Exploiting antisemitism
JVL Introduction
Antony Lerman’s book Whatever Happened to Antisemitism? published in 2023 is a serious academic study and important critique of the concept of “the new antisemitism”. It is reviewed here by Richard Kuper.
The notion of Israel as “the collective Jew” is, as Lerman argues, a mythical construct, homogenising Jews in the interests of Zionism and the Israeli state.
As an active player in the world of antisemitism studies over many decades, Lerman is able to show directly the role that Israel and its supporters have played in the highly politicised process of redefining antisemitism, now encapsulated in the IHRA definition of antisemitism, to protect Israel from criticism.
The “war against antisemitism”, supposedly being waged in the Labour party and elsewhere is no such thing.
The war that is being waged is not against antisemitism but against free speech in which criticism of Israel – and support for Palestinian rights – is being ever more rigorously policed.
This article was originally published by Political Quarterly on Sat 13 Apr 2024. Read the original here.
Exploiting antisemitism
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Extremely interesting and illuminating.
Learning that attaching the word “Holocaust” to the IHRA definition’s predecessor made so much difference to its fortunes explains for me a lot of the ferocity to the use of the term “holocaust” in describing the genocide against the Palestinians. Those supporting the IHRA definition have good reason to fear it wouldn’t stand unless the wider world remained fixated on only ONE of the world’s many atrocious genocides.
Sometimes a single phrase points out the idiocy of an argument. The notion that Israel can or should be regarded as the “collective Jew” is as far-fetched as suggesting the USA or the continent of Africa is the “collective Christian”.
What is the “collective ANYTHING” anyway? We all hold multiple identities simultaneously. Few of these identities are unchanging throughout life.
Unsurprisingly, Germany was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the IHRA ‘definition’. Even that was not enough for the German government, so it added this further sentence:
“Furthermore, the state of Israel, being perceived as a Jewish collective, may be the target of such attacks.”
Although not legally binding, it has been adopted by all federal and state ministries and agencies and by the association of university presidents. Cultural and other institutions that receive government funding are under pressure to commit to it and, by extension, so are those who want to use or appear in these facilities.
The effect has been, despite official assurances to the contrary, that almost any criticism of Israel or statement of solidarity for the Palestinians has been condemned as antisemitic. This was notably the case for the cross-party Bundestag resolution which labeled BDS as antisemitic, based specifically on the extended IHRA ‘definition’.
The review, possibly the book, fails to discuss the origins of ‘semitic’ and ‘antisemitism’; both of which terms have a dubious history.
I also wonder why, for example, African-Caribbean and African-American people do not have a specific term; and make do with racism.
Islamaphobia is another term with a dubious derivation.
A consequence of redefining anti-semitism in terms of the “collective Jew” is that Jews who fail to fit the stereotype are no longer “real Jews”. They become anti-Semites or “self-hating Jews” and legitimate targets for persecution. Here are the true victims of the stereotyping being promoted by apologists for the Israeli state. Paradoxically the “campaign against anti-semitism” is a profoundly anti-Semitic enterprise.
It’s frightening how the idea that any criticism of Israel is, by definition, antisemitic and how this has become accepted by both the main Westminster parties and across the MSM. It has become so deeply embedded in Starmer’s Labour that discussion on Israel is routinely ruled out of order because it might offend. Watching the entire Labour front bench refuse to condemn or even challenge Israel’s behaviour in interview after interview is chilling.
I’ve watched Israel weaponise antisemitism to silence its critics for over 45 years. I’ve watched Zionists weaponise antisemitism to silence critics of Israel in the Labour Party since 2017 and use the smear to expel them as Antisemitic… even if they’re Jewish.. even MSM use it as a weapon to discredit critics of Israel.
The irony of representing criticism of Israel as antisemitism, is that this very claim itself violates the IHRA definition of antisemitism, as it makes the Jewish people responsible, by implication, for the actions of the government of Israel.