Abstract: Together we seek to model the redemptive, liberatory, activist, feminist approach to collaborative working to which both authors are committed as teachers, students, rabbis and activists. In our rabbinic chain of tradition (more particularly through other female rabbis) we explore, through the lenses of student and teacher, the 5-year rabbinic course at Leo Baeck College (LBC). We seek to demonstrate how, when working at its best, LBC trains rabbis as activists. Our contention is that the rabbinic education at LBC has the potential to be transformative in creating rabbis as activist leaders, an ideal which ought to transcend the rabbinic training seminary and be taken forward into community.
Abstract: The aim of this publication is to critically rethink Manfred Böcker’s classic notion of “Antisemitismus ohne Juden” (Böcker, M. 2000. Antisemitismus ohne Juden: Die zweite Republik, die antirepublikanische Rechte und die Juden. Spanien 1931 bis 1936. Berlin: Peter Lang) and to translate it within the contemporary context of the Spanish Nationalpopulismus (Hirschmann, K. 2017. Der Aufstieg des Nationalpopulismus. Wie westliche Gesellschaften polarisiert werden. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung; Wilp, M. 2019. “Konfrontation statt Konsens: Der Aufschwung des Nationalpopulismus in den Niederlanden: Die politische Auseinandersetzung um Migration und Integration.” In Rechtspopulismus in Einwanderungsgesellschaften, edited by H. U. Brinkmann, and I. Panreck, 187–215. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften) represented by the radical party Vox España. The existence of a formula of “Anti-Semitism without Jews and without Anti-Semites” (Botsch, G., and C. Kopke. 2016. “Antisemitismus ohne Antisemiten?” In Wut, Verachtung, Abwertung Rechtspopulismus in Deutschland, edited by R. Melzer, D. Molthagen, A. Zick, and B. Küpper, 178–194. Berlin: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung; Wodak, R. 2018. “The Radical Right and Antisemitism.” In The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right, edited by J. Rydgren, 1–33. Oxford: Oxford Handbooks Online) seems to acquire corporeity in the “Civil-War-like” lexical arsenals (Rivas Venegas, M. 2018. Propaganda activities of Willi Münzenberg in Support of the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. An Approximation to His Visual and Rhetorical Communication Strategies. Berlin: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung / Münzenberg Forum, 2019) of a party acutely connected to its Francoist past and to the paranoia of the “Francmason-Jewish-Bolshevist” conspiracy. This article aims to offer new perspectives on the study of national-populism via the parallel analysis of its “lexical arsenals” and visual-performative dispositives, what we here and in further publications identify as the messa in scena populista. It aims to fulfill the complex task of identifying the latent or indirect traces of Anti-Semitism in a party that chose the Muslim community as its preferred and most visible scapegoat, applied the tested political formula of the transnational nouvelle droite, yet never fully abandoned certain aspects of the Francoist and Spanish fascist worldview.
Abstract: • In order to understand and address antisemitism, one must effectively define it. The universally agreed
international definition of antisemitism was developed and adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance
Alliance (IHRA)1
• On 12 December 2016, The United Kingdom Government was one of the first to adopt this definition, followed by other political parties and in 2020 it was adopted by 641 Members of Parliament in the UK House of Commons
• The declaration has already been signed by many local authorities and Universities, and it has been used by the UK police and Crown Prosecution Service to define what is and what is not antisemitism.
• Over recent months, there has been a rapid increase in adoption of the IHRA declaration, with over 35 Countries now having signed up. Italy, Sweden, Greece and Uruguay are the most recent signatories.
• In January 2020, as part of Lord Mann’s work plan, he wrote to several Premier League Football Clubs asking
them to adopt the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism.
• Lord Mann recommends adoption of this definition, as he believes it can be of practical assistance when dealing with antisemitic incidents.
• Clubs should adopt this definition of antisemitism as a statement of their club’s values. in order to set clear
guidelines, give clarity and to act as a reference point for employees, stewards and fans on what constitutes as
antisemitism.
