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CHAPTER 6. Denial: Norman Finkelstein and the New Antisemitism

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Unity and Diversity in Contemporary Antisemitism
This chapter is in the book Unity and Diversity in Contemporary Antisemitism
CHAPTER 6Denial: Norman Finkelstein and the New AntisemitismALAN JOHNSONIn my youth I was a Maoist, a political tendency prone to crude anti- intellectualism.Norman Finkelstein.1It’s long past time that these antisemitism mongers crawled back into their sewer.Norman Finkelstein, speaking in 2015.2INTRODUCTION: THE MUTATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM The concept of a “new antisemitism” directs our attention to some of the ways in which some people talk about Israel, Israelis, and “Zionism,” suggesting that these ways have left the terrain of “criticism of Israeli policy” and become something much darker. The concept is concerned to distinguish between legiti-mate criticism of that policy (most obviously, of the occupation of the territories, the settlement project, the treatment of minorities in Israel, and the degree of force Israel uses to restore deterrence against Hamas rockets) and an essentializ-ing, demonizing and dehumanizing discourse that bends the meaning of Israel and Zionism (and most Jews) out of shape until they are fit receptacles for the tropes, images, and ideas of classical antisemitism. The concept alerts us to antisemitism’s tendency to shape-shift through history. And to the possibility that since the creation of a Jewish state, in some quarters, what the demonized and essentialized “Jew” once was, demonized and essentialized Israel now is: malevolent in its very nature, all-controlling, full of blood lust, and the obstacle to a better, purer, and more spiritual world. The new antisemitism, which might also be called antisemitic anti- Zionism, has three components: a political program to abolish the Jewish
© 2019 Academic Studies Press, Boston, USA

CHAPTER 6Denial: Norman Finkelstein and the New AntisemitismALAN JOHNSONIn my youth I was a Maoist, a political tendency prone to crude anti- intellectualism.Norman Finkelstein.1It’s long past time that these antisemitism mongers crawled back into their sewer.Norman Finkelstein, speaking in 2015.2INTRODUCTION: THE MUTATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM The concept of a “new antisemitism” directs our attention to some of the ways in which some people talk about Israel, Israelis, and “Zionism,” suggesting that these ways have left the terrain of “criticism of Israeli policy” and become something much darker. The concept is concerned to distinguish between legiti-mate criticism of that policy (most obviously, of the occupation of the territories, the settlement project, the treatment of minorities in Israel, and the degree of force Israel uses to restore deterrence against Hamas rockets) and an essentializ-ing, demonizing and dehumanizing discourse that bends the meaning of Israel and Zionism (and most Jews) out of shape until they are fit receptacles for the tropes, images, and ideas of classical antisemitism. The concept alerts us to antisemitism’s tendency to shape-shift through history. And to the possibility that since the creation of a Jewish state, in some quarters, what the demonized and essentialized “Jew” once was, demonized and essentialized Israel now is: malevolent in its very nature, all-controlling, full of blood lust, and the obstacle to a better, purer, and more spiritual world. The new antisemitism, which might also be called antisemitic anti- Zionism, has three components: a political program to abolish the Jewish
© 2019 Academic Studies Press, Boston, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgements ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part One. DEFINING ANTISEMITISM
  6. CHAPTER 1. Contemporary Struggles over Defining Antisemitism 17
  7. CHAPTER 2. Is Criticism of Israel Antisemitic? What do British and French Jews Think about the Link between Antisemitic and Anti-Israel Attitudes among Non-Jews? 40
  8. CHAPTER 3. Why Present-Day “Anti- Zionism” is Antisemitic 65
  9. Part One. RESPONDING TO ANTISEMITISM
  10. CHAPTER 4. Using Section 26 Equality Act to Combat Institutional Antisemitism: A Critical Race Perspective on Fraser v University and College Union 81
  11. CHAPTER 5. Evading Terror: The European Union’s Response to Lethal Antisemitism 98
  12. CHAPTER 6. Denial: Norman Finkelstein and the New Antisemitism 115
  13. Part Three. ANTISEMITISM AND EXTREMISM
  14. CHAPTER 7. Walking a Mile in Asghar Bukhari’s Shoe: Conspiracy Theories, Antisemitism, and Extremism 139
  15. CHAPTER 8. Antisemitism and Anti- Zionism in the British Pakistani Muslim Community 156
  16. Part Four. THE ROLE OF THE INTELLECTUALS
  17. CHAPTER 9. The British Left’s Attitudes toward Antisemitism in the Arab and Muslim World 187
  18. CHAPTER 10. Disavowal, Distinction, and Repetition: Alain Badiou and the Radical Tradition of Antisemitism 203
  19. CHAPTER 11. On the Contemporary Relevance of Arendt’s “Jewish Writings” 219
  20. Contributors 235
  21. Index 237
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781618119674-008

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgements ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part One. DEFINING ANTISEMITISM
  6. CHAPTER 1. Contemporary Struggles over Defining Antisemitism 17
  7. CHAPTER 2. Is Criticism of Israel Antisemitic? What do British and French Jews Think about the Link between Antisemitic and Anti-Israel Attitudes among Non-Jews? 40
  8. CHAPTER 3. Why Present-Day “Anti- Zionism” is Antisemitic 65
  9. Part One. RESPONDING TO ANTISEMITISM
  10. CHAPTER 4. Using Section 26 Equality Act to Combat Institutional Antisemitism: A Critical Race Perspective on Fraser v University and College Union 81
  11. CHAPTER 5. Evading Terror: The European Union’s Response to Lethal Antisemitism 98
  12. CHAPTER 6. Denial: Norman Finkelstein and the New Antisemitism 115
  13. Part Three. ANTISEMITISM AND EXTREMISM
  14. CHAPTER 7. Walking a Mile in Asghar Bukhari’s Shoe: Conspiracy Theories, Antisemitism, and Extremism 139
  15. CHAPTER 8. Antisemitism and Anti- Zionism in the British Pakistani Muslim Community 156
  16. Part Four. THE ROLE OF THE INTELLECTUALS
  17. CHAPTER 9. The British Left’s Attitudes toward Antisemitism in the Arab and Muslim World 187
  18. CHAPTER 10. Disavowal, Distinction, and Repetition: Alain Badiou and the Radical Tradition of Antisemitism 203
  19. CHAPTER 11. On the Contemporary Relevance of Arendt’s “Jewish Writings” 219
  20. Contributors 235
  21. Index 237
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