With its origins in a conference organized by the Institute of Jewish Affairs in London, this book asks if a common denominator can be found between the anti-Semitism that has existed through the ages and more contemporary forms of anti-Zionism.

How and why have anti-Zionism and antisemitism become so radical and widespread? This timely and important volume argues convincingly that today’s inflamed rhetoric exceeds the boundaries of legitimate criticism of the policies and actions of the state of Israel and conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. The contributors give the dynamics of this process full theoretical, political, legal, and educational treatment and demonstrate how these forces operate in formal and informal political spheres as well as domestic and transnational spaces. They offer significant historical and global perspectives of the problem, including how Holocaust memory and meaning have been reconfigured and how a singular and distinct project of delegitimization of the Jewish state and its people has solidified. This intensive but extraordinarily rich contribution to the study of antisemitism stands out for its comprehensive overview of an issue that is very much in the public eye.

Original essays by various scholars on the questions of whether there are new forms of antisemitism, whether there has been a resurgence of antisemitism in the current age, and whether critical attitudes towards Zionism or opposition to the State of Israel and its policies have given new impetus to antisemitism. The contributors also examine the complex relationship between the State of Israel and the Jewish community worldwide

Can a common denominator be found between the antisemitism that has existed through the ages and came to is horrible climax in the twentieth century and more contemporary forms of anti-Zionism? Has the intensity of antagonism to Israel and Zionism generated by the Middle East conflict and its repercussions generated a new kind of antisemitism? This book presents a collection of essays by leading scholoars of the subject which addresses these highly topical questions in their broadest international context. The spectrum of views examined includes those of right- and left-wing extremists, Palestinian and Arab nationalists, Muslim fundamentalists, Soviet communists, third-world ideologists, Christian theologians, black radicals and also people of the center whose antipathy to Zionism has become more visible in recent years. This book is an important contribution to one of the most controversial issues of our time.

Previously published as a special issue of The Journal of Israeli History, this book presents the reflections of historians from Israel, Europe, Canada and the United States concerning the similarities and differences between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism primarily in Europe and the Middle East. Spanning the past century, the essays explore the continuum of critique from early challenges to Zionism and they offer criteria to ascertain when criticism with particular policies has and has not coalesced into an "ism" of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Including studies of England, France, Germany, Poland, the United States, Iran and Israel, the volume also examines the elements of continuity and break in European traditions of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism when they diffused to the Arab and Islamic. Essential course reading for students of religious history.

"An exploration of the many aspects of the current surge in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric and violence around the world"--

Leading scholars use the lenses of history, sociology, political science, psychology, philosophy, religion, and literature to examine, disentangle, and remove the disguises of the many forms of antisemitism and anti-Zionism that have inhabited or targeted the English-speaking world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Although in principle one can be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic, authors document and trace the numerous parallels and continuities between the hoary tropes attached for centuries to the Jewish people and the more recent vilifications of the Jewish state. They evaluate--and discredit--many of the central claims anti-Zionists have promoted in their relentless effort to delegitimize the Jewish state. They show how mainstream anti-racist communities, courses and texts have ignored--or denied--the antisemitic hatred that pervades much of the Muslim world.