How Best to Define Antisemitism? A Structural Approach
Author(s)
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Abstract
In the current discussion about definitions of antisemitism, the empirical social sciences have been marginalized. Groups of well-intentioned experts make decisions without considering the real-life experiences and perceptions of Jewish people—those who are impacted by antisemitism. I advocate returning the decision to the people, attributing greater weight in defining antisemitism to the actual perceptions of the victims—bottom-up rather than top-down. As a basis for a valid definition, we need to demonstrate these perceptions empirically. This paper presents a structural analysis of the 2018 Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) Survey. The study, conducted through the internet, included over 16,000 self-identified Jews in 12 European Union countries. I review the findings regarding the main contents of antisemitic expressions, the channels of transmission of antisemitism, and the identity of perpetrators. Using Similarity Structure Analysis (SSA), I suggest a new and better analytic typology of the main patterns of perceptions of contemporary antisemitism.
Topics
Antisemitism Jewish Perceptions of Antisemitism Main Topic: Antisemitism Statistics Surveys Antisemitism: Definitions
Genre
Geographic Coverage
Europe Austria Belgium Denmark Germany Hungary Italy France Spain Latvia Netherlands Poland United Kingdom
Original Language
Volume/Issue
8(1)
Page Number / Article Number
4-42
Related
Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism: Second survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU (Responding to)
DOI
Link
Link to article (paywalled), How Best to Define Antisemitism? A Structural Approach
Bibliographic Information
How Best to Define Antisemitism? A Structural Approach. 2024: 4-42. https://archive.jpr.org.uk/10.2979/ast.00002
