David Hirsh

Last updated

David Hirsh (born 29 September 1967) is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and co-founder of Engage, a campaign against the academic boycott of Israel. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Hirsh was raised in a Jewish family in Highgate, London and attended Highgate School until he was 15, when he persuaded his parents to allow him to transfer to Woodhouse Grammar School. [2] [3] For several years, he was a member of the Trotskyist Alliance for Workers' Liberty and, during the 1980s, a leading activist in the National Organisation of Labour Students. [2] He briefly studied Physics at Sheffield University, then worked as a driver for several years. [2] He is a graduate of City University, London and holds an M.A. in Philosophy and Social Theory and a PhD from the University of Warwick, writing his dissertation on Crimes Against Humanity and International Law. [4]

Career

Hirsh won the British Sociological Association Philip Abrams Memorial Prize for the best first book in sociology for 2004, for his book Law Against Genocide: Cosmopolitan trials. [5] The book, on the significance of "cosmopolitan law", contains an account of the 1999 British trial of Anthony Sawoniuk for Holocaust-related crimes committed in Belarus in 1942.

In 2005, he co-founded the Engage website, a resource for those working to oppose the boycott of Israel. [4] Hirsh took a leading role during 2005-07 in opposing boycotts of Israeli universities proposed by British academics. [6] [7] Hirsh told The Guardian , "It may not have anti-semitic motivations, but if you organise an academic boycott of Israeli Jewish academics but no-one else in the world, that is an anti-semitic policy". [8]

His 2017 book, Contemporary Left Antisemitism, which combined narrative and case study with sociological analysis and theory to understand the controversial and contested phenomenon of antisemitism on the left, was published in 2017. [3]

He developed, with Daniel Allington, the AzAs (Antizionist Antisemitism) Scale, for quantitatively measuring antisemitism as expressed in relation to Israel and its supporters. [9] In a 2022 follow-up article, he expounded the subtle transformation of the word "Zionist" into an antisemitic code word for "Jews" by some intellectuals in contemporary academic discourse, which has contributed to the continued presence of institutional antisemitism, warranting the adoption of the "IHRA definition" of antisemitism to address the issue. He also said, [10] [11]

Yet it should be remembered that the left-wing tradition of antizionism, which professes unconditional opposition to antisemitism, is only one tradition. In the real world that tradition finds itself in a broad alliance with antisemitic movements that do not find the distinction between hostility to Israel and hostility to Jews to be of much significance...Sometimes...it is impossible to tell whether an element of antizionist rhetoric is right-wing, left-wing, or Islamist...Antizionism does not allow Jews, individuals or communities, to define their own identities. It defines their Zionism for them, against their will, and without consultation. It defines Zionism as racism and as support for apartheid. In so doing it defines most Jews as alien to any decent community of human beings.

He is the founder of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, which promises to "challenge the intellectual underpinnings of antisemitism in public life". [12]

Published works

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.

The Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public was a body formed in 1983 in the Soviet Union as an anti-Zionist propaganda tool. Formation of AZCSP was approved on 29 March 1983 by the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in resolution 101/62ГС: "Support the proposition of the Department of Propaganda of the Central Committee and the KGB USSR about the creation of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public..."

Soviet anti-Zionism is an anti-Zionist and pro-Arab doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. While the Soviet Union initially pursued a pro-Zionist policy after World War II due to its perception that the Jewish state would be socialist and pro-Soviet, its outlook on the Arab–Israeli conflict changed as Israel began to develop a close relationship with the United States and aligned itself with the Western Bloc.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilad Atzmon</span> British jazz saxophonist, political activist, and writer (born 1963)

Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist, novelist, political activist, and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-hating Jew</span> Pejorative towards Jews

The terms "self-hating Jew", "self-loathing Jew", and "auto-antisemite" are pejorative terms used to describe Jewish people whose viewpoints, especially favoring Jewish assimilation, Jewish secularism, limousine liberalism, anti-Judaism or anti-Zionism, are perceived as reflecting self-hatred.

