Inside the Antisemitic Mind: The Language of Jew-Hatred in Contemporary Germany (The Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry) - Softcover

Schwarz-Friesel, Monika; Reinharz, Jehuda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1611689848 ISBN 13: 9781611689846

Publisher: Brandeis University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Antisemitism never disappeared in Europe. In fact, there is substantial evidence that it is again on the rise, manifest in violent acts against Jews in some quarters, but more commonly noticeable in everyday discourse in mainstream European society. This innovative empirical study examines written examples of antisemitism in contemporary Germany. It demonstrates that hostility against Jews is not just a right-wing phenomenon or a phenomenon among the uneducated, but is manifest among all social classes, including intellectuals. Drawing on 14,000 letters and e-mails sent between 2002 and 2012 to the Central Council of Jews in Germany and to the Israeli embassy in Berlin, as well as communications sent between 2010 and 2011 to Israeli embassies in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain, this volume shows how language plays a crucial role in activating and re-activating antisemitism. In addition, the authors investigate the role of emotions in antisemitic argumentation patterns and analyze “anti-Israelism” as the dominant form of contemporary hatred of Jews.

About this title

About the Author:

MONIKA SCHWARZ-FRIESEL holds the chair in general linguistics at the Technical University Berlin. She is the author of several books on antisemitism and the power of language. JEHUDA REINHARZ is Richard Koret Professor of Modern Jewish History and director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry at Brandeis University. He is the president of the Mandel Foundation.

Review:

“The great merit of the authors is their systematic survey of a frightening phenomenon that had been regarded as vanquished in Germany following Auschwitz. Where does it come from, where will it lead? The two authors have brought the concealed to the light of day and broken new ground. The book is a great scholarly work.” (Josef Joffe, publisher-editor of Die Zeit, and Distinguished Fellow, Stanford University)

“[The book] is an absolute groundbreaker in anti-Semitism research. Such a detailed study based on linguistic analysis has never been done before. The book makes a highly significant contribution to the discussion on anti-Semitism, but not just in Germany alone.” (Yehuda Bauer, Professor of Holocaust Studies, Hebrew University)

“A Herculean task: the comprehensive and precise analysis of current anti-Jewish language usage. The authors have mastered an unenviable, yet necessary and crucial enterprise.” (Walter Laqueur, former director of the Institute of Contemporary History and the Wiener Library in London and founder and editor of the Journal of Contemporary History and of Survey)

“The interdisciplinary and corpus-based study of current patterns of anti-Semitic language usage provides insight into the mental and affective fundaments of modern Judeophobia. Anyone engaged with anti-Jewish attitudes today must take note of this book.” (Michael Brenner, Professor of Jewish History and Culture, LMU Munich)

“The first systematic analysis of antisemitic ideas and language in the 21st century, this work breaks new ground. The book is an indispensable contribution to the interdisciplinary study of antisemitism in contemporary society.” (Lars Rensmann, Professor of European Politics and Society, University of Groningen (Netherlands))

About this edition

• Publisher: Brandeis University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1611689848
• ISBN 13: 9781611689846
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 454