Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism is one of the world's most powerful and enduring ideologies—and, in the current century, it is more pervasive than ever. Earlier in the postwar era, this would have seemed doubtful given that the Holocaust raised anti-Jewish prejudice and practice to seemingly unsurpassable levels. But anti-Semitic worldviews are now more universal, and more inextricably part of global culture, than they were during the Holocaust itself. Fantasies of Jewish power and evil are found nearly everywhere—from Egypt to Pakistan, Indonesia to Malaysia, Russia to France, Argentina to Canada.

Islamic supremacism is sometimes called the key to global anti-Semitism, but in fact anti-Jewish sentiments are also common in realms where Catholicism, Protestantism, and Greek and Russian Orthodoxy hold sway. Even Japan, which has almost no history of direct contact with Jews and no obvious cultural ground for anti-Jewish sentiment, has become a hub of anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, with a prolific source of best-selling books alleging Jewish domination over the non-Jewish world.

Contemporary events sustain and spread this worldview. Israel's conflict with the Palestinians and simmering controversies over the meaning and truth of the Holocaust exert wide influence, keeping Jews in the global limelight. But the roots of anti-Semitism stretch far into the past. Generations of historians and social scientists have sought to explain how this sentiment crystallized and how, over time, it acquired [Page 77]its unique features and dimensions. The answer lies in history, which this entry reviews.

The Eternal Jew poster. This poster advertises for a propaganda documentary film produced by Joseph Goebbels, mastermind of the German Nazi propaganda machine. The poster, which stirred up anti-Semitic violence, portrays Jews as moneylenders, Bolsheviks, and slave drivers by depicting a Jewish man holding gold coins in one hand and a whip in the other, with the Soviet Union under his arm. Anti-Semitism, whether endorsed by the state or acted out by individuals, has a long history.

Source: Getty Images.