- Johannes Due Enstad, Institute for Social Research: Does antizionism mask antisemitism? Evidence from Norwegian and European surveys
- Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg: 'Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud': Anti-Semitic slogans and Muslim use of history
- Mehmet Ümit Necef, University of Southern Denmark: Polarization of views among Nordic academics under the Hamas-Israel War
Abstracts
Does antizionism mask antisemitism? Evidence from Norwegian and European surveys
Johannes D. Enstad, Institute for Social Research
A wave of antisemitism rattled Jewish communities globally following the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war. These events relate to a key point of contention in the literature on contemporary antisemitism, namely to what extent critical or hostile attitudes towards the Jewish state serve to mask or legitimize expressions of antisemitic sentiment. Exploring this issue, I report findings from two studies using data from a 2017 Norwegian population survey and a 2018 survey encompassing Jews across 12 European countries. I find that believing Israel is comparable to Nazi Germany predicts justifying harassment and violence against Jews (as well as refusal to take a stance on this question), and that, across Europe, country-level prevalence of unfavorable views towards Israel increases the likelihood of Jews encountering antisemitic harassment and violence. The findings support arguments stressing the importance of “new”, or Israel-derived, antisemitism.
"Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud": Anti-Semitic slogans and Muslim use of history
Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg/University of Borås
In this paper I will first provide a background to the antisemitic slogan “Khaybar, Khaybar ya Yahud…” and delve into what the Arabic sources tell us about the place Khaybar and what happened to the Jewish population that lived on the Arabian Peninsula during the formative history of Islam. Secondly, and this is the focus in my paper, I want to provide an analysis of how this specific slogan has been used for spreading antisemitic opinions in the West. With the current wars in Palestine and Israel, there is a great risk that the conflict will spill over to the West and create tensions, conflicts and even violence. It is therefore important for both policy makers and practitioners (e.g., teachers, social workers, and police officers) to understand the content of this and similar slogans and how antisemitic rhetoric is being used today. However, to understand the complex relationship between Islam and Judaism it is also important to pay attention to variations in both past and present times. While conflicts are quite common today, the past is also filled with less confrontative attitudes as well as peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims.
Polarization of views among Nordic academics under the Hamas-Israel War
Mehmet Ümit Necef, University of Southern Denmark
This paper will analyze several Danish and Nordic solidarity declarations with the Palestinian people since the beginning of the recent war between Hamas and Israel. The main text under scrutiny is the declaration of “Academic workers and scholars in the Nordics”. The signatories “deeply mourn all Palestinian and Israeli civilians killed since October 7” and “see this violence as rooted in the uninterrupted expansion of the illegal occupation of Palestinian land by the Israeli state”. There may be various reasons why the text fails to mention Hamas’ treatment of Israeli civilians since 7 October as a violation of human rights. With inspiration from philosophers Paul Grice (“conversational implicature”) and Kathleen Stock (“interpretative charity”), I will argue that the most straightforward explanation is that the academics do not intend for the recipients to have this focus. Grice’s theory of “conversational implicature” means in this context a situation where one intentionally implies a certain meaning, even though it is not clear in one’s choice of words. The signatories apparently see only Israel as the morally responsible agent and make Hamas’ agency disappear by “contextualizing” its attack on civilians on 7 October.