Abstract: Jüdische Identität im Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Eigendefinitionen, Antisemitismus und Rassismus.
Welche Hautfarben haben Jüdinnen und Juden - und welche werden ihnen zugeschrieben? Wie verorten sie sich selbst?
Seit Jahrhunderten werden Menschen durch rassistische Weltanschauungen vor allem nach ihrer Hautfarbige bewertet. »Rassentheorien«, Kolonialismus, Antisemitismus und andere Überlegenheitsfantasien schufen eine fundamentale Hierarchie: eine Ordnung der Welt, die auf der Ordnung nach Hautfarben beruht. Die Publikation beleuchtet diese Stereotypisierungen und Ausgrenzungen, die Jews of Color welt-weit - insbesondere in Europa, den USA und Israel - erfahren.
Heutige Diskurse verstehen Hautfarbige als historische und soziale Konstruktion und weniger als biologische Kategorie. Gerade die jüngste Eskalation des Nahost-Konflikts führte zur Verfestigung des Stereotyps von Juden als Weiße Kolonialherren, die eine »nicht-Weiße«, indigene Bevölkerung unterdrücken. Dafür wird ausgeblendet, dass Jüdinnen und Juden - nicht zuletzt aufgrund der Tatsache, dass ihre Geschichte von Migration, Vertreibung, und allen voran von der Schoa geprägt ist - auf allen Kontinenten präsent waren und sind.
Sind Jüdinnen und Juden nun aber Weiß, »nicht-Weiß« oder Schwarz? Die verschiedenen Antworten und ihre weitreichenden Folgen bekräftigen die Aktualität und Dringlichkeit dieser Publikation.
Abstract: À partir des années 1990 s’impose la conviction que le recul du racisme et de l’antisémitisme résultera de la connaissance des tragédies du passé auxquelles ces idéologies ont conduit. Trente ans plus tard, le constat est sans appel : le racisme peine à reculer, l’antisémitisme connaît une nouvelle vigueur et l’extrême droite xénophobe accumule les succès électoraux. Il devient donc impérieux d’interroger une pédagogie par la mémoire des événements tragiques (Shoah, esclavage « négrier », colonisation) qui n’est plus au diapason d’une société et d’une jeunesse en profonde mutation.
Alors que les mémoires sont devenues des vecteurs de confrontations identitaires, que l’antisémitisme contemporain puise à des matrices ignorées des programmes scolaires (islam et antisionisme) et que la recherche historique récente a enrichi et renouvelé les savoirs, le récit historique doit être profondément repensé.
Cet essai suggère de transmettre l’histoire des racismes et des antisémitismes, non plus en partant de leurs conséquences les plus tragiques, mais par l’analyse de leur fabrique, de leurs mythes constitutifs et des stratégies de leur permanence, en privilégiant le temps long et la démarche comparative, sans éluder ni le rôle des religions, ni les sources extra-européennes du racisme et de l’antisémitisme.
Abstract: Les Juifs ont souvent été accusés de pratiquer le « meurtre rituel » : de la judéophobie antique à l’antisionisme radical d’aujourd’hui, en passant par l’antisémitisme racial moderne, cette accusation mensongère s’est traduite par des légendes qui n’ont cessé de susciter des mobilisations politiques et des violences meurtrières (émeutes sanglantes, pogromes, attentats terroristes). Ces récits de meurtres, qui stimulent la haine, permettent la criminalisation d’un peuple tout entier : les Juifs. Un peuple imaginé comme étant constitué d’assassins potentiels. La haine des Juifs n’a certainement rien inventé de pire.
Pierre-André Taguieff, à travers l’analyse de nombreux exemples, montre que cette accusation n’a cessé, au cours de l’histoire, d’être reformulée dans des contextes très différents, et qu’elle est la matrice d’un enseignement de la haine destiné à susciter de l’indignation. En se diffusant massivement sur Internet, ces récits diffamatoires préparent le passage au « tout est permis » contre les Juifs, et ainsi justifient les actions les plus violentes contre eux. L’examen critique de ces récits offre au lecteur les moyens de démonter les mensonges d’une propagande judéophobe qui s’est globalisée.Les Juifs ont souvent été accusés de pratiquer le « meurtre rituel » : de la judéophobie antique à l’antisionisme radical d’aujourd’hui, en passant par l’antisémitisme racial moderne, cette accusation mensongère s’est traduite par des légendes qui n’ont cessé de susciter des mobilisations politiques et des violences meurtrières (émeutes sanglantes, pogromes, attentats terroristes). Ces récits de meurtres, qui stimulent la haine, permettent la criminalisation d’un peuple tout entier : les Juifs. Un peuple imaginé comme étant constitué d’assassins potentiels. La haine des Juifs n’a certainement rien inventé de pire.
