Antisemitism studies

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Antisemitism studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of antisemitism and anti-Jewish prejudice. Antisemitism studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of Jewish studies, social sciences, history, public policy, psychology, and law.

Contents

History

Early academic study through the Holocaust

In the decades after German journalist Wilhelm Marr coined the term "antisemitism" in 1879, antisemitism was a little-studied phenomenon. [1] While antisemitism became a subject of university research and teaching in the early 20th century, social scientists did not develop an exceptional interest in the phenomenon of antisemitism before the Holocaust. [2]

In the 1920s, Swedish historian Hugo Valentin "staked out a new approach to the topic of antisemitism, in which Jewish characteristics and the so-called Jewish question, while not completely absent, were placed within parentheses. Instead, he presented antisemitism and individual antisemites as problems in their own right...." [3]

As persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany increased and boiled into the Holocaust, scholars began to decode the logic of antisemitism that led to the massive violence against European Jews. Philosophers and social scientists such as Sigmund Freud (1939), Talcott Parsons (1942), Jean Paul Sartre (1945), Ernst Simmel (1946), Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno (1947) were the main protagonists of this early wave of antisemitism research. While Freud, Sartre, and Simmels focused mainly on psycho-analytical assumptions, Parsons and Horkheimer and Adorno embedded their psychological studies within comprehensive theories of society. [2]

Post-Holocaust

In the 1960s, the study of antisemitic attitudes in the United States was advanced significantly with the Five-Year Study of Anti-Semitism, also called the "Patterns of American Prejudice" and more commonly known as The Berkeley Studies, commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The Berkeley Studies developed a scale of antisemitic beliefs used by the field well into the 21st century. [1] [4]

Antisemitic attitudes in the U.S. were examined in depth, after the 1980s, when the ADL and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) released a series of competing studies on American antisemitism. The AJC studies positioned attitudes toward Jews within a context of intergroup relationship, while the ADL studies focus on attitudes toward Jews specifically. [1] There were five sets of studies about antisemitism in the 1990s and 2000s: the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC) General Social Survey commissioned by AJC in 1990; 1992, 1998, 2002, and 2009 surveys of American attitudes toward Jews conducted for the ADL, a 1992 intergroup relations study of New York City done by the Roper Organization for AJC, a 1993 ADL survey on racial attitudes in America, and a 1994 study by the NORC confirming and synthesizing the finding of previous studies. [4]

By the 1980s, some universities had established Holocaust research centers around the world, which also served to foster research on antisemitism. [5]

21st century

The study of antisemitism reemerged in the early 21st century, focusing on the concept of New Antisemitism, fueled by an increase in antisemitic activity in Europe and Israelophobia. [1] In 2009, Steven K. Baum and Neal E. Rosenberg founded the Journal for the Study of Antisemitism as the first English-language academic journal solely devoted to the study of antisemitism. According to scholar Kenneth Marcus, antisemitism was not considered a particularly popular or politically correct area of academic focus, particularly on the political left, because so much of contemporary antisemitism arises from Arab and Muslim countries. [6] The first journal's issue was released in June 2009 with Professor Michael Berenbaum as founding editor. [7]

In Europe, the number of research items dealing with antisemitism more than doubled between the 1990s and 2010s, with antisemitism taking up an increasingly large proportion of research holdings since 1990. The European Union Strategy on Combatting Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life, published on 5 October 2021, recommended the formation of a European research hub to coordinate academic research on antisemitism and Jewish life across Europe and foster and fund multidisciplinary research. A 2023 study by the European Commission noted that the core group of academic researchers of antisemitism numbered approximately 60; however, antisemitism was not the primary focus of study for the majority. [8]

In 2009, Birkbeck, University of London and the Pears Foundation launched the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the first academic institute in Britain solely studying antisemitism. [9]

In the aftermath of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and subsequent rise in global antisemitism, several universities announced the formation of academic research institutes and programs specifically focusing on antisemitism, including the University of Michigan, [10] New York University [11] and the University of Toronto (UofT). The Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism at UofT was the first antisemitism research institute in Canada. [12] Gratz College debuted a master's degree in antisemitism studies in February 2024, the first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary graduate program in the United States. [13]

Interdisciplinary study

Besides extensive historical research, there has been in-depth research on antisemitism in psychology. [14] [15] The sociology of antisemitism can be traced back to Jewish scholars of early sociology, including Franz Boas, Arthur Ruppin, Georg Simmel, [16] and includes Talcott Parsons 1942 pioneering article, "The Sociology of Modern Anti-Semitism," and other studies in the post-War era. [17]

Research institutes

United States

New York University

In November 2023, New York University announced The Center for the Study of Antisemitism to open in the fall of 2024. The center would convene scholars from a range of academic disciplines, including social sciences, Judaic studies, history, social work, public policy, psychology, and law, and would produce research on both "classicial" antisemitism and New Antisemitism and its links to anti-Zionism. The center would work closely with NYU's Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. [11] Scholar Avinoam Patt was named as the center's first director. [18]

University of Michigan

Amidst a rise of antisemitism after the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the University of Michigan established the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in December 2023. The center, named for Raoul Wallenberg, would use research and scholarship on antisemitism to combat the phenomenon. [10] The institute is housed within the university's College of Literature, Science and the Arts. [19]

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania established the Fund for the Study of Antisemitism within the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies in October 2023. The fund would support research and advance public understanding, according to scholar Steven Weitzman. [20]

Canada

University of Toronto

After the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Anna Shternshis, director of the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies, and Ron Levi, Distinguished Professor of Global Justice at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, launched the Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism at the University of Toronto in February 2024. The lab's focuses are to conduct high-level academic research, designing academic courses about antisemitism, and policy and communications. The lab was the first antisemitism research institute in Canada. [12]

Germany

The Center for Research on Antisemitism (Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung, ZfA) at the Technical University of Berlin is a research centre dedicated to researching antisemitism. It was founded in 1982. [21]

United Kingdom

Birkbeck, University of London

Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the first academic institute in Britain solely studying antisemitism, was established in November 2009 at Birkbeck, University of London with support from the Pears Foundation. Professor David Feldman was named as the institute's first director in April 2010. [22] [9]

Academic journals

Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

In 2009, Steven K. Baum and Neal E. Rosenberg founded the Journal for the Study of Antisemitism as the first English-language academic journal solely devoted to the study of antisemitism. The first issue was released in June 2009 with Professor Michael Berenbaum as founding editor. [7]

Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism

The Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism (JCA) is a biannual peer-reviewed journal founded in 2017.

