Jewish Theological Implications of the New Antisemitism

Speaker: Yossi Klein Halevi Affiliation: Israeli author and journalist Title: “Jewish Theological Implications of the New Antisemitism” Convener: Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT Date: April 2, 2009 Description: Yossi Klein Halevi explains that there are two forms of antisemitism. The first, he says, is unremarkable and is the fear or dislike of the "other." The second form of antisemitism is the antisemitism of symbols, which is unique and potentially lethal. The antisemitism of symbols singles out the Jew as the representative of whatever a given society defines as its most detested quality or trait or moral offense. Halevi continues to focus on the "new antisemitism" and the assault on the State of Israel. This "new antisemitism" sets the Jewish state as the world's worst offender and violator of our society's highest value: human rights. This, he notes, is the reincarnation of the age-old antisemitism of symbols.