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Barbara Lerner Spectre | |
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| Born | 1942 (age 80–81) |
| Alma mater | Barnard College New York University |
| Occupation(s) | Academic, philosopher |
| Known for | Founding director of Paideia |
| Spouse | Philip Spectre |
Barbara Lerner Spectre (born 1942) is an academic [1] and philosophy lecturer, who is the founding director of Paideia, [2] the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden, a non-denominational academic institute established in 2001.
Barbara Spectre was born in Madison, Wisconsin. She studied philosophy and received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Columbia University and a Master of Arts degree at NYU, attaining a PhD in philosophy at Bar-Ilan University. She married Rabbi Philip Spectre, and the couple moved in 1967 to Ashkelon, Israel, where she served on the faculty of Jewish Studies at Achva College of Education. After moving to Jerusalem in 1982, she served on the philosophy faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute of Jerusalem, the Melton Center of the Hebrew University, and Yellin College of Education, where she was cited as Outstanding Lecturer 1995–1997. She was the founding chairperson of the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem in 1984. She served as a scholar in residence for the United Synagogues, Midwest Regions in 1987, 1990, 1992, 1996, and has lectured extensively throughout the United States.
In 1999, she emigrated to Sweden, settling in Stockholm and joining her husband, who was then serving as the Rabbi of the Stockholm Synagogue. The following year, she applied to the Swedish government for the government-funded formation of Paideia, the European Institute for Jewish Studies, which she has continued to direct. [3] In its first decade of existence (2001-2011), Paideia trained over 200 persons from 35 countries for leadership positions in the renewal of Jewish culture in Europe.
Barbara Spectre has garnered attention for her quote, from an interview in an IBA News report about the wave of anti-semitism in Sweden due to Muslim immigration. [4] Spectre stated her view that the rise of anti-semitism is directly related to the leading role Jews are playing in the transformation of Europe into a multicultural society. [note 1] Numerous clips of the interview have since been uploaded on Youtube, garnering hundreds of thousands of views and eliciting a far-right nationalist reaction, in connection with the purported Jewish role in the white genocide conspiracy theory. [6] [7] [8] Her statement has also been parodied in a Youtube video "Anti-Racist Hitler", by a white nationalist radio station White Rabbit Radio, garnering 180 000 views in 2013, before its removal from the channel. [9] [10]
The King's Medal in gold of the 8th size (Kon:sGM8, 2018) for prominent efforts for the Jewish culture in Sweden and abroad [11] Antisemitism 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. Though antisemitism is overwhelmingly perpetrated by non-Jews, it may occasionally be perpetrated by Jews in a phenomenon known as auto-antisemitism. 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 anti-Judaism, though the concept itself is distinct from antisemitism.
Antisemitism has increased greatly in the Arab world since the beginning of the 20th century, for several reasons: the dissolution and breakdown of the Ottoman Empire and traditional Islamic society; European influence, brought about by Western imperialism and Arab Christians; Nazi propaganda and relations between Nazi Germany and the Arab world; resentment over Jewish nationalism; the rise of Arab nationalism; and the widespread proliferation of anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories.
New antisemitism is the concept that a new form of antisemitism which developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, tends to manifest itself as anti-Zionism and criticism of the Israeli government. 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, although the identification of anti-Zionism with antisemitism has "long been de rigueur in Jewish communal and broader pro-Israel circles".
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to The New York Times, is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish organizations". As of 2009, AJC envisions itself as the "Global Center for Jewish and Israel Advocacy".
Radio Islam was a Swedish Islamic radio channel, now a website. The EU's racism monitoring organization has called it "one of the most radical right-wing antisemitic homepages on the net".
StandWithUs (SWU) is a nonprofit pro-Israel education and advocacy organization founded in Los Angeles in 2001 by Roz Rothstein, Jerry Rothstein, and Esther Renzer.
