Sobre el antisemitismo : Historia de una palabra

What do we mean when we talk about antisemitism? For most of history, antisemitism has been understood as a threat emanating from the political right in Europe toward the Jewish population, culminating in the nightmare of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. In his new book, Mark Mazower paints a very different picture today. More than four-fifths of the world’s Jews now live in Israel and the United States, with Israel’s military dominance over its region guaranteed by the United States. Israel has become a focal point for anticolonial movements because of its treatment of the Palestinians, drawing sharp criticism from the political left, rather than the right as in the past. Mazower clearly and rigorously explains how we got here, with the aim of understanding, not assigning blame. Few words have the impact of “antisemitism,” and yet no term is more susceptible to misinterpretation, with grave consequences for both freedom of expression and foreign policy. On antisemitism is a fundamental attempt to draw a necessary line.