Pierre-André Taguieff, à travers l’analyse de nombreux exemples, montre que cette accusation n’a cessé, au cours de l’histoire, d’être reformulée dans des contextes très différents, et qu’elle est la matrice d’un enseignement de la haine destiné à susciter de l’indignation. En se diffusant massivement sur Internet, ces récits diffamatoires préparent le passage au « tout est permis » contre les Juifs, et ainsi justifient les actions les plus violentes contre eux. L’examen critique de ces récits offre au lecteur les moyens de démonter les mensonges d’une propagande judéophobe qui s’est globalisée.
Abstract: Antisemitism, understood as a particular manifestation of racism directed against a collectivity defined by religion, ethnicity, or a combination of both, constitutes a form of social exclusion. Such exclusion operates through formal and informal mechanisms that separate members of the targeted group from full participation in various spheres of social life. It may manifest as an outright prohibition from entering specific social circles or events, or as a conditional and restricted form of participation-one permitted only under special, typically unfavorable, terms. In both situations, inclusion is perceived as improper or undesirable, and when it occurs, it is often subject to heightened scrutiny or control. As with other forms of racism, antisemitism may persist within a society irrespective of the presence or absence of legislation explicitly supporting it. Moreover, antisemitism can remain operative even in contexts where laws formally prohibit ethnic or religious discrimination. This is possible because exclusion and discrimination may assume subtle or covert forms, legitimized through the selective or manipulative use of legal provisions that allow for differential treatment on ostensibly neutral grounds. The capacity of antisemitism to hide behind seemingly unrelated attitudes or arguments -masking negative sentiment toward Jews as a collectivity- raises fundamental questions about how the term “antisemitism” should be defined and what indicators are necessary for its identification and systematic analysis. This paper discusses the controversy surrounding competing definitions of antisemitism as it emerged before and after the recent Israel-Palestinian conflict, where legitimate political critique of the State of Israel is at times intertwined with antisemitic discourse disguised as purely political disapproval of Israeli policies or leadership.
Abstract: Comment les minorités peuvent-elles s’intégrer aux nations européennes ? Comment renouer avec le projet émancipateur de l’Europe moderne, qui apparaît plus que jamais en crise ? Pour répondre à ces interrogations, Bruno Karsenti adopte le prisme de la question juive : question qui se pose à propos de cette minorité que sont les juifs, question qu’ils se posent à eux-mêmes au fil de leur intégration. Il retrace l’essor et le déclin des centres que les juifs ont constitués tout au long de leur histoire moderne, entre assimilation et émancipation, discrimination et persécution. Cette trajectoire heurtée part de l’expulsion des juifs d’Espagne en 1492, s’instaure comme question juive dans l’Allemagne du xixe siècle, manque de disparaître avec l’anéantissement du monde juif à l’Est et se transforme avec la persistance d’un centre juif en France.
Nourri par des travaux d’histoire et de sociologie, ce livre de philosophie politique éclaire le rapport complexe des juifs de la diaspora à leur identité, aux nations dont ils sont devenus les citoyens et, depuis 1948, à l’État d’Israël. En restituant ce cadre, Bruno Karsenti met au jour les paradoxes qui traversent tous les processus d’intégration, depuis la Shoah, les décolonisations et le 7-Octobre. Ce diagnostic s’accompagne d’un engagement : comprendre l’antisémitisme et le racisme, interroger le sionisme et le modèle républicain, c’est rouvrir le champ d’une critique politique fidèle à l’idéal d’émancipation – et donc à la promesse européenne.
