Quartz: What is a “real” antisemite?

Following on from this cycle of offenses and denials, the Labour party saw it fitting last month to create a new definition of antisemitism. Their resulting guidelines were promptly condemned by 68 rabbis, making it the first time ultra orthodox rabbis and progressive female rabbis have co-signed the same letter. In response, secular Jewish MP Margaret Hodge called Corbyn a “racist and antisemite,” and the Labour Party in turn launched a disciplinary inquiry into Hodge. Clearly, Corbyn believes he’s been falsely maligned. [...]

“Usually, prejudices are discourses of inferiority: women are less capable than men, sexual minorities are deviant and sinful, racial minorities are less capable,” says Eric Heinze, a human rights law professor at Queen Mary University of London and consultant on antisemitism for the London-based Media Diversity Institute. “The most powerful forms of antisemitism, including those deployed by the Nazis and the Soviet Union, are just the opposite. It’s that Jews are too clever by half, too powerful. Historically, antisemitism is the very first conspiracy theory.” [...]

The fact that Jewish people are often indistinguishable from a majority-white population further feeds conspiracy theories: Antisemitism is the fear of the outsider passing as insider, the suspicion and hatred of an invisible network pulling the strings. This dynamic is obvious in tropes about Jewish people controlling capitalism, the media, and Hollywood, and feeds into attempts to blame all Jews for the actions of the Israeli government. The narrative, which views Jews as oppressors to be overthrown, also makes it a better fit for left-wing politics than most other forms of discrimination. Hence antisemitism has been called the “fool’s socialism.” [...]

“Antisemitism is a politics of aggression against the wrong things. It’s a politics of deflection and untruth,” says Wisse. “It will never be able to solve the real and actual crises and problems of society. That’s why it’s very dangerous. It will always destroy its users.”

read the article