Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism: Book Reviews
Joel Fishman on
Europe's Crumbling Myths:
The Post-Holocaust Origins of Today's
Anti-Semitism
by Manfred Gerstenfeld
Although the problem of postwar anti-Semitism had been present but
not prominent in the half-century since the conclusion of the Second
World War, for a time Jewish leaders believed anti-Semitism would
lose its importance as a public policy issue. During the years after the
Oslo process began, the perception developed that the state of Israel
and Jews in general were entering a new era characterized by an
unprecedented level of acceptance. After the failure of the Camp David
talks in the summer of 2000 and the outbreak of the Second Palestinian
Armed Uprising, a different, brutal reality emerged. Anti-Semitism
erupted everywhere, particularly in Europe, with an intensity and virulence
that had not been seen in Europe since the 1930s. This shocking
outbreak may have resulted from several trends: (1) the development
of radical-leftist thinking among politicians and opinion-makers;
(2) sharp increases in Muslim populations, especially in Europe; and
(3) Arab and Palestinian propaganda, aggressive and anti-Semitic,
that Israel had left uncontested for years. Probably the most shocking
manifestations of the new mood were the spread of violent anti-Semitic
incidents in France, including the burning of synagogues and Jewish
schools, and the hate festival that took place at the United Nations
Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in summer 2001.
<>
The Durban experience, in which Israel's enemies were able to hijack
a UN human rights conference and make it a stage for anti-Semitic
demonstrations, was particularly sobering.
<>
Seeking to shed light on this phenomenon from diverse vantage
points, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, a business strategist and chairman
of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, has conducted interviews
with fifteen experts from different disciplines in various countries.
Distinguished contributors of their views to this volume include
Ephraim Zuroff, Yehudah Bauer, Avi Beker, Deborah Lipstadt,
Nathan Durst, Naphtali Lavie, Laurence Weinbaum, Shmuel Trigano,
and Irwin Cotler. Lipstadt, for example, addresses Holocaust denial;
Trigano discusses the problematic civil status of the Jewish community
in France; and Cotler analyzes the institutionalization of international
discrimination against Israel as part of an effort to deprive it of its
place among the nations.
<>
Gerstenfeld uses an innovative methodological approach. His systematic
analysis, differentiated by country, subject, and contributor,
yields an illuminating overview of the problem. In addition, he has
selected some key sensitive themes to serve as indicators of post-
Holocaust anti-Semitism. Some of these themes, when taken together,
serve as an overall indicator of West European anti-Semitism in the
postwar period. They include: the reception of Jews upon return;
restitution; treatment of war criminals; memory versus truth; Shoah
education; and psychological rehabilitation. The book, however, would
have been greatly helped by a bibliography and a detailed index organized
by name and topic.
<>
In view of recent developments in Europe, which include constant,
disturbing, new examples of permutations of the old anti-Semitism
frequently combined with anti-Americanism, Gerstenfeld has chosen
his subject well. Europe's Crumbling Myths is a timely and valuable
contribution to our understanding of the anti-Semitism of the Third
Millennium, a development of concern to all men and women of
goodwill.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect
those of the Board of Fellows of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
|