Abstract: The proliferation of antisemitic content on small, high harm online services poses a significant risk to users of user-to-user safety. This includes risks of radicalisation into extremist and violent ideologies, and with serious implications for online threats, abuse and harassment. These risks are exacerbated when users are from a group with protected characteristics, which include age, race, sex and sexual orientation.
In relation to antisemitism, content on these small services tends to be more extreme than the anti-Jewish racism on
large, mainstream platforms. As a result, it helps radicalise people into extreme narratives, the results of which have
included violence against Jews. The proliferation of antisemitism online also contributes to the rising levels
of racism that divide communities. It eases the spread and amplification of conspiracy theories that undermine
trust in democratic institutions and erode liberal values of tolerance and inclusion, across Europe. It also helps
normalise antisemitism in both online and offline discourse.
These small platforms, including, for example, BitChute, Gab, and 4chan, often operate with minimal moderation
and are also sometimes encrypted, providing safe havens for extremist content that includes antisemitic tropes,
incitement to violence, and radicalising material. Despite the harm they cause, many of these platforms manage to
escape robust regulation in Britain and the EU.
This is particularly worrying, considering the major increase in antisemitism in Europe. In Britain, the Community
Security Trust (CST) recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024. This is roughly double the number of incidents
recorded in 2022, and slightly less than the number recorded in 2023–when there was a sharp rise following
the 7 October Hamas attack on Southern Israel.
In the EU, some organisations across Europe reported an increase of more than 400% in antisemitic incidents following 7 October 2023. A 2024 survey found that 96% of respondents from 13 EU countries have encountered
antisemitism in their daily life. Hate crimes tend to be severely under-reported, so these numbers–although
high– still represent only a portion of the real occurrence of antisemitic hate crimes.
In this report, we examine the antisemitic content that originates from these small services, and how it migrates to
larger platforms, where it spreads at a greater rate and has a wider, even worldwide, reach. This report will begin with an overview of antisemitism on small services and the synergy with larger services, to explain the risks. We will then look at services to demonstrate the origins of antisemitic content on these platforms. The report ends with recommendations for policy and regulation, to tackle the harm caused by small services, urging decision-makers and regulators to apply stronger enforcement and risk-based platform categorisation to protect Jewish communities and our democracies.
Abstract: Historical commissions have played an important role in the most recent efforts to garner restitution and reparations for Holocaust victims and their families. Several dozen Holocaust commissions were convened in the late‑1990s and early‑2000s in European countries where histories of collaboration and complicity with the Nazi regime were either under‑documented or suppressed in the official discourse. This essay examines the Holocaust commissions from a historiographical perspective with special attention given to the methodological and rhetorical strategies they employed when confronted by the traumatic experiences and memories of victims and survivors. While the work of these commissions was shaped and influenced, to varying degrees, by external political forces and interest groups, this essay explores the ways in which “the politics of history” entered into their written reports and, consequently, obscured and silenced fundamental aspects of Holocaust history. Three commissions, in particular, are held up for scrutiny (i.e., Austria’s Jabloner Commission, the International Commission for Holocaust‑Era Insurance Claims, and France’s Mattéoli Commission), and an assessment of their work is given against the backdrop of ongoing debates within the field of trauma studies and in response to questions concerning the Holocaust and the “limits of representation.”
