Politics

How can we explain the disarray of the European conscience in the face of the rise of antisemitism it promised itself it would “never again” tolerate? In this text, historians Henriette Asséo and Claudia Moatti examine the paradoxes of a Europe faced with the temptation of identity.

What explains the political wandering of some Jews, who seem to be sliding irresistibly to the right? Katie Ebner-Landy proposes here three paradoxes, which she proposes will have to be fought against to reassure left-wing Jews.

Could the Jewish world, which is currently undergoing a process of division, go as far as an internecine war? For Bruno Karsenti, the possible election of Donald Trump to the American presidency could complete the rupture. It would make it impossible to ignore the gulf that now separates the “Jews committed to force” from the “Jews committed to law and rights”.

In a nation still reckoning with the shadows of its past, Germany’s response to antisemitism today is layered with complexity and urgency. Recent measures, from appointing antisemitism commissioners to intensifying security for Jewish communities, aim to confront a troubling rise in antisemitic incidents—yet they also expose the delicate tension between genuine protection and political maneuvering. Part two of Monty Ott’s report, presented in partnership with DILCRAH, dives into Germany’s fraught battle against antisemitism, revealing not only the strides taken but also the ethical and societal questions that linger unanswered.

Continuing our investigation, in partnership with DILCRAH, into the state of antisemitism across Europe, this week Monty Ott examines Germany’s ongoing battle against antisemitism, blending historical context with urgent contemporary issues. Using Adorno’s philosophy as a framework, Ott explores the role of state power in countering rising antisemitic violence, especially in the wake of Hamas’ October 2023 attacks. He tackles the complexities of this fight, from political controversies to social resistance, raising critical questions about Germany’s responsibility. It begs the question – can state action, civil society, or a combination of both truly confront the deep-rooted issue of antisemitism?

At the University of Paris Nanterre, the anti-Zionist mobilization is producing a widespread unease among Jewish students, and raising issues of qualification. While these students are not targeted as Jews, they do feel threatened as such. Valérie Broussard, professor of sociology, investigated their experiences.

Emmanuel Macron’s quip about Israel’s original debt to the international community demonstrates the persistence of an outdated image of Jews and their relationship with nations. Gabriel Abensour reminds us in this text of the history of Zionism, and how this presidential statement seems medieval.

In the West we tend to see the fall of communism as ushering in greater freedom for religious and other minorities. It’s true that after decades of post-war silence, Poland’s Jewish heritage industry, which includes a gleaming museum in the center of Warsaw, an annual Jewish culture festival in Krakow, and thousands of local efforts to excavate history, is flowering. But does this mean that Poland is overcoming its Jewish problem? Arlene Stein spoke to Anna Zawadzka, Polish sociologist, who examines the changing forms of antisemitism in Polish culture in a new book More than a Stereotype , cautioning us against such facile conclusions. 

While the immediate focus is on the ground incursion into Lebanon, military operations and targeted assassinations, and the regional and even global balance, Noémie Issan-Benchimol, in this letter from Jerusalem, wants to bring us back to the more modest scale of the political emotions and wounds of Israeli society, starting with the still-open wound of the hostages, which is not without drawing a deep fault line between the advocates of the citizen’s social contract and the supporters of deterrence. Taking the opportunity of a political micro-event, she offers us here a meditation on power and an insight into that part of the Israeli people that opposes the Netanyahu government and its way of waging war without preparing for peace.