Antisemitism through the Perspective of Racism, Gender and Emotions

• In Event: Relations and Tensions between Jews and Non-Jews: Conceptual Challenges

Abstract

Drawing on scholarship concerning anti-Black racism and enslavement in the United States, as well as feminist and queer theories, this paper will call attention to the role of emotions, gender, sexuality, and temporality in studies of antisemitism. The paper will argue that contemporary outbreaks of antisemitism should be understood as a manifestation of a sadistic cultural fabric expressing itself in emotions of rage and resentment. The tenacity of antisemitism stems from the unremitting and insatiable demand of sadism for physical and verbal cruelty. The paper calls for a reassessment of methodological approaches to the study of antisemitism.

Author

• H. Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College