This seminar series brings out the perennial patterns in the phenomenon of antisemitism to shed light on the matter of why, exactly, it is “the longest hatred.” The aim of the series is to (1) elucidate the millennial themes and the variations on those themes that bring out the essence of antisemitism, (2) to expose and explain why the phenomenon is at once ancient and modern, (3) to impart a deeper understanding of how what was once the scandal of antisemitism morphs into a fashionable antisemitism, and (4) to enable participants in the seminar to recognize the phenomenon in all its subtle manifestations and to seek ways of responding to it. Themes to be examined include the antisemitic appropriation of the “truth,” the blood libel, purity of blood, the drive for redemption or salvation, the invisible and ubiquitous evil ascribed to the Jews, and more. The seminar series will bring out the implications of theological and ideological tropes of antisemitism, both historical and contemporary. In the end, the series will situate contemporary antisemitism within the eternal contexts of ethical demands and imperatives. It will pose the ethical questions that implicate each of us who encounters the phenomenon, the questions put to the firstborn of the first human: Where is your brother and what have you done?
This series will be convened by the following ISGAP Research Fellows:
Professor David Patterson, Hillel Feinberg Chair in Holocaust Studies, Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, University of Texas at Dallas, United States
Dr. Ellen Cannon, Professor of Political Science and Jewish Studies, Northeastern Illinois University, United States
Dr. Joël Kotek, Professor of Political Science, Free University of Brussels (ULB) and The Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Belgium
Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman, Emerita Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life, Brandeis University, United States
Recordings:
04 October 2021, “Actuality of the Myth of the Child-killing Jew among Belgian and European pro-Palestinian Activists”
Dr. Joël Kotek, Professor of Political Science, Free University of Brussels (ULB) and The Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Brussels, Belgium
Click here to watch the recording of this webinar.
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18 October 2021, “Tracing the Trope of Redemptive Antisemitism”
Professor David Patterson, Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, the University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, United States
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01 November 2021, “How Jewish Voice for Peace Gives Cover to the Anti-Zionist Movement in the United States”
Professor Miriam Elman, Executive Director of The Academic Engagement Network; Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, United States
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15 November 2021, “The Jewish Desecrator of Christian Images: Tracing an Allegation“
Dr. Katherine Aron-Beller, Professor of Jewish History, Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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29 November 2021, “(((Virtual Anti-Semitism))) Fighting the Alt-right and Nazi Robot Troll Army Aesthetic Assault”
Dr. Grant Kien, Department of Communication, California State University, East Bay, United States
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13 December 2021, “Supersessionism, Moral Schadenfreude, and the Great Satans of the Progressive Left”
Professor Richard Landes, Professor Emeritus, Boston University, Boston, United States
Convener: Dr. Sylvia Barack Fishman
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24 Jan., “Victims, Villains, and Sidekicks: Antisemitic Tropes in Video Games”
Dr. Terin Tehan, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, United States
Date: Monday, January 24, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Eastern Time
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07 Feb., “Understanding Today’s Un-Jews Validating Judeophobia and Zionophobia: Not Just Ideological, Not Just Psychological, But Sociological Too”
Professor Gil Troy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Date: Monday, February 7, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Eastern Time
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21 Feb., “American Higher Education Pedagogy: The Role and Absorption of Soviet Propaganda and in the Normalization of Antisemitism and Antizionism”
Dr. Ellen Cannon, Professor of Political Science and Jewish Studies, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, United States
Date: Monday, February 21, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Eastern Time
Click here to watch this webinar.
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07 Mar., “Eye of the Beholder: American Antisemitism Perceptions and Realities”
Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman, Emerita Professor, Contemporary Jewish Life in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, United States
Date: Monday, March 07, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Eastern Time
Click here to watch this webinar.
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21 Mar., “Antisemitism in the Post-Soviet Russia: Historical Tropes and Their Contemporary Implications”
Dr. Vladimir (Ze’ev) Khanin, Chief Scientist, Israeli Ministry of Aliya and Integration; Dept. of Political Studies,
Bar-Ilan University; Associate Professor, Graduate Program in Jewish Studies, Ariel University
Date: Monday, March 21, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Eastern Time
Click here to watch this webinar