Abstract: Открытый в апреле 2013 г. в Варшаве Музей истории польских евреев «Полин» рассказывает о тысячелетии постоянного еврейского присутствия в этой части мира, об истории, которая омрачена Холокостом. Музейная экспозиция избегает менторского повествования, она представляет собой театр истории, основанный на 12 метаисторических принципах. В этой статье излагаются кураторские, образовательные и перформативные стратегии представления истории в работе над этой мультимедийной выставкой, позволяющие включить в экспозицию самый важный период в истории польских евреев – тысячу лет. Евреи являются неотъемлемой чаcтью истории Польши. Это история сосуществования и конфликта, сотрудничества и конкуренции, разделения и интеграции. Польские евреи создали, по выражению Моше Росмана, «категорически еврейскую, явно польскую» цивилизацию, стали крупнейшей еврейской общиной в мире и центром еврейского мира. Рассказывать об истории в том самом месте, где она происходила, значит использовать эмоциональную мощь этого места. Нарративная стратегия – показ истории с помощью фрагментов первоисточников, относящихся исключительно к данному историческому периоду, – направлена на то, чтобы избежать восприятия многовековой истории через призму Холокоста.
Abstract: While Jewish immigration to the State of Israel is a key component of Zionist ideology, emigration has been discouraged and vilified. Yet, Israeli Jewish citizens have been leaving throughout. This paper chronicles the approaches of the State of Israel towards its citizen diaspora, which shifted from rejection to the realisation of Israelis abroad as a fait accompli, and a resource for the state. At the same time, it depicts the self-organisation of Israeli citizens abroad, and their on-going ties to the State of Israel, even if they are highly critical of it. To elaborate on this dialectic, the paper zooms in on Israeli citizens in Germany. In consequence, I argue that the secularised notion of the ‘love for the Jewish people’ (ahavat yisrael) can be extended to ahava be’ad ha’medinat yisrael (love for the State of Israel) in the present to conceptualise the on-going relationship of Israeli citizens abroad to Israel, and its implementation by the state.
Abstract: Although digitization has become a word that is almost synonymous with democratization and citizen participation, many museums and other cultural heritage institutions have found it difficult to live up to this political vision of inclusivity and access for all. In Sweden, political ambitions to digitize the cultural heritage sector are high. Yet, institutions still struggle to reconcile their previous practices with new technologies and ethical guidelines for collecting and curating material. In this article we identify, analyse, and try to find resolutions for the current gap that exists between cultural heritage practice and government policy on digitization, open access, and research ethics. By examining two Swedish examples of Holocaust collections that have not been digitized because of internal policies of secrecy and confidentiality, we attempt to demonstrate how discourses about vulnerability affect the ways in which certain archival practices resist policies of accessibility and ethical research. In order to unpack the discourses on vulnerability, Carol Bacchi’s post-structural approach to policy analysis has been used together with Judith Butler’s theories on vulnerability and resistance. In addition to understanding how cultural heritage institutions in Sweden have protected some of their collections and how this has obstructed efforts to make these collections more accessible, we also offer some suggestions on how these issues can be resolved by reimagining digitization as transformation.
Abstract: In Deutschland hat man sich an Zustände gewöhnt, an die man sich niemals gewöhnen darf: Jüdische Schulen müssen von Bewaffneten bewacht werden, jüdischer Gottesdienst findet unter Polizeischutz statt, Bedrohungen sind alltäglich. Der Staat hat zugelassen, dass es so weit kommt - durch eine Polizei, die diese Gefahr nicht effektiv abwehrt, sondern verwaltet; durch eine Justiz, die immer wieder beschönigt. Der jüdische Autor Ronen Steinke, selbst Jurist, ist durch Deutschland gereist und erzählt von jüdischem Leben im Belagerungszustand. Er trifft Rabbinerinnen und Polizisten, konfrontiert Staatsschützer, Geheimdienstler und Minister mit dem Staatsversagen. Viel muss sich ändern in Deutschland. Was zu tun wäre, erklärt dieses Buch.
Abstract: 75. Jahrestag der Befreiung
2020 jährt sich der Tag der Befreiung von Auschwitz zum 75. Mal. Seit 75 Jahren müssen Überlebende und deren Nachfahren, muss die Welt, müssen die Deutschen mit dem Zivilisationsbruch leben, den der Name "Auschwitz" markiert. Das Buch folgt dieser Geschichte.
Die Überlebenden des Holocaust konnten über das Geschehene oft nicht sprechen. Doch die Traumata des Erlittenen wirkten auch im Stillen und gerade dort: Überlebende und ihre Kinder beschwiegen das Unfassbare, um einander zu schützen und dem Schrecken nicht oder nicht noch einmal begegnen zu müssen.
