Reflections on anti-semitism

Since the beginning of the “War on Terror,” Israel has become increasingly salient to imperial strategy and ever more aggressive in its policies toward the Palestinians. In this context, a key ideological weapon is the cynical accusation of “anti-Semitism.” For historical reasons, this has been deployed most forcefully in France, and Alain Badiou and Eric Hazan caustically demolish the “anti-Semitism is everywhere” allegation, used to bludgeon opponents of the Israeli state and those who stand in solidarity with the banlieue youth. Ivan Segre undertakes a meticulous deconstruction of a rampant “reactionary philo-Semitism” that identifies Jewish interests with the “democratic West.” Segre’s concern is to uphold a universalist position and to defend Jewish tradition from Zionist ideological distortion. Shlomo Sand, in his preface, offers his own reflections on the nefarious uses of this highly charged accusation of racism.