The Changing Face of Anti-Semitism: From Ancient Times to the Present Day

241 Pages·2008·3.11 MB·English

by  Walter Laqueur

Praise for
The Changing Face of Antisemitism:
From Ancient Times to the Present Day
"Once more, Walter Laqueur has brought his formidable learning,
incisive style, and sheer brilliance in writing concise and yet grip-
ping history to a subject matter of extraordinary complexity. The
result is vintage Laqueur and an extremely valuable contribution to
the subject of the history of antisemitism."—Michael Stanislawski,
Nathan J. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Columbia University
"An interesting general analysis of the variations of anti-Semitism
over the past 2000 years Laqueur' s major strength is his critique
of contemporary issues, especially the role of Israel in anti-Semitic
thought, and the question of the relationship between anti-Zionism
and anti-Semitism."—Library Journal
"Walter Laqueur has written a thoughtful book about a difficult
subject, bringing history and his own keen analytical skill together
in a new way. Engagingly written, it offers both an overview of
the past and an analysis of the 'new antisemitism. ' H e treats
anti-Semitism sympathetically , eve n as he largely avoids the
apologetics that characterize so much writing on the subject."—
Mark R. Cohen, author of Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews
in the Middle Ages
"A remarkable and eminently readable review of anti-Semitism
throughout history from the persecution of the early Israelites in
Egypt to the recent attacks on Jewish targets in twenty-first-century
Europe. Laqueur describes with skill and precision antisemitism's
context in every era—b e i t economic, religious , social , o r
political."—Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of International Jewish
Affairs, The American Jewish Committee
"A brilliant, lucid and compelling survey of a social, psychological,
cultural, political and intellectual malady that has preoccupied and
distorted European and Arab societies, Christian and Muslim
civilizations, and both the political right and the political left. In this
short volume, Laqueur provides an elegant, fast-pace d and
immensely readable account of a complex, confounding and still-
mutating condition that continues to afflict our world. This book is
a vital contribution to our understanding of an important and
disturbing dimension of our past—and, as Laqueur so incisively
shows, of our present and our future. There is no other book like
it."—Walter Reich, Yitzha k Rabi n Memoria l Professo r o f
International Affairs, George Washington University
THE CHANGIN G FAC E O F ANTISEMITIS M
From Ancient Times to the Present Day
WALTER LAQUEU R
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Copyright © 2006 by Walter Laqueur
First published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 2006
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
www.oup.com
First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2008
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. N o part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Laqueur, Walter, 1921 -
The changing face of antisemitism: From ancient times
to the present day / Walter Laqueur
p. cm .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-978-o-i9-534i2i-8
i. Antisemitism—History. 2 . Christianity and antisemitism.
3. Judaism—Relations-Christianity. 4 . Christianity and other religions—Judaism.
5. Judaism—Relations—Islam. 6 . Islam—Relations—Judaism. I . Title
08145X325 200 6 305.892*4009—dc2 2 200503049 1
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 42
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
Preface vii
ONE The New Antisemitism i
TWO Interpretations of Antisemitism 2 1
THREE Ancient and Medieval Anti- Judaism 39
FOUR The Enlightenment and After 7 1
FIVE Racialism and Jewish Conspiracies 91
SIX Toward the Holocaust 10 7
SEVEN Contemporary Antisemitism 1 25
EIGHT Assimilation and Its Discontents 15 1
NINE Antisemitism and the Left 17 1
TEN Antisemitism and the Muslim World 191
ELEVEN In Place of a Conclusion 20 7
Bibliography 20 9
Index 21 5
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PREFACE
How TO ACCOUNT FOR ANTiSEMiTiSM? It has a very long history, but
history has been written only during the past century. There is no
Thucydides or Plutarch of antisemitism; not one of the great histori-
ans and sociologists of the past has written about it in any detail. The
endeavors to explain and interpret it are of even more recent date.
Only after the Second World War and the disaster that befell Euro-
pean Jewry were the many attempts to analyze and understand it
generated. Many questions remain open, and some will probably re-
main unresolved as far as one can look ahead.
They include the questions of whether there was antisemitism be-
