How to Fight the Campus Battle against Old and New Anti-Semites: Motifs, Strategies, and Methods
The battle against old and new campus anti-Semitism is usually fought with classic methods. These include public debate, op-eds, letters to the editor, petitions, letters to university administrations or efforts to persuade them to take action, requests for the investigation of incidents, legal actions, and the mobilization of allies. These approaches alone are not adequate in the current circumstances.
Mainline American Christian “Peacemakers” against Israel
In 2004 and 2005, a group of five liberal Protestant (or "mainline") churches in the United States broadcasted a narrative that portrayed Israel as almost solely responsible for the violence of the Second Intifada. This campaign was evident in "peacemaking" resolutions approved by the legislative bodies of these churches and in the books produced by the publishing houses associated with them.
Reassessing Pope Pius XII’s Attitudes toward the Holocaust
Pope Pius XII was the most controversial pope in modern times. Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 visit to the Middle East raised new interest in the attitude of the wartime pope toward the Jews. This becomes even more important in light of the possible advancement of his beatification. The issue remains highly problematic, the more so as the Vatican has not yet opened all its archives on Pius XII.
The Politics of the American Response to Global Anti-Semitism
A congressional initiative in 2004 to appoint a U.S. envoy for combating global anti-Semitism was strongly opposed by the Bush administration. Proponents of the measure responded by mobilizing the support of a diverse coalition of prominent American political, religious, and cultural figures. In the face of mounting public criticism and on the eve of the presidential election, the administration withdrew its opposition and President Bush signed it into law.
Justifying the Holocaust and Promoting a Second One
Holocaust justification consists of "explaining" that the Jews caused their enemies’ anti-Semitism and therefore were responsible for their own later destruction. The first part of this argument was prominent outside Nazi circles as well before World War II and occasionally returns nowadays.
Facebook, Holocaust Denial, and Anti-Semitism 2.0
In May 2009, Facebook went into damage control in response to the media interest in Holocaust-denial groups it hosted. This occurred six months after Facebook was notified that such groups not only breached its Terms of Service but were illegal under national laws banning Holocaust denial in several countries.
Holocaust Deflection and Whitewashing
Holocaust deflection entails admitting that the Holocaust happened while denying the complicity or various types of participation of countries, specific groups, or individuals despite ample evidence to the contrary. Major examples of deflection occur in those countries where, during the war, Germans were helped massively in the killing, deportation, and despoliation of the Jews.
Present-Day Anti-Semitism in Turkey
Turkish intellectuals have always taken a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli stance. Islamists associate the "Palestine question" with alleged Jewish involvement in the rise of Turkish secularism. Leftists see Israel as an imperialist state and an extension of American hegemony in the Middle East. Comparable themes are found among nationalist intellectuals.
Key Mennonite Institutions against Israel
Mennonite-supported peacemaking institutions have been at the forefront of the effort to discredit Israel to audiences in North America. These institutions portray Jewish sovereignty as the cause of conflict and suffering in the Middle East and downplay Muslim and Arab hostility toward Jews and Israel.
Another Year of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism in Norway
Again over this past year there were significant anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incidents in Norway. Among these were anti-Semitic television satire programs, an act of the Nazification of Israel by a Norwegian diplomat, physical attacks on a pro-Israeli demonstration, death threats against Jews and a desecration of a Jewish cemetery.
The Origins of Christian Anti-Semitism
Christian anti-Semitism began much later than Jesus’ life. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which are the historically more reliable ones, Jesus views himself as a messenger of God to the Jews and as a member of the Jewish people.
Reviewing the Holocaust Anew in Multiple Contexts
The nonpragmatic character of the genocide of the Jews is one of the elements that differentiate it from other genocides. Other elements were the totality, that is, the desire to annihilate every single Jew defined as such by the Nazis; the universality, namely the idea, developed in stages, that Jews everywhere should be treated the same way that they were being treated in Nazi Europe; and the fact that special industrial enterprises were set up, in the death camps, for the purpose of producing
The Gaza War and the New Outburst of Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli manifestations reached post-Second World War highs during Israel’s recent Gaza campaign. A number of new hate thresholds were crossed. There were much-increased public expressions of equating Israel with Nazi Germany. Calls for the murder of Jews abounded for the first time in demonstrations in Germany, as well as in the United States. A number of actions by various independent Muslim bodies in several Western countries manifested their desire to conquer the public
The Cut-and-Omit TV News (Norway)
When watching TV news, one receives information and forms an ethical judgment based on preexisting norms. This is a rapid, implicit process. But if, in the first step, one has been falsely informed, the ethical judgment also is likely to be false.
Christian Friends and Foes of Israel
The Holocaust initiated a major change in thinking about the Jewish people in numerous Christian circles. To many it was clear that centuries of Christian anti-Semitic teachings had paved the way for the mass murders by the Nazis and their supporters. These crimes alone, however, could not have shifted the theological thinking of many Christians to such a large extent. It was the theological shock of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 that challenged the fundamental church teachings and