Abstract: Seit einigen Jahren dokumentiert die Antisemitismusforschung eine starke Zunahme von antisemitisch motivierten Äusserungen und Angriffen in diversen europäischen Ländern, sowie jüngst auch in der Schweiz. Dieser Umstand schlägt sich nieder in einer intensiven Diskussion über die Hintergründe und Ursachen dieser Zunahme, die unter dem Stichwort «Neuer Antisemitismus» zusammengefasst ist. Neben der Frage, inwiefern diese Zunahme auf Kontinuitäten judenfeindlicher Ressentiments christlich-religiöser, rassistisch-nationalistischer oder links-ideologischer Hintergrundfolien zurückzuführen ist, rückt auch die Frage nach judenfeindlichen Einstellungen in muslimisch sozialisierten Kontexten in den Vordergrund. Vor diesem Hintergrund verbindet das vorliegende Heft Expertisen aus der Antisemitismus-Forschung, der Geschichtsdidaktik, der interreligiösen Bildungsarbeit, der Islamwissenschaft wie auch der Islamisch-theologischen Studien, um der Herausforderung einer sachgerechten Darstellung in den je als notwendig erachteten Bezügen und Faktoren gerecht zu werden. Damit soll ein Beitrag geleistet werden für eine interkulturelle Antisemitismus-Aufklärung, die sich vor dem Hintergrund einer aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Aufgabe versteht und Verwertungsmöglichkeiten für die gesellschaftliche Bildungsarbeit aufzeigt. Akteur:innen aus der öffentlichen und religiösen Bildungsarbeit bietet das Heft eine interdisziplinäre Expertise, auf deren inhaltlichen Grundlagen eigene Formate und Angebote aufbauen können. Die interdisziplinäre Verzahnung bietet Fachwissenschafter:innen einen Einstieg in einen sich neu zusammensetzenden thematischen Blickwinkel in der Antisemitismusforschung. Die interessierte Öffentlichkeit gewinnt aus dem Heft eine kenntnisreiche Darstellung, die der Begleitung gesellschaftlicher Diskussionen dienlich sein kann.
Abstract: Using an interdisciplinary perspective at the intersections of anthropology, Jewish Studies, and critical academic scholarship of heritage, this special issue presents ethnographic examples to explore the relationship between minority groups and the state through the prism of representations of Jewish cultural heritage in the European public sphere. On an empirical level, the articles focus on personal, community-led, and wider public discussions of the way Jewish experience and histories of migration have been (or should be) represented in museums and historical sites, in musical productions and open-air displays, at sites of restitution and in virtual spaces. In this introductory article we summarise the main points of each contribution and some of their connected themes. We then briefly discuss the articles we brought together and outline the main matters of theoretical concern they raise. Key are the aspirations that members of Jewish communities have in negotiating representations of Jewish heritage in Europe and the agentive capacity that diverse Jewish publics, including individual artists and professionals, demonstrate in shaping these representations to achieve, disrupt, or suspend state-sponsored consensus about the preservation of minority heritage.
Abstract: The events of October 7, 2023, and their aftermath have intensified social and political tensions across Europe, profoundly impacting both Jewish and Muslim communities. This article explores the phenomenon of dual silencing, where members of these communities face exclusion, misrepresentation, and suppression in public discourse. Jewish voices, often conflated with Israeli state politics, encounter rising antisemitism, while Muslim perspectives are increasingly marginalized amid heightened Islamophobic/anti-Muslim rhetoric. Through an analysis of personal accounts, public testimonies, media narratives, political responses, and societal attitudes, this study examines how both communities experience symbolical erasure and selective amplification depending on shifting political agendas. Using the Czech context as a case study, this article argues that the post-October 7 discourse has deepened existing societal fault lines and significantly influenced how Jewish and Muslim identities are negotiated in the public sphere. The study concludes by considering the implications of this dual silencing for intercommunal relations, and the future of pluralism in Europe.
Abstract: The severe restrictions on public life following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic affected Holocaust memorials and museums worldwide, especially in Europe, Israel, and the United States. These measures posed significant challenges to contemporary forms of Holocaust commemoration, which were based on collaborative practices of remembering, particularly related to the experience of presence at the memorial sites. In our chapter, we ask in which ways the pandemic had an accelerating effect on global Holocaust memory by tracing, analyzing, and identifying the institutionalized use of online platforms and digital formats on social media. We present results from an online survey conducted with 32 key institutions in the field of Holocaust commemoration in the Spring and Summer of 2020 and discuss them in the context of various forms of digital activities initiated by Holocaust memorials and museums in response to the pandemic. For that purpose, we have created a comprehensive database of 45 digital projects, which were released in the first months of the pandemic, and conducted a multimodal analysis of selected projects. We identified a significant increase in social media use and digital tools, in particular video formats, helping institutions to communicate virtually with potential audiences. Memorials utilized various social media features like live streams, stories, and hashtags to implement elements of participatory memory culture that offer users the possibility to participate in new collaborative forms of mediated commemoration. In doing so, they helped to establish like-minded and co-creative commemoration communities.