Anders die Generation der Enkel. Sie stellt den Großeltern nicht nur Fragen, auf die sie auch Antworten bekommt. Sie erlebt Auschwitz zudem als ein historisches Faktum, das in den 75 Jahren, die seit der Befreiung des Lagers vergangen sind, beschrieben und analysiert, interpretiert und bearbeitet wurde. Was aber heißt und bedeutet Auschwitz dann für diese Dritte Generation?
Dieses Buch versammelt Zeugnisse von Enkelinnen und Enkeln von Auschwitz-Überlebenden. Es sind oft berührende, manchmal erschütternde und immer nachdenkenswerte Berichte darüber, wie wirkmächtig das Geschehen von damals im Leben von Menschen auch heute noch ist. Auschwitz war nicht nur gestern, Auschwitz ist heute – immer noch und bleibend.
Wegmarken der Wahrnehmung von Auschwitz "nach Auschwitz"
Geschichten hinter der Geschichte
Abstract: The spread of hate speech and anti-Semitic content has become endemic to social media. Faced
with a torrent of violent and offensive content, nations in Europe have begun to take measures to
remove such content from social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. However, these
measures have failed to curtail the spread, and possible impact of anti-Semitic content. Notably,
violence breeds violence and calls for action against Jewish minorities soon lead to calls for
violence against other ethnic or racial minorities. Online anti-Semitism thus drives social tensions
and harms social cohesion. Yet the spread of online anti-Semitism also has international
ramifications as conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns now often focus on WWII and
the Holocaust.
On Nov 29, 2019, the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group (DigDiploROx) held a one-day
symposium at the European Commission in Brussels. The symposium brought together diplomats,
EU officials, academics and civil society organizations in order to search for new ways to combat
the rise in online anti-Semitism. This policy brief offers an overview of the day’s discussions, the
challenges identified and a set of solutions that may aid nations looking to stem the flow of antiSemitic content online. Notably, these solutions, or recommendations, are not limited to the realm
of anti-Semitism and can to help combat all forms of discrimination, hate and bigotry online.
Chief among these recommendations is the need for a multi-stakeholder solution that brings
together governments, multilateral organisations, academic institutions, tech companies and
NGOs. For the EU itself, there is a need to increase collaborations between units dedicated to
fighting online crime, terrorism and anti-Semitism. This would enable the EU to share skills,
resources and working procedures. Moreover, the EU must adopt technological solutions, such as
automation, to identify, flag and remove hateful content in the quickest way possible. The EU
could also redefine its main activities - rather than combat incitement to violence online, it may
attempt to tackle incitement to hate, given that hate metastases online to calls for violence.
Finally, the EU should deepen its awareness to the potential harm of search engines. These offer
access to content that has already been removed by social media companies. Moreover, search
engines serve as a gateway to hateful content. The EU should thus deepen is collaborations with
companies such as Google and Yahoo, and not just Facebook or Twitter. It should be noted that
social media companies opted not to take part in the symposium demonstrating that the solution
to hate speech and rising anti-Semitism may be in legislation and not just in collaboration.
The rest of this brief consists of five parts. The first offers an up-to-date analysis of the prevalence
of anti-Semitic content online. The second, discuss the national and international implications of
this prevalence. The third part stresses the need for a multi-stakeholder solution while the fourth
offers an overview of the presentations made at the symposium. The final section includes a set
of policy recommendations that should be adopted by the EU and its members states.
Abstract: Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, antisemitic scapegoating has surfaced, giving ammunition to antisemites and extremists looking for someone to blame. Online, memes have been circulating espousing antisemitism, whilst offline, several public figures and others in the public eye have alluded to Jews being the cause of the pandemic. Blame and scapegoating of Jews is not new, and it didn’t take long for antisemitism to mutate. Concerning coronavirus, Jews have not been the primary target for hatred. Anti-Chinese messages are being shared online, with references to the “Chinese flu”, the “Wuhan virus” and the “kung flu”. This collective blame leading to denigration
of, and attacks on, people of Chinese descendent, is reminiscent the collective blame in antisemitic conspiracy theories. This briefing highlights several examples of scapegoating of Jews for earlier global pandemics and addresses Covid related antisemitism in the United Kingdom and globally.
