Antisemitism in Comparative Perspective

Anti-Judaism, or the controversial term coined in the 1870s by Wilhelm Marr, Antisemitism, is one of the most complex and, at times, perplexing forms of hatred. It spans history, infecting different societies, religious and philosophical movements, and even civilizations. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, some contend that Antisemitism illustrates the limitations of the Enlightenment and modernity itself. Manifestations of Antisemitism emerge in numerous ideological based narratives and the constructed identities of belonging and otherness such as race and ethnicity, nationalisms, and anti-nationalisms.

This seminar series, co-sponsored with the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, aims to explore this subject matter in a comprehensive, interdisciplinary framework from an array of approaches and perspectives as well as regional contexts. Eminent scholars and researchers are invited to present seminar papers in an informal setting. To enhance the level of discussion, papers will be made available online one week prior to the seminar.

The Antisemitism in Comparative Perspective seminar series meets on Thursdays from 4:15-5:45 p.m. at ISPS, 77 Prospect Street, Room A002 OR in Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High Street.

Organizer: Charles Small, Director, Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA).
Contact for information: Lauren Clark, (203) 432-5239

Links to current papers are provided by clicking on the speaker's name when underlined.
Archived seminar papers and videos: 2006-2007 Seminar Series 2005-2006 Seminar Series

Seminar Series 07-08

Fall Semester

September 20 David Hirsh, Goldsmiths College, University of London, “The Academic Boycott and the New Antisemitism” [video]
October 11 Professor Alan Dershowitz, Harvard University, "Antisemitic Hate Speech: Incitement to Violence in the Absence of a
Marketplace of Ideas."
The Professor William Prusoff Lecture
7PM Levinson Auditorium
Yale Law School Video
October 16 Special Event - Dr. Grahame Davies,University of Wales, Cardiff, and Goodenough College, London, "From Philo-Semitic to Anti-Semitic:
"Shifts in Attitude towards the Jewish People among a Western European Minority Community" Video
October 18 Professor Walter Reich, George Washington University, “Never Again? When Holocaust Memory becomes Empty Rhetoric, Diplomatic Tool, and a Weapon against Israel” Video
November 1

Hillel Neuer, Director, UN Watch, Geneva, "The United Nations Anti-Israel Bias and its Relation to Antisemitism”
7:00 - 8:30 PM LC 102
UN Watch -- The United Nations and Antisemitism 2004-2007 Report Card- Draft -- Not for Publication or Citation. Video

November 8 Professor Kenneth Levin, Harvard University, “Varieties of 'Jewish Antisemitism.”
4:15 - 5:45 PM LC 102 Video
November 15  Professor David Menashri, Tel Aviv University, “The Place of the Iranian Jewish Community in the Contemporary Islamic World"
4:15 - 5:45 PM LC 102 Lecture Notes (click here) Video
November 29  Professor Shalom Lappin, Kings College, University of London, “This Green and Pleasant Land: Britain and the Jews"
4:15 - 5:45 PM LC 101
Download Paper Video
December 6 Matt Levitt, Washington Insitute, "Anti-Semitic Themes in Terrorist Propaganda: The Case of Hamas"
CANCELLED

Spring Semester

January 24 Professor Mark Gelber, Ben Gurion University, “Literary Antisemitism; Revisited: Paul de Man and Mel Gibson”
Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) Room A-002, 77 Prospect St. Video
February 7 Professor Seyla Benhabib, Yale University, "From the 'Dialectic of Enlightenment' to the 'Origins of Totalitarianism' and the Genocide Convention.: Adorno and Horkheimer in the Company of Arendt and Lemkin"
Linsly-Chittenden Hall Room 101, 63 High St. Video
February 21

Symposium: Africa and Contemporary Antisemitism
Linsly-Chittenden Hall, Room 101, 63 High Street

Dr. Hubert Ngatcha Njila
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS).
Centre d'Etudes Nord- Américaines (CENA), Paris.
"Antisemitism in Africa: Post 9-11" Video and

Professor Shalem Coulibaly
University de Ouagadougou departement de philosophy;
ENAM, Ecole Nationale d'Administration et de Magistrature.
"Negation of Memory: Jewish and African Responses to the new Antisemitism and Racism."

Professor Olufemi Vaughan (D.Phil)
Discussant
Professor of Africana Studies and of History; Affiliate Professor, Political Science, Associate Dean, Graduate School, SUNY, Stony Brook, Woodrow Wilson Center Fellow

February 28  Professor Steven Smith, Yale University, “Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker"
ISPS Room A-003, 77 Prospect St. Download Paper Video
March 6 Professor András GerŒ, Central European University, Dept. of History: "Antisemitic discourse in Hungary following the collapse of Communism"
Linsly-Chittenden Hall Room 102, 63 High St.
Download Paper Video
March 27

Professor David Cesarani, History Department, Royal Holloway, University of London; "Muslims are not the new Jews: Comparing Islamophobia and antisemitism in Britain and Europe"
ISPS Room A-003, 77 Prospect St.
Download Paper Video
April 3

Professor Patrick Weil, Centre d’histoire sociale du siècle, Universite de Paris 2, “Dreyfus, Vichy, De gaulle, Chirac: Reflections on the French-Jewish Malaise” 
Linsly-Chittenden Hall Room 102, 63 High St.
Download Paper Video
April 10 Judge Hadassah Ben-Itto, author, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion; Its Contemporary Relevance"
Linsly-Chittenden Hall Room 1010, 63 High St. CANCELLED
April 17 Professor Gert Weisskirchen, Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE on Combating Antisemitism, Spokesman on Foreign Affairs for the SPD Group OSCE, title TBA. Video
Linsly-Chittenden Hall Room 101, 63 High St.
April 24  Professor Roni Stauber, Tel Aviv University, "The Academic and Public Debate Over the Meaning of the `New Antisemitism`. Video
Linsly-Chittenden Hall Room 101, 63 High St.