Political and Legal Judgment: Misuses of the Holocaust in the UK
10 Pages Posted: 26 Jun 2013
Date Written: May 8, 2013
Abstract
Political debates in the UK concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict frequently use the Holocaust as a means to criticize Israel and "the Jews." They do this by comparing Israel with Nazi Germany or by characterizing the Holocaust as a "moral lesson" for, or a "moral indictment" of, "the Jews". Those who raise concerns that such expressions of hostility to Israel cross the line into antisemitism are frequently told that they are acting in bad faith to deflect criticism of Israel. This moves the debate from legitimate questions about contemporary antisemitism to questions about acting dishonestly to defend Israel. As a result contemporary antisemitism is not acknowledged and resisted. The unwillingness to acknowledge contemporary forms of antisemitism is linked to an association of the Holocaust with a genocidal antisemitism that has been consigned to the "old" Europe and an associated failure to accept that antisemitic exists at the level of discourse and practice (indeed, discourse often informs practice or activity.) The aim of this paper is to understand why and how the Holocaust informs contemporary manifestations of antisemitism in the UK.
Keywords: Holocaust Inversion, The Livingstone Formulation, Contemporary Antisemitism, The University and College Union
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