See also

Related Research Articles

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A number of organizations and academics consider the Nation of Islam (NOI) to be antisemitic. The NOI has engaged in Holocaust denial, and exaggerates the role of Jews in the African slave trade; mainstream historians, such as Saul S. Friedman, have said Jews had a negligible role. The NOI has repeatedly rejected charges made against it as false and politically motivated.

After the fall of Communism in Poland in 1989, Jewish cultural, social, and religious life has experienced a revival. Many historical issues related to the Holocaust and the period of Soviet domination (1945–1989) in the country – suppressed by Communist censorship – have been reevaluated and publicly discussed leading to better understanding and visible improvement in Polish–Jewish relations. In 1990, there were 3,800 Jews in Poland, 0.01% of Poland’s population, compared to 3,250,000 before 1939. The number had dropped to 3,200 in 2010.

Charles Asher Small is a Canadian intellectual, the founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy the first international interdisciplinary research center dedicated to studying antisemitism with a contemporary focus.

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.

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

Different opinions exist among historians regarding the extent of antisemitism in American history and how American antisemitism contrasted with its European counterpart. In contrast to the horrors of European history, John Higham states that in the United States "no decisive event, no deep crisis, no powerful social movement, no great individual is associated primarily with, or significant chiefly because of anti-Semitism." Accordingly, David A. Gerber concludes that antisemitism "has been a distinctly minor feature of the nation's historical development."

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> Hatred towards the Jewish people within the US

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The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA) was an academic center at Yale University. Founded in 2006, it was the first university-based center in North America dedicated to the study of antisemitism. Professor Charles A. Small was YIISA's inaugural director.

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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.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Chanes, Jerome (Spring 2004). "Review: What's "News" -- and What's Not -- about the New Antisemitism?". Jewish Political Studies Review . 16 (1/2): 111–124. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 Beyer, Heiko (March 2018). "The Elective Affinities of Anti-Semitic and Anti-American Resentments in Germany". Social Science Quarterly . 99 (1): 262–282. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  3. ↑ Bortz, Olof. "Hugo Valentin's scholarly campaign against antisemitism 1920s to the early 1950s." Scandinavian Jewish Studies v.34 n.1 (2023). p.52
  4. 1 2 Chanes, Jerome (2016). Antisemitism in North America: New World, Old Hate. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 33–52. ISBN   978-9004307131 . Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  5. ↑ "Major Research and Resource Centres on the Holocaust." Holocaust and Genocide Studies 4, no. 2 (1989): 257-259.
  6. ↑ Schwartzman, Bryan (2011-12-07). "Locally Produced Journal Addresses Anti-Semitism". Jewish Exponent . Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  7. 1 2 Berenbaum, Michael (June 2009). "A new journal on antisemitism". Journal for the Study of Antisemitism . 1 (1). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "The field of research on contemporary antisemitism and Jewish life". European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Antisemitism institute to be opened at Birkbeck". Jewish Chronicle . Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  10. 1 2 "University of Michigan launches new effort to fight antisemitism". Associated Press . 2023-12-07. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  11. 1 2 Tress, Luke (2023-11-16). "NYU announces antisemitism research center as Jewish students file discrimination suit". The Forward . Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  12. 1 2 Goodman, Samantha (2024-02-27). "The study of global antisemitism is the focus of Canada's first lab of its kind at the University of Toronto—headed by professors Anna Shternshis and Ron Levi". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  13. ↑ Saffren, Jarrad (2024-02-14). "Gratz College Debuting New Master's Program in Antisemitism Studies". Jewish Exponent . Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  14. ↑ Kressel, Neil J., and Samuel W. Kressel. "Trends in the psychological study of contemporary antisemitism: Conceptual issues and empirical evidence." Basic and Applied Social Psychology 38, no. 2 (2016): 111-126.
  15. ↑ Bergmann, Werner, ed. Error without trial: Psychological research on antisemitism. Vol. 2. Walter de Gruyter, 1988.
  16. ↑ Morris-Reich, Amos. "From Assimilationist Antiracism to Zionist Anti-antisemitism." Antisemitism and the Constitution of Sociology (2014): 160.
  17. ↑ Anti-antisemitism, Ambivalent Liberalism. "Talcott Parsons’s “The Sociology of Modern Anti-Semitism”." Antisemitism and the Constitution of Sociology (2014): 249.
  18. ↑ "Holocaust scholar tapped to be first director of NYU's new antisemitism center". Jewish News Syndicate . 2024-01-24. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  19. ↑ Weykemp, George (2023-12-08). "U-M launches new institute to combat antisemitism". Michigan Public . Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  20. ↑ Baddam, Neema (2023-10-02). "New gift will establish fund for the study of Jewish history and antisemitism". Daily Pennsylvanian . Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ↑ Paul, Jonny (2010-04-22). "U London appoints head to Study of Anti-Semitism Institute". Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 7 April 2024.
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