Global Antisemitism: a Crisis of Modernity

GLOBAL ANTISEMITISM: A CRISIS OF MODERNITY Volume V Reflections Charles Asher Small Editor ISGAP © 2013 INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF GLOBAL ANTISEMITISM AND POLICY Honorary President Professor Elie Wiesel Director Charles Asher Small Co-Chairs of the International Academic Board of Advisors Professor Irwin Cotler Professor Alan Dershowitz ISGAP Europe – Coordinator Robert Hassan ISGAP Asia – Chair Jesse Friedlander Publications Consultant Alan Stephens Administrative Coordinator Jenny Pigott ISGAP 165 East 56th Street, 2nd Floor New York, New York 10022 Phone: 212-230-1840 Fax: 212-230-1842 www.isgap.org The opinions expressed in this work are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, its officers or the members of its Boards. Cover by Romijn Design Layout by AETS Printing and binding by Graphos Print ISBN 978 1 940186 08 5 (paperback) ISBN 978 1 940186 09 2 (eBook) For Professor William Prusoff About the Editor Dr. Charles Asher Small is the Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anti- semitism and Policy (ISGAP). He is also the Koret Distinguished Scholar at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Charles received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Sci- ence, McGill University, Montreal; a M.Sc. in Urban Development Planning in Econom- ics, Development Planning Unit (DPU), University College London; and a Doctorate of Philosophy (D.Phil), St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. Charles completed post-doctorate research at the Groupement de recherche ethnicité et société, Université de Montréal. He was the VATAT Research Fellow (Ministry of Higher Education) at Ben Gurion University, Beersheva, and taught in departments of sociology and geography at Goldsmiths’ College, University of London; Tel Aviv University; and the Institute of Urban Studies, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Charles was the founding Director of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA), the first interdisciplinary research center on antisemitism at a North American university. At Yale he taught in the Political Science Department and the Program on Ethics, Politics and Economics, and ran a post-doctorate and gradu- ate studies fellowship program at YIISA. He was also an Associate Professor and the Director of Urban Studies at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). He has lectured internationally and worked as a consultant and policy advisor in North Amer- ica, Europe, Southern Africa, and the Middle East. Charles specializes in social and cultural theory, globalization and national identity, socio-cultural policy, and racism(s) – including antisemitism. Acknowledgements This series of volumes is the result of many people contributing at various levels. I would like to thank the members of the ISGAP Board of Trustees who funded YIISA’s activities and also underwrote the conference on which this series is based, “Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity,” which was held at Yale University in August 2010. I am most grateful to Lawrence Benenson, Irwin Hochberg, Mort Lowen- thal, Roger Hertog, Mark Rosenblatt, David Messer, Lloyd Fischler, Zahava Gordon, Alvin Prusoff, Robert Satloff, Larry Schiffres, Ron Stackler, Jonathan Torop, Jennifer Roskies, Jessie Friedlander, and Mitchell Wesley. I am also thankful to Kathrin Haurand for her support. I am also appreciative of the support of the members of ISGAP’s Aca- demic Advisory Committee, including its remarkable Co-Chairs Professors Irwin Cotler and Alan Dershowitz, and Honorary President Professor Elie Wiesel. I am also grateful to Ben Farahi, Rabbi Bruce Alpert, Allon Canaan, Michelle Whiteman, and Albert Bildner. The conference was partly sponsored by the Isaac and Jessie Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies and Research, University of Cape Town. For this, I am especially grateful to Centre’s Director, Milton Shain. I would also like to thank the Koret Foundation for making me their Distinguished Scholar at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. I am thankful to Professor David Brady, Abe Sofaer, Marc Abramowitz, and Peter Berkowitz and to Tad Taube, Tina Frank, and Danielle Forman. At the Hoover Institution, I found a space where academic freedom, debate, and discussion is not only permitted but truly encouraged. This is crucial during these times, especially in relation to the study of contemporary antisemitism. I am also thankful to Raphael Fischler, Doron Ben-Atar, Shalem Coulibaly, Jeffrey Herf, and Olufemi Vaughan. I am especially grateful to all the scholars who attended the conference. Most of them did so at their own expense and traveled considerable distances to be there. The conference, on