It wasn’t long after the start of the Israeli offensive in Gaza that the accusation of genocide against the Jewish state began to emerge. Already on October 7, before any retaliation, the first echoes of it could be heard. For radical anti-Zionists, the genocide has been going on for 75 years, the project to wipe out the indigenous Palestinian people has been unfolding for 75 years, and the genocidal essence of the Zionist state has been asserting itself for 75 years. But where does this “evidence” come from? When, by whom and under what conditions was this implacable equation formulated? And what accounts for its remarkable spread? This week, we begin publication of Daniel Szeftel’s historical investigation of this question, which makes an important contribution to contemporary debates on the notion of settler colonialism. The first part of his diptych deals with the revival of Arab nationalism from the 20s to the 40s, its compromises with European fascism, and the influence of antisemitic Protestant missionaries. For the moment, we are witnessing the structuring of an ideological discourse that, at this stage, openly claims its integral nationalism and eliminationist antisemitism. Next week, we’ll see how, through a curious process of accusatory reversal, this discourse will be hollowed out and reformulated for Western international and academic institutions in the post-war period.
Two Jews who knew each other neither from Eve nor from Adam get on a plane and find themselves…
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What are the origins of the discourse that portrays Israel as an intrinsically genocidal entity, bent on the destruction of the indigenous Palestinian people? In the first part of his historical investigation, Daniel Szeftel examines the revival of Arab nationalism from the 20s to the 40s, highlighting the influence of fascism and European antisemitism on its structuring. The second part of his text will show how, from these ideological coordinates, the discourse of settler colonialism and the accusation of genocide against Israel developed in the second half of the twentieth century.
On a plane, two Jews are having a conversation. In this short story - delivered at the 2004 Koret Jewish Book Award ceremony in New York - Barbara Honigmann humorously questions what Jews have in common, and what radically sets them apart.
Sixty years after Algeria's independence and the departure of the 150,000 Jews who lived there, the question of a Jewish presence in Algeria continues to stir emotions. In the media, among politicians, on social networks, in cafés, the myth is circulating: there are still Jews in Algeria. But what is the reality? The author asks this question, but does the answer really exist?
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.
Dybbuk, golems, zombies, spectres, werewolves and other Mazzikim, Jewish demonology has penetrated the cinema, but what does it have to tell us? Between memories of the Shoah, reflections on evil, the body or the unconscious, or even the quest for an alternative religiosity – on the occasion of the exhibition currently on view at the mahJ in Paris: “The dybbuk. Phantom of the lost world”, an investigation into one of Judaism’s most singular contributions to art and representation. By David Haziza, who has just published ‘Jewish myths. The return of the sacred’, in the Diaspora book series published by Calmann-Lévy.
How did American Jews and their organizations position themselves during the presidential campaign, and what role did the Israel-Palestine conflict play in it? In this interview, conducted on the eve of Presidential Election Day, journalist and essayist Dara Horn sheds light on the political cleavages within the American Jewish world, and how they are at times instrumentalized.
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.
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