Reflections on Anti-Semitism

Since the inception of the ‘War on Terror’, Israel has become increasingly important to Western imperial strategy and ever more aggressive in its policies towards the Palestinians. A key ideological weapon in this development is the cynical and unjustified accusation of ‘anti-Semitism’ to silence protest and dissent.

For historical reasons, this tactic has been deployed most forcefully in France, and in the first of the two essays in this book French writers Alain Badiou and Eric Hazan demolish the ‘anti-Semitism is everywhere’ claim used to bludgeon critics of the Israeli state and those who stand

in solidarity with the banlieue youth. In ‘The Philo-Semitic Reaction’, Ivan Segré undertakes a

meticulous deconstruction of a rampant reactionary trend that identifies Jewish interests with the ‘democratic’ West. Segré’s aim is to uphold a universalist position and to defend Jewish tradition from Zionist ideological distortion.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

"The calm and smiling power [of Segré’s work] lies in the logical rigor with which he reads texts." Daniel Bensaïd

Dissecting how facile accusations of “anti-Semitism”are used to stifle dissent.

Dissecting how facile accusations of "anti-Semitism" are used to stifle dissent

Since the inception of the "War on Terror," Israel has become increasingly important to Western imperial strategy and ever more aggressive in its policies towards the Palestinians. A key ideological weapon in this development is the cynical and unjustified accusation of "anti-Semitism" to silence protest and dissent.

For historical reasons, this tactic has been deployed most forcefully in France, and in the first of the two essays in this book French writers Alain Badiou and Eric Hazan demolish the "anti-Semitism is everywhere" claim used to bludgeon critics of the Israeli state and those who stand in solidarity with the banlieue youth.

In "The Philo-Semitic Reaction," Ivan Segre undertakes a meticulous deconstruction of a rampant reactionary trend that identifies Jewish interests with the "democratic" West. Segre's aim is to uphold a universalist position and to defend Jewish tradition from Zionist ideological distortion.

Since the beginning of the War on Terror, Israel has become increