification of Germans as Jews and the identification of Germany as Israel.^[10]

The German institutional effort against antisemitism is not accompanied by an equivalent effort against Islamophobia, racism and anti-Ziganism.^[5] Berlin officer Samuel Salzborn has argued that antisemitism and racism in Germany are different.^[5]^[11]

Anti-antisemitic watchdogs

According to Jonathan Judaken, anti-antisemitic watchdogs "may inadvertently help stoke new cases by giving activists a megaphone". He suggested that watchdog groups raise money by portraying antisemitism as a serious threat. In the United States, all watchdogs are pro-Israel.^[12]

Public opinion

According to public opinion surveys, the amount of anti-antisemitism in Poland (defined as "the rejection of any statements criticizing Jews") increased between 2002 and 2012.^[13]

Related Research Articles

Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against, Jews. This sentiment is a form of racism, and a person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Primarily, antisemitic tendencies may be motivated by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or by negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. In the former case, usually presented as racial antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by the belief that Jews constitute a distinct race with inherent traits or characteristics that are repulsive or inferior to the preferred traits or characteristics within that person's society. In the latter case, known as religious antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by their religion's perception of Jews and Judaism, typically encompassing doctrines of supersession that expect or demand Jews to turn away from Judaism and submit to the religion presenting itself as Judaism's successor faith—this is a common theme within the other Abrahamic religions. The development of racial and religious antisemitism has historically been encouraged by the concept of anti-Judaism, which is distinct from antisemitism itself.

Philosemitism, also called Judeophilia, is "defense, love, or admiration of Jews and Judaism". Such attitudes can be found in Western cultures across the centuries. The term originated in the nineteenth century by self-described German antisemites to describe their non-Jewish opponents. American-Jewish historian Daniel Cohen of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies has asserted that philosemitism "can indeed easily recycle antisemitic themes, recreate Jewish otherness, or strategically compensate for Holocaust guilt."

New antisemitism is the concept that a new form of antisemitism developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, typically manifesting itself as anti-Zionism. The concept is included in some definitions of antisemitism, such as the working definition of antisemitism and the 3D test of antisemitism. The concept dates to the early 1970s.

The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism is a research institute at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Klug</span> British philosopher

Brian Klug is Honorary Fellow in Social Philosophy at Campion Hall, Oxford and an emeritus member of the philosophy faculty at Oxford University. He is also an honorary fellow of the Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton and fellow of the College, Saint Xavier University, Chicago.

Antisemitism—prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews—has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-Christian civilizations of Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antisemitism in the United States</span>

Antisemitism has long existed in the United States. Most Jewish community relations agencies in the United States draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status of American Jews, which are both measured by the occurrence of specific incidents.

Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine—a region partly coinciding with the biblical Land of Israel—was flawed or unjust in some way.

The "three Ds" or the "3D test" of antisemitism is a set of criteria formulated by Israeli human rights advocate and politician Natan Sharansky in order to distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from antisemitism. The three Ds stand for delegitimization, demonization, and double standards, each of which, according to the test, indicates antisemitism.

Jonathan Judaken was the Spence L. Wilson Chair in Humanities at Rhodes College. Judaken previously taught at the University of Memphis where he was the Dunavant Professor of History and Director of the Marcus Orr Center for the Humanities. His fields of expertise include European cultural and intellectual history, discussions of Jews and Judaism, race and racism, and post-Holocaust French philosophy. Judaken is a notable scholar of Jean-Paul Sartre and Sartre's relationship to Jews and Judaism and race and racism, as well as contemporary French Jewish philosophers.

Since World War II, antisemitic prejudice in Italy has seldom taken on aggressive forms.

Antisemitism in contemporary Hungary principally takes the form of negative stereotypes relating to Jews, although historically it manifested itself more violently. Studies show antisemitism has become more prevalent since the fall of Communism, particularly among the younger generations. Surveys performed from 2009 and beyond have consistently found high levels of antisemitic feelings amongst the general population.

Evidence for the presence of Jewish communities in the geographical area today covered by Austria can be traced back to the 12th century. In 1848 Jews were granted civil rights and the right to establish an autonomous religious community, but full citizenship rights were given only in 1867. In an atmosphere of economic, religious and social freedom, the Jewish population grew from 6,000 in 1860 to almost 185,000 in 1938. In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany and thousands of Austrians and Austrian Jews who opposed Nazi rule were sent to concentration camps. Of the 65,000 Viennese Jews deported to concentration camps, only about 2,000 survived, while around 800 survived World War II in hiding.

<i>The Lefts Jewish Problem</i> 2016 book by Dave Rich

The Left's Jewish Problem: Jeremy Corbyn, Israel and Anti‑Semitism is a 2016 book by Dave Rich. The book argues that new antisemitism is "masked as anti-Zionism" in left-wing politics.

Antisemitism is a growing problem in 21st-century Germany.

The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) is a document meant to outline the bounds of antisemitic speech and conduct, particularly with regard to Zionism, Israel and Palestine. Its creation was motivated by a desire to confront antisemitism and by objections to the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism, which critics have said stifles legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and curbs free speech. The drafting of the declaration was initiated in June 2020 under the auspices of the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem by eight coordinators, most of whom were university professors. Upon its completion the declaration was signed by about 200 scholars in various fields and released in March 2021.

