Antisemitism, Anti-racism and Zionism: Old Debates, Contemporary Contestations
Published
by
Richard Kuper
JVL Introduction
In May 2019 we reprinted an article by Nira Yuval-Davis, first printed in Spare Rib in May 1984, under the title From the archives: Zionism, antisemitism and the struggle against racism.
We did so because of its “clear resonances with debates today”.
Feminist Review has now reprinted the original article together with a new introduction by Nira Yuval-David and four contemporary comments by Islah Jad, Catherine Rottenberg, Marlene Ellis and Miriam David.
This article was originally published by Feminist Review on Fri 24 Jan 2020. Read the original here.
Antisemitism, Anti-racism and Zionism: Old Debates, Contemporary Contestations
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A UK report on anti Semitism yesterday (Feb 5th 2020) said there had been a four-fold rise in anti-Semitism in the UK. 130 of these were linked to alt right and Nazi groups, and included graffiti and online attacks using vile abuse and swastikas. But the largest proportion of the ‘rise’ , within some 550 other registered reports of anti Semiic abuse, was entirely to do with mentioning Israel and using the word Zion. As expected, anti-Semitism has risen because during Brexit and given the anti-immigrant or anti’the other’ messages emanating from this Government from Windrush and through Brexit rhetoric about migration, the alt right now feels it has permission to scream abuse against Jews and others. Meanwhile, the weaponisation of anti-Semitism, as stretched by some of the clauses within the IHRA definitions, has been employed quite cynically, to suppress any criticism of Israel’s policy towards the Palestinian people.