Antisemitism is a topic on which there is a wide gap between scholarly and popular understanding, and as concern over antisemitism has grown, so too have the debates over how to understand and combat it. This handbook explores its history and manifestations, ranging from its origins to the internet.
Since the Holocaust, many in North America and Europe have viewed antisemitism as a historical issue with little current importance. However, recent events show that antisemitism is not just a matter of historical interest or of concern only to Jews. Antisemitism has become a major issue confronting and challenging our world. This volume starts with explorations of antisemitism in its many different shapes across time and then proceeds to a geographical perspective, covering a broad scope of experiences across different countries and regions. The final section discusses the manifestations of antisemitism in its varied cultural and social forms.
With an international range of contributions across 40 chapters, this is an essential volume for all readers of Jewish and non-Jewish history alike.
Table of Contents:
Preface: Antisemitism – A Comment. Foreword. Introduction SECTION I: Chronology 1. Jews and Non-Jews in Ancient Cities: Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, Rome 2. Medieval Antisemitism 3. Antisemitism: The Last 150 Years 4. Contemporary Antisemitism SECTION II: Geography 5. American Antisemitism 6. Argentina and the Jews: Between the Privileges of "Whiteness" and the Curse of "Badness" 7. East Asia and Antisemitism: A Vast Region Immersed in Admiration and Consternation 8. Antisemitism in Australia 9. The Judeo-Bolshevik Myth and Contemporary Antisemitism in the Baltic States 10. What is the Role Played by Antisemitism in the History of the Jews in Brazil? 11. English Antisemitism 12. Antisemitism in France 13. Antisemitism in Germany 14. Anti-semitism in Hungary 15. Antisemitism in North Africa 16. Antisemitism in Mexico 17. Antisemitism in the Middle East 18. Antisemitism in Poland 19. Antisemitism in Russia 20. Antisemitism in South Africa 21. Antisemitism in Spain – A Historical Survey 22. Antisemitism in Turkey 23. Antisemitism in Ukraine SECTION III: Topics 24. Christianity and Antisemitism 25. Muslim Antisemitism: Religion, Politics, and Israel 26. Blood Libel and Its Persistence in Antisemitic Imagination 27. Antisemitism and the Persistence of the "Protocols" 28. The Long Term and the Short Term: Antisemitism and the Holocaust 29. Antisemitism and Diseases, Pandemics, and Public Health Crises 30. Antisemitism and Art 31. Philosophy and Judeophobia 32. Gender and Antisemitism 33. Discourse and Antisemitism 34. BDS and Antisemitism 35. Antisemitism 2.0 and the Cyberculture of Hate: Opening Pandora’s Box 36. Algorithmic Antisemitism on Social Media 37. Holocaust Denial and Distortion 38. Antisemitism in the Study of Ancient Judaism 39. Zionism: A Response to Antisemitism? 40. Some Traditional Jewish Perspectives on Antisemitism
About the Author :
Mark Weitzman is Chief Operating Officer of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the senior US delegate to the International Holocaust Remembrance Authority (IHRA), and Vice President of the Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO).
Robert J. Williams is the CEO and Finci-Viterbi Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation, UNESCO Chair on Antisemitism and Holocaust Research, and the Advisor to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
James Wald teaches modern European history at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Review :
“In a more just world, we would not need a book like this one. But in the broken, flawed, real world that we inhabit, the Routledge History of Antisemitism is both morally necessary and intellectually essential. With an impressive range of topics and contributors, this volume provides a sweeping survey of antisemitism over the millenia and around the globe, and it does so in a lucid and accessible way.”
Prof. Samuel G. Freedman, Columbia Journalism School
“A book published in the right time, relevant to a current troubling issue is always a welcome surprise. So is the Routledge History of Antisemitism, off the print in 2023, when antisemitism is on the rise worldwide and the depiction of a reliable picture is sorely needed. Holding 40 well-edited essays along 400 pages, this volume offers concise, up to date eye opening information, accompanied by analysis and insight, on a wide variety of topics, written by first rate experts, each representing his or her field of expertise. Needless to say, such a collection is indeed a most relevant contribution to any discussion of antisemitism nowadays.”
Prof. Emerita Dina Porat, Chief historian of Yad Vashem, 2010-2021, The Alfred P. Slaner Chair in Antisemitism and Racism in Tel Aviv University
“A crucial contribution to the field spanning the full spectrum of time and geography of the world’s most enduring hatred. From antiquity to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party; from the Holocaust to Soviet antizionism; from the Middle East to the Baltic states; from the BDS to online hate: the tightly written essays in this volume are certain to prove an essential resource for educators, students and general public alike.”
Izabella Tabarovsky, Senior Advisor, Kennan Institute (Wilson Center)
