Reflections on Anti-Semitism

Dissecting how facile accusations of “anti-Semitism”are used to stifle dissent

Since the beginning of the War on Terror, Israel has become increasingly salient to imperial strategy and ever more aggressive in its policies toward the Palestinians. In this context, a key ideological weapon is the cynical accusation of “anti-Semitism.” For historical reasons, this has been deployed most forcefully in France, and Alain Badiou and Eric Hazan caustically demolish the “anti-Semitism is everywhere” allegation, used to bludgeon opponents of the Israeli state and those who stand in solidarity with the banlieue youth. Ivan Segré undertakes a meticulous deconstruction of a rampant “reactionary philo-Semitism” that identifies Jewish interests with the “democratic West.”