Anti-Palestinianism or anti-Palestinian racism refers to prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination directed at the Palestinian people for any variety of reasons. Since the mid-20th century, the phenomenon has largely overlapped with anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians today are Arabs and Muslims. Historically, however, anti-Palestinianism was more closely identified with European antisemitism, as far-right Europeans detested the Jewish people as undesirable foreigners from Palestine. Modern anti-Palestinianism—that is, xenophobia with regard to the Arab people of Palestine—is most common in Israel, the United States, and Lebanon, among other countries.

Zionist antisemitism or antisemitic Zionism refers to a phenomenon in which antisemites express support for Zionism and the State of Israel. In some cases, this support may be promoted for explicitly antisemitic reasons. Historically, this type of antisemitism has been most notable among Christian Zionists, who may perpetrate religious antisemitism while being outspoken in their support for Jewish sovereignty in Israel due to their interpretation of Christian eschatology. Similarly, people who identify with the political far-right, particularly in Europe and the United States, may support the Zionist movement because they seek to expel Jews from their country and see Zionism as the least complicated method of achieving this goal and satisfying their racial antisemitism.

Antisemitism in the People's Republic of China is a mostly 21st century phenomenon and is complicated by the fact that there is little ground for antisemitism in China in historical sources. In the 2020s, antisemitic conspiracy theories in China began to spread and intensify. Some Chinese people believe in antisemitic tropes that Jews secretly rule the world.

Anti-antisemitism in Germany is the German state's institutionalised opposition to antisemitism, in acknowledgement of German history and the murder of some six million Jews by the Nazi regime in the Holocaust. Anti-antisemitism has been described as "a defining marker of post-war German identity" and a commitment to supporting Israel is considered a "Staatsräson", a fundamental principle guiding the German state's actions. Following the 2015 European migrant crisis, the German federal government and most of Germany's states set up commissioners for fighting antisemitism. Controversially, the German government officially classifies the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, the accusation that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians, and the depiction of Israel as a colonial or settler-colonial entity as antisemitic.

References

1 2 Bartov, Omer (2022). "Antisemitism in History and Politics". Antisemitism Studies. 6 (1): 100–114. ISSN 2474-1817.
↑ Samuels, Maurice (2021). "Philosemitism". Key Concepts in the Study of Antisemitism. Springer International Publishing. pp. 201–214. ISBN 978-3-030-51658-1.
1 2 Wallach, Yair (2021). "How to fight antisemitism? Lessons from the Russian Revolution" (PDF). Ethnic and Racial Studies. 45 (8): 1520–1527. doi:10.1080/01419870.2021.1954221. S2CID 237641688.
↑ Gordan, Rachel (2021). "The 1940s as the Decade of the Anti-Antisemitism Novel". Religion and American Culture. 31 (1): 33–81. doi:10.1017/rac.2021.6. S2CID 235473785.
1 2 3 Kuras, Peter (July 18, 2023). "The Strange Logic of Germany's Antisemitism Bureaucrats". Jewish Currents. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
1 2 Gidley, Ben; McGeever, Brendan; Feldman, David (2020). "Labour and Antisemitism: a Crisis Misunderstood". The Political Quarterly. 91 (2): 413–421. doi: 10.1111/1467-923X.12854 . S2CID 218969189.
1 2 Kalmar, Ivan (2020). "Islamophobia and anti-antisemitism: the case of Hungary and the 'Soros plot'". Patterns of Prejudice. 54 (1–2): 182–198. doi:10.1080/0031322X.2019.1705014. S2CID 219021241.
1 2 Kahmann, Bodo (2017). "'The most ardent pro-Israel party': pro-Israel attitudes and anti-antisemitism among populist radical-right parties in Europe". Patterns of Prejudice. 51 (5): 396–411. doi:10.1080/0031322X.2017.1394663. S2CID 148849065.
↑ Judith Gruber (2021). "At the Intersection of Racial and Religious Othering: Theologies of Interreligious Dialogue as a Performance of White Christian Innocence?". Answerable for our Beliefs. ISBN 978-90-429-4742-9.
↑ “THE SUN DOES NOT SHINE, IT RADIATES”On National(ist) Mergings in German Philosemitic Imagery of Tel Aviv Hannah C. Tzuberi
↑ Sandrisser, Nils (24 February 2020). ""Antisemitismus" und "Rassismus" erklärt" (in German). Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2024. Im Unterschied zum Rassismus, der auf punktuellen Vorurteilen aufbaut, ist Antisemitismus aber ein umfassendes Weltbild. Das heißt, dass Antisemiten alles, was sie an der modernen Welt nicht verstehen oder ablehnen, antisemitisch deuten. Im Unterschied zu anderen Diskriminierungsformen erscheinen Juden im Antisemitismus zudem immer als schwach und mächtig zugleich.
↑ Judaken, Jonathan (2021). "The Politics of the Gesture: The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, Antiracism, and Intersectionality". American Jewish History. 105 (1): 205–211. doi:10.1353/ajh.2021.0011. ISSN 1086-3141. S2CID 239734933.
↑ Krzemiński, Ireneusz (2019). "Polish National Antisemitism". Polin Studies in Polish Jewry. 31: 515–542. ISSN 2516-8681.