The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century

The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century is about the rise of antizionism and antisemitism in the first two decades of the 21st century, with a focus on the UK. It is written by the activist-intellectuals, both Jewish and not, who led the opposition to the campaign for an academic boycott of Israel. Their experiences convinced them that the boycott movement, and the antizionism upon which it was based, was fuelled by, and in turn fuelled, antisemitism. The book shows how the level of hostility towards Israel exceeded the hostility which is levelled against other states. And it shows how the quality of that hostility tended to resonate with antisemitic tropes, images and emotions. Antizionism positioned Israel as symbolic of everything that good people oppose, it made Palestinians into an abstract symbol of the oppressed, and it positioned most Jews as saboteurs of social 'progress'. The book shows how antisemitism broke into mainstream politics and how it contaminated the Labour Party as it made a bid for Downing Street. This book will be of interest to scholars and students researching antizionism, antisemitism and the Labour Party in the UK.

David Hirsh is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Academic Director of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. His previous books include Contemporary Left Antisemitism (Routledge, 2017) and Law against Genocide: Cosmopolitan Trials (2003).

(i) First Preface: Esprit d'escalier: reminiscences of a silent observer of the UCU conference (ii) Second Preface: I guess it doesn't matter any more (iii) Introduction 1. Demonization Blueprints: Soviet Conspiracist Antizionism in Contemporary Leftwing Discourse 2. Turning Full Circle: From the Anti-Nazi League to Corbynism - how so much of the radical left in the UK abandoned Jews and embraced antisemitism 3. Durban antizionism 4. Demystifying Antisemitism: A Return to Critical Theory 5. Is Palestine a Feminist Issue? Intersectionality and Its Discontents 6. Cancelling Israel and Displacing Palestine: Narratives of a Boycott 7. The legal construction of Jewish identity as a 'protected characteristic' through an examination of Fraser v UCU (2013), Parker v Sheffield Hallam University 2016, and the Report of the EHRC into Antisemitism in the Labour Party 2020 8. Seven Jewish Children and Definitions of Antisemitism 9. Learning and teaching about antisemitism 10. Climate Catastrophe, the 'Zionist Entity' and 'The German guy': an Anatomy of the Malm-Jappe Dispute 11. Wither Liberal Zionism?