MUSLIM HATRED OF JEWS: IS IT ANTISEMITISM?

STEVEN BELLER - DORON RABINOVICI

In autumn 2014, before the attacks in Paris but after the war in Gaza, a debate broke out between the Washington-based historian Steven Beller and the Viennese writer and historian Doron Rabinovici. Beller, who has published important works on Austrian history, Jewish Vienna and anti-Semitism, argued that Muslim attacks against Israel and Jews should not be labelled as anti-Semitism. Instead, they should be understood in the context of the Middle East conflict. Doron Rabinovici, who has also written about Jewish history and identity in Austria and co-edited the volume „Der neue Antisemitismus. A Global Debate“, contradicted his friend and colleague. Rabinovici insisted on naming the anti-Semitic context and its irrational dimension in view of Islamist ideology and the rise of Muslim hostility towards Jews in Europe. This initial exchange led to a discussion between the two, which appeared under the title "Muslim Hostility to Israel and Jews in Europe: Is it Antisemitism as we know it?“ on the blog of British intellectual and journalist Antony Lerman. (http://antonylerman.com/2014/09/17/muslim-hostility-to-israel-and-jews-in-europe-is-it-antisemitism-as-we-know-it/)
Even a year after their dialogue was published online, the topic has lost none of its explosiveness and topicality.

Introductory words and moderation:
Isolde Charim, philosopher and curator of the series

Steven Beller, historian and independent scholar; publications: Vienna and the Jews 1876 - 1938, Cambridge University Press (1989), Theodor Herzl, Peter Halban Books, London (1991), Francis Joseph, Addison Wesley Longman (1996), A Concise History of Austria, Cambridge University Press (2006), Antisemitism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press (2007)

Doron Rabinovici, author and historian, publications include: Andernorts. Roman; (Suhrkamp - August 2010), Der ewige Widerstand. Über einen strittigen Begriff; (styria - 2008), Ohnehin. Roman; (Suhrkamp - 2004), Instanzen der Ohnmacht. Vienna 1938-1945. The path to the Judenrat; (Jüdischer Verlag bei Suhrkamp - 2000)