Anthony Robert Julius is a British solicitor advocate known for being Diana, Princess of Wales' divorce lawyer and for representing Deborah Lipstadt. He is the deputy chairman at the law firm Mishcon de Reya and honorary solicitor to Foundation for Jewish Heritage. He is a trustee for the Institute of Jewish Studies.

Engage is a British website, and briefly an online journal, that aims to help people counter the boycott Israel campaign. Engage describes its mission as to "challenge left and liberal antisemitism in the labour movement, in our universities and in public life."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert S. Wistrich</span> Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1945–2015)

Robert Solomon Wistrich was a scholar of antisemitism, considered one of the world's foremost authorities on antisemitism.

Antisemitism at universities has been reported and supported since the medieval period and, more recently, resisted and studied. 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 faculty and staff. In some instances, universities have been accused of condoning the development of antisemitic cultures on campus.

Perdition is a 1987 stage play by Jim Allen. Its premiere at London's Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, in a production directed by Ken Loach, was abandoned because of protests, and criticism by two historians, over its controversial and tendentious claims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Zionism</span> Opposition to Zionism

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.

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.

<i>Zionism in the Age of the Dictators</i> 1983 book by Lenni Brenner

Zionism in the Age of the Dictators is a 1983 work by the American free-lance journalist, outspoken pro-Palestinian activist, Trotskyist and Jewish author Lenni Brenner. The book makes the argument that Zionist leaders collaborated with fascism, particularly in Nazi Germany, in order to build up a Jewish presence in Palestine.

David Miller is a British sociologist whose research and publications focus on Islamophobia and propaganda. Miller was Professor of Sociology at the University of Strathclyde (2004–2011) and the University of Bath (2011–2018) and was Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Bristol (2018–2021). He is the co-founder and co-director of the non-profit company Public Interest Investigations (PII).

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." It was first published by European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in 2005 and then by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016. 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 Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism</span> Guide on antisemitism

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.

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.

Zio is a pejorative term for Zionists, commonly used by anti-Zionists. The term is described by academics, politicians and Jewish organizations as antisemitic, including the American Jewish Committee and the British Labour Party.

The exploitation of accusations of antisemitism for political purposes, especially to counter anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel, may be described variously as weaponization of antisemitism, instrumentalization of antisemitism, or playing the antisemitism card. Such bad faith accusations have been criticized as a form of smear tactics. Some writers have compared this to playing the race card.

References

  1. ↑ Rocker, Simon (24 April 2008). "Union bans anti-boycott activist". The Jewish Chronicle . Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Patrikarakos, David (4 September 2018). "An Expert on Anti-Semitism Fears for the Future in Britain". Tablet (magazine). Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 Lipman, Jennifer (1 September 2017). "Ex-cabbie who took on the left". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 "David Hirsh, BSc MA PhD". Goldsmiths, University of London . Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Philip Abrams Memorial Prize Archive". British Sociological Association. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Hodges, Lucy, "The rebellion begins.", The Independent , 5 May 2005.
  7. ↑ Frankel, Glenn. "British Academics Repeal Israel Boycott", The Washington Post , 27 May 2005.
  8. ↑ Joffe-Walt, Benjamin (30 May 2006). "Lecturers back boycott of Israeli academics". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  9. ↑ Allington, Daniel; Hirsh, David (1 August 2019). "The AzAs (Antizionist Antisemitism) Scale: Measuring Antisemitism as Expressed in Relation to Israel and Its Supporters". Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism. 2 (2): 43–52. doi:10.26613/jca/2.2.32. ISSN   2472-9906. S2CID   213804306.
  10. ↑ Hirsh, David (12 January 2022). "How the Word "Zionist" Functions in Antisemitic Vocabulary". Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism. 4 (2). doi:10.26613/jca/4.2.83.
  11. ↑ Hirsh, David. "It was the new phenomenon of Israel-focused antisemitism that required the new definition. David Hirsh responds to a recent 'call to reject' the IHRA". Fathom Journal .
  12. ↑ "London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism". London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  13. ↑ Miciks, David (27 October 2017). "Progressive Anti-Semitism and Putin In 'Contemporary Left Antisemitism,' David Hirsh compellingly traces a newly resurgent form of disinformation to its surprising enablers (book review)". Tablet . Retrieved 2 May 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.