Antisemitism, Zionism, and Anti-Zionism
The traumatic events of October 7 and its aftermath remind us that antisemitism, Zionism and anti-Zionism are interrelated – even symbiotic phenomena. Understanding their historical relationship is a vital step toward meeting the challenges they pose for the Jewish future, both in Israel and in the United States.
This class focuses on the latter, where we face a sharp rise in antisemitism from the (White supremacist) Right and the (anti-Zionist) Left. To contextualize current events and address the question of whether anti-Zionism is inherently antisemitic, we will begin with a close look at the dialectic between antisemitism and Zionism in the 19th century, then trace the development of both through the 20th century and finally examine the interconnectedness in the today’s world as Zionism absorbs antisemitism.