which this series is based, was the largest academic gathering ever on the study of antisemitism. More than one hundred speakers from approximately twenty academic fields and more then twenty countries attended the event. It was truly a remarkable gathering at an important historical moment. Due to the high level of scholarship, the conference produced many key insights and has given rise to many important research projects. Finally, I would like to thank Daniel Stephens for copy-editing and reviewing the contributions for this project. I am most grateful for his professionalism, patience, and assistance, often beyond the call of duty. Without his efforts these volumes would not have been possible. I am thankful to Alan Stephens for his much-valued advice and for making this publication possible in the first place. I am also most grateful to Lauren Clark and would like to thank Ulrike Becker, Idit Shalev, Tatenda Mujeni, Della Fok, Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Carlton Long, Zachary Izenberg, Dovid Katz, and Evan Weiser for their assistance during the conference. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This series is dedicated to the memory of Professor William (Bill) Prusoff. Bill was the founding member of ISGAP and funded much of our activities from 2004 until his passing in 2011. Without his support, ISGAP would not have been able to establish YIISA at Yale University. In many ways, Bill’s reputation as a scholar and an exceptional mensch paved the way for our work. Rarely in one’s life does one have the privilege to meet someone of Bill’s stature. He was a medical genius who created the first generation of anti-viral and anti-HIV medications that helped to save or prolong the lives of mil- lions. Yet despite his incredible accomplishments, Bill was the most humble, kind, and amiable person I have ever met. Bill never forgot where he came from. He often recount- ed how his family had to flee Brooklyn for Miami in the 1930s after “Brown Shirts” thugs attacked the family store or how he was refused entry to Yale’s Medical School because of the Jewish quota that was in place at the time. Nevertheless, he eventually managed to become a tenured professor at Yale as well a true giant in his field. In the Jewish tradition there is a belief that, at any given time, there are 36 hidden righteous people (Tzadikim Nistarim) in the world whose role in life is to justify the purpose of humankind in the eyes of G-d. For those of us who knew Bill, this idea did not seem beyond the realm of possibilities. He is missed. Charles Asher Small December 2013 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 Charles Asher Small How Do We Put an End to Antisemitism? No, Really, How Do We? .......................... 21 Ruth R. Wisse Arab and Islamic Antisemitism .......................................................................................... 29 Menahem Milson The History and Psychological Roots of Antisemitism Among Feminists and Their Gradual Stalinization and Palestinianization ............................... 37 Phyllis Chesler The Rabbi and the President: “Don’t Give Us the Holocaust at the Expense of Israel” ................................................................................................................. 49 Walter Reich Without Ahavath Yisrael: Thoughts on Radical Anti-Zionism at Brandeis ................... 57 Doron Ben-Atar Between Opposition and Denial: Radical Responses to Antisemitism in Contemporary Europe .................................................................................................... 65 Robert Fine The Iranian President, the Canadian Professor, the Literary Journal, and the Holocaust Denial Conference That Never Was: The Strange Reality of Shiraz Dossa ........................................................................................................ 71 Deborah E. Lipstadt Making History: Engaging, Educating, and Empowering Faculty to Address Issues of Antisemitism in the Academy ............................................................ 83 Edward S. Beck Struggles over the Boundaries of Legitimate Discourse: Antizionism, Bad-Faith Allegations and The Livingstone Formulation ................................................... 89 David Hirsh The Language of the New Antisemitism .......................................................................... 95 Michael C. Kotzin The EU, the Middle East, and Antisemitism .................................................................. 105 Leslie S. Lebl The Unique Nature of Palestinian Antisemitism: A Foundation of Palestinian National Identity ............................................................................................ 115 Itamar Marcus Some Philosophical Reflections

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