Readjusting Cultural Codes: Reflections on Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism |
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Authors: | Shulamit Volkov |
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Affiliation: | Department of History , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel E-mail: volkov@post.tav.ac.il |
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Abstract: | In this article I seek to apply the notion of anti-Semitism as a cultural code, which I initially developed 25 years ago with relation to the antimodernist trends in late-nineteenth-century Germany, to the phenomena of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism today. From the 1960s anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism formed part of a larger ideological package consisting of anticolonialism, anticapitalism, and a deep suspicion of US policies. In the eyes of members of the developing countries, Jews became a symbol of the West and legitimate targets for hatred. Thus, the position on the Jewish question, even if not in itself of paramount importance, came to indicate a belonging to a larger camp, a political stand and an overall cultural choice. The question is whether the position towards Israel today, which has become a central issue for the European left, can still be considered a cultural code or whether it rather indicates a more direct anti-Jewish attack, above all as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. |
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Keywords: | Mizrahim middle class ethnic mobility higher education Israeli sociology |
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