archive

The working definition of anti-Semitism

Nico Voigtlander (UCLA) and Hans-Joachim Voth (UPF): Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany (and more). The anthology Philosemitism in History shows that "Jew lovers" have often been just a shade better than anti-Semites — and sometimes no better at all. Here there is a why: Primo Levi's Holocaust experiences informed his outlook but did not define or constrain it. A review of Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends by Tom Segev. Studying the 1961 Adolf Eichmann trial provided a reminder to Deborah E. Lipstadt that it’s always crucial to confront Holocaust denialism, whether among Nazis in the immediate postwar years or from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today (and more). The Zeitgeist movement is the first Internet-based apocalyptic cult, centered around a doomsday-proclaiming film and an ideology filled with classic anti-Semitic tropes. Israel Shamir is a slippery Holocaust-doubter whose anti-Semitic, anti-Israel views are — in the age of WikiLeaks — finding a new audience (and part 2). Eve Garrard on Richard Kuper on the working definition of anti-Semitism. While the term "holocaust", with its great evocative power, is never far from the headlines, the "H-word" and other terms associated with WWII have been creeping into the public discourse with an alarming frequency.