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Antisemitism in 2022:

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Antisemitism in 2022:

From Conspiracy Theories to Cancel Culture with Dr. Michael Berenbaum

Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach,

5 min read
5 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Political and social instability contributes to increased anti-Semitism.

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9

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In this video presentation for the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, Holocaust scholar Dr. Michael Berenbaum discusses modern-day anti-Semitism in America and abroad. He explains the various sources of anti-Semitism and goes into its goals. He finds that anti-Semitism has a bigger megaphone than ever because of the internet and the wild conspiracy theories it continues to circulate. While Berenbaum finds some indications that anti-Semitism is declining, he explains that any decrease in American hegemony leads to a real fear that instability will put Jewish populations at risk. The war in Ukraine, he says, is a case in point. [Note: This 2022 presentation pre-dates the Hamas-Israel war, so it is not reflected in Dr. Berenbaum’s lecture.]

Summary

The way anti-Semitism is expressed depends on the source.

Anti-Semitism, the “longest hatred,” pops up everywhere in various ways. It appears in religious, political, economic and social contexts. Depending on the source, its goals vary. For example, if religion is the source, the goal is to eliminate Judaism or to convert Jews. If economics are the source, the goal is to diminish Jews’ participation in economic life. Exclusion is the goal if social anti-Semitism is the source. Finally, in political anti-Semitism, historically, the goal was expulsion, such as various factions over the centuries that drove Jews from parts of Europe.  Today, anti-Semitism’s political goal is to diminish Jewish political power. 

Racism in the United States is “black and white,” based on skin color, not on traditions or practices. That may account for Whoopi Goldberg’s unfortunate, misinformed remark, describing Jews as a race, when anyone who visits Israel will meet Jews of many ethnic backgrounds: Arab, Indian, Chinese, Ethiopian, and more.

Nazi Germany identified Jews as a race and made no exceptions among people who, ...

About the Speaker

Michael Berenbaum, former deputy director of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust and president/CEO of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, is a scholar, professor, rabbi, writer and filmmaker specializing in the study of the Holocaust.

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