Antisemitism in universities has taken place in many countries at various times. Antisemitism has been manifested in various policies and practices, such as restricting the admission of Jewish students by a Jewish quota, or ostracism, intimidation, or violence against Jewish students, as well as in the hiring, retention and treatment of Jewish staff. In some instances, universities have supported antisemitic government or social policies and condoned the development of antisemitic cultures on campus. In many jurisdictions, especially since World War II, discriminatory practices, including within the context of a university, are in breach of anti-discrimination laws, though antisemitic cultural values still persists on many campuses.
The history of the Jews in Venezuela dates to the middle of the 17th century, when records suggest that groups of marranos lived in Tucacas, Caracas and Maracaibo. The Jewish community, however, did not become established in Venezuela until the middle of the 19th century. Since Hugo Chávez took power in 1999, tension has existed between the government and Jewish population, which has seen large numbers emigrating. Today, the majority of Venezuelan Jews live in Israel, while modern-day Venezuela continues to host a modest Jewish population.
Antisemitic tropes or antisemitic canards are "sensational reports, misrepresentations, or fabrications" that are defamatory towards Judaism as a religion or defamatory towards Jews as an ethnic or religious group. Since the Middle Ages, such reports have been a recurring motif of broader antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Antisemitism has existed for centuries 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. FBI data shows that in every year since 1991, Jews were the most frequent victims of religiously motivated hate crimes, according to a report which was published by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019. Evidence suggests that the true number of hate crimes against Jews is underreported, as is the case for many other targeted groups. In an attempt to combat anti-Semitism, the Biden administration launched the United States’ first-ever comprehensive U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism on May 25, 2023.
Antony Lerman is a British writer who specialises in the study of antisemitism, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, multiculturalism, and the place of religion in society. From 2006 to early 2009, he was Director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a think tank on issues affecting Jewish communities in Europe. From December 1999 to 2006, he was Chief Executive of the Hanadiv Charitable Foundation, renamed the Rothschild Foundation Europe in 2007. He is a founding member of the Jewish Forum for Justice and Human Rights, and a former editor of Patterns of Prejudice, a quarterly academic journal focusing on the sociology of race and ethnicity.
Björn Olof Söder is a Swedish Sweden Democrats politician who served as Second Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag from September 2014 to September 2018. He has been a Member of the Riksdag (SD) for Stockholm County since October 2010. He previously served as Leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag from 2010 to 2014 and Secretary of the Sweden Democrats from 2005 to 2015.
Criticism of Israel is a subject of journalistic and scholarly commentary and research within the scope of international relations theory, expressed in terms of political science. Israel has faced international criticism since its declaration of independence in 1948 relating to a variety of topics, both historical and contemporary.
Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus is a 2015 film which documents how a growing number of anti-Israel demonstrations on U.S. campuses also include anti-Semitic messaging. The filmmakers interviewed pro-Israel college students, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who say that they feel increasingly intimidated to express their support for Israel on campus.
The Center for Jewish Studies Heidelberg is an accredited institution of higher learning, supported by the Central Council of Jews in Germany and funded by the German federal government. The HfJS operates in close cooperation with the University of Heidelberg and opens its doors to students and scholars, regardless of religious affiliation.
Venezuelan Jews in Israel are Jewish immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Venezuelan Jewish communities, who now reside within the state of Israel.
The working definition of antisemitism, also called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition, is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." Accompanying the working definition, but of disputed status, are 11 illustrative examples whose purpose is described as guiding the IHRA in its work, seven of which relate to criticism of the Israeli government. As such, pro-Israeli organizations have been advocates for the worldwide legal adoption of the definition.
Ellie Cohanim is an American broadcast journalist who served as Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism at the United States Department of State during the Donald Trump administration.
Nima Gholam Ali Pour is an Iranian-born Swedish politician, author, activist, political commentator and journalist. Since the 2022 Swedish general election, he has been a member of the Riksdag representing the Sweden Democrats party for the Malmö Municipality constituency.
Baronesse Katharina von Schnurbein is a German civil servant who has served as the European Commission's coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life since 2015. She is the first person to hold this role, which reports to Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas under his portfolio of European Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life.
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