Abstract: In our chapter, we investigate how the Covid-19 restrictions affected the translation of in-person commemorative ceremonies into online-only events. Whilst the majority of existing research has a relatively small scale, we have turned to the larger scope of social media data to examine wider online memory culture. To do so, we conduct comparative analysis of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram data from institutions organising commemorative events for the liberation of Neuengamme, the massacre at Srebrenica, and the liberation of Beau Bassin together with non-institutional posts using the hashtags from these institutions. Through this analysis, we aim to answer our main research questions: how do the online discourses by institutions and the wider public compare in relation to posts using shared hashtags during major commemoration periods during Covid-19 lockdowns? To what extent did the move to remote engagement during the pandemic reconfigure the so-called bifurcation of memory culture, between institutional and popular memory discourse (Hoskins, 2014) in any way that might suggest that the lockdowns evidence a change in commemoration practices? Our findings demonstrate that despite the major anniversaries marked in 2020, related memory institutions had little impact on social media, and their commemorative approaches in these spheres were not transformed by the pandemic.
Abstract: We provide a comparative analysis of how European radical left parties (RLPs) politicise the Israel – Palestine and Russia – Ukraine conflicts. Examining the positions of 25 RLPs, we test four hypotheses examining variation in Israel-hostility, Russia-related stances, cross-conflict coherence, and the dynamics of war fatigue. Patterns of politicisation are complex and there is no unified party family response. We show that while no RLP is Israel-friendly, levels of Israel-hostility vary substantially and tend to intensify as the Gaza war persists. By contrast, positions on Russia – Ukraine remain deeply divided, with no linear shift towards Russia-friendliness. Ideological subtype shapes, but does not determine, party responses, while broader contextual factors, most notably the ‘Trump effect’, repoliticise questions of European security. However, further politicisation is limited by the weakness of cross-conflict coherence. Several parties express consistent anti-imperialist logic in their response, but most disaggregate their critiques. RLP foreign policy emerges as ideologically-driven but contextually responsive.
Abstract: This research paper examines safety perceptions among Jewish minorities at European places of worship (PoWs) between October 2023 and April 2024. The study utilizes PROTONE survey data from Belgium (N = 571), Germany (N = 734), Spain (N = 1198), and Italy (N = 895), specifically comparing 79 Jewish and 3,318 non-Jewish respondents. Qualitative components include 43 interviews with faith leaders (including 16 Rabbis) and five focus groups conducted in Brussels, Berlin, Rome, and Madrid. Grounded in postsecularism, vulnerability assessment models, and securitization theories, the research explores how threats and security measures shape feelings of insecurity. Key findings indicate that violent attacks and property damage strongly predict perceived unsafety. Comparative analysis reveals that Jewish respondents perceive significantly higher levels of anti-Semitic hostility and hate crimes than non-Jewish groups perceive regarding their own communities. While positive community and authority relations marginally mitigate fear, structural vulnerabilities like outdated infrastructure persist. Attitudes toward security vary; CCTV is universally accepted, but armed guards raise concerns about carization. Generational differences appear, with younger Jewish individuals reporting notably higher anxiety and avoidance behaviors. The study contextualizes these findings within broader socio-cultural and political processes, highlighting the dual role of Jewish PoWs as essential and sacred sites for spiritual fulfillment and robust local communal resilience.
Abstract: The monograph contains the results of the author's research on the European Union's (EU) policy regarding the "Jewish question", as well as the characteristics of contemporary Jewish communities in Europe. It analyzes current issues related to the development and implementation of the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (2021–2030).
It is argued that the development of new legislation to combat antisemitism, based on the definition of antisemitism proposed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), as well as the implementation of effective measures to support the development of Jewish life (the term "Jewish life" refers to the development of the traditional way of life of the Jews), are important tasks not only for the EU but for the entire civilized world. European efforts in these areas can serve as a benchmark and model for the United States, Canada, and other countries where such practices are just beginning to be established.
The author also analyzes the challenges of combating antisemitism in the EU and the reasons for the increasing emigration of Jews from the European continent. The monograph is intended for political scientists, historians, civil servants from EU countries and EU candidate countries, students of humanities, and all those interested in Jewish Studies.