fore the advent of Christianity or whether antagonism toward Jews at
that time was no more than "normal xenophobia"; whether, as others
argue, antisemitism can be traced back not to early Christianity but
only to the late Middle Ages. This, in turn, raises the questions of
whether and to what extent there has been continuity between the
traditional, religious antisemitism that prevailed up to the second part
of the nineteenth century and the racialist antisemitism that succeeded
it and that led to the mass murder of the Second World War. A related
Vlll PREFAC E
debate concerns whether and to what extent contemporary antisemit-
ism is rooted in the antisemitism of the past or whether it is mainly
connected with the existence and the policies of the state of Israel as
well as with anti-Americanism, antiglobalism, and other contempo-
rary roots and movements.
While up to 1945 antisemites did not on the whole mind being
called antisemites, there has been since that time indignation on the
part of many, however hostile to the Jews, at being painted with the
antisemitic brush. The question arises whether their angry feelings
are justified. This also raises the question of whether what was his-
torically predominantly a preoccupation of sections of Christian
churches and right-wing movements has become in our time far more
frequent among Muslim and left-wing groups; is this base calumny
or undeniable fact?
The debate continues with regard to the questions of whether and
to what extent economic and psychological motives are involved in
antisemitism or whether historically antisemitism was simply the con-
sequence of Jews rejecting Christianity and Islam. It involves the
question of whether antisemitism is the more or less inevitable result
of the anomalous social, economic, and political position of the Jews
among other peoples which had a negative effect on Jews as a collec-
tive and as individuals.
This short review does not pretend to present yet another theory of
antisemitism or to answer the many unresolved questions. Nor is it an
apologetic or polemical statement; it merely attempts to summarize re-
search and debates that have been going on for decades. It also deals
with the present character of antisemitism and its future prospects.
One of the most renowned intellectuals of our time, Noam Chomsky,
has stated that "antisemitism i s no longer a problem, fortunately,"
and this could be quite correct as far as certain parts of the state of
Massachusetts as well as some other regions of North America are
concerned. But it is less certain that this statement still holds if one
moves a little farther afield. Even a mile or two from the campus of
PREFACE I X
MIT, the president of Harvard, Lawrence Summers, has pointed to a
widespread current of opinion that encourages a functional antisemit-
ism marked by disproportionate preoccupation with Jews and the
Jewish state: "serious and thoughtful people are advocating and tak-
ing actions that are antisemitic in their effect if not their intent." (And
what of people who are less serious and thoughtful?)
The fact that Harvard's president was bitterly attacked for saying
this shows that passions are still running high. Sixty years have passed
since the end of the Second World War; the closed season on Jews is
ending. Jews, it is argued, have been talking for too long and too
intensely about the Holocaust as if mankind did not experience other
tragedies too during the last century. On the other hand, Jews have
been doing too well socially and economically and have been too
influential politically and culturally to pass unnoticed. And then there
is Israel, the greatest danger to world peace in the view of many in
Europe. As the leading left-wing historian Eric Hobsbawm wrote,
many of the gates which so widely opened to Jews after 1945 may
half close. It seems premature to draw the final line under this chapter
of human history.
A brief personal statement is called for. I belong to the last surviv-
ing members of a generation that lived through European antisemitism
in its most extreme form, in contrast to later students of antisemitism
for whom the subject was by necessity an abstract or at least remote
phenomenon. It is unlikely that a member of this generation who lost
his parents an d family i n this period will be inclined to treat
antisemitism as a laughing matter as a professor in Canada recently
suggested. On the other hand, having faced extreme antisemitism, he
is unlikely to overreact, crying "wolf a t the appearance of every
mouse or mosquito.
With a few specific exceptions (such as the origins of the Proto-
cols of the Elders ofZion\ antisemitis m was not for a long time among
the central issues preoccupying me on the scholarly level. But I was
for thirty years director of what was then the leading institute for the