COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY CARE
Exploring Definitions of Antisemitism
Written by Basha Hofheimer Nachman
Jewish Voice for Peace’s Statements on Antisemitism has been an extremely helpful starting place of learning.
#1: JVP’s Understanding of Antisemitism in the United States
“As a community rooted in Jewish traditions, we understand antisemitism as discrimination against, violence towards, or stereotypes of Jews for being Jewish. Antisemitism has manifested itself in structural inequality, dispossession, expulsion, and genocide, with the most well-known examples being in Europe with the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, and the Nazi Holocaust in the 1940s. Antisemitism does not impact all of us who identify as Jewish in the same way. The experiences and histories of Jews of color and/or Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews are distinct from those of white, Ashkenazi Jews” (372).
Jewish Voice for Peace name specifically Christian antisemitism and Racial antisemitism, as two forms of antisemitism operating in the United States. Christian hegemony, “the fact that Christian values and beliefs dominate US culture in everyday and pervasive ways-- impacts all religious minorities in the United States.” (369).
Racial antisemitism, and the term antisemitism itself, “developed alongside pseudo-scientific theories of race in nineteenth-century Europe” (451). These racist theories created classifications of people that were placed into a racial hierarchy, which is used in the justification and perpetuation of US white supremacy, alt-right, and neo-Nazi groups. The Nazi Holocaust is an example of governmental support for racial antisemitism and violence experienced my numerous marginalized groups and Jewish people. In the United States, the Trump administration empowers antisemitic speech and violence; however, “it is not currently reinforced by state institutions in the same ways that racism, anti-immigrant prejudice, and anti-Muslim bigotry are through state violence, mass incarceration, and surveillance” (452).
“New Antisemitism” and the US State Department
Antony Lerman purposes that a redefinition of antisemitism has occurred and can be described as “new antisemitism” and “promotes its use as synonymous with anti-Zionism” given legitimacy as the European Union definition and working definition of antisemitism of the US State Department, as follows: "Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." (43). The State Department provides three sections of examples. The last section lists the “three Ds”: demonization, delegitimization, and applying a double-standard to Israel (44).
This definition of antisemitism and redefining antisemitism through the US State Department conflates criticism of Israel, oppressive policies, and advocates for Palestinian human rights as antisemitic, “by blurring the important distinction between criticism of Israel as a nation-state and anti-Semitism” ( Palestinian Legal FAQ’s on this definition).
#1: JVP’s Understanding of Antisemitism in the United States
“As a community rooted in Jewish traditions, we understand antisemitism as discrimination against, violence towards, or stereotypes of Jews for being Jewish. Antisemitism has manifested itself in structural inequality, dispossession, expulsion, and genocide, with the most well-known examples being in Europe with the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, and the Nazi Holocaust in the 1940s. Antisemitism does not impact all of us who identify as Jewish in the same way. The experiences and histories of Jews of color and/or Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews are distinct from those of white, Ashkenazi Jews” (372).
Jewish Voice for Peace name specifically Christian antisemitism and Racial antisemitism, as two forms of antisemitism operating in the United States. Christian hegemony, “the fact that Christian values and beliefs dominate US culture in everyday and pervasive ways-- impacts all religious minorities in the United States.” (369).
Racial antisemitism, and the term antisemitism itself, “developed alongside pseudo-scientific theories of race in nineteenth-century Europe” (451). These racist theories created classifications of people that were placed into a racial hierarchy, which is used in the justification and perpetuation of US white supremacy, alt-right, and neo-Nazi groups. The Nazi Holocaust is an example of governmental support for racial antisemitism and violence experienced my numerous marginalized groups and Jewish people. In the United States, the Trump administration empowers antisemitic speech and violence; however, “it is not currently reinforced by state institutions in the same ways that racism, anti-immigrant prejudice, and anti-Muslim bigotry are through state violence, mass incarceration, and surveillance” (452).
“New Antisemitism” and the US State Department
Antony Lerman purposes that a redefinition of antisemitism has occurred and can be described as “new antisemitism” and “promotes its use as synonymous with anti-Zionism” given legitimacy as the European Union definition and working definition of antisemitism of the US State Department, as follows: "Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." (43). The State Department provides three sections of examples. The last section lists the “three Ds”: demonization, delegitimization, and applying a double-standard to Israel (44).
This definition of antisemitism and redefining antisemitism through the US State Department conflates criticism of Israel, oppressive policies, and advocates for Palestinian human rights as antisemitic, “by blurring the important distinction between criticism of Israel as a nation-state and anti-Semitism” ( Palestinian Legal FAQ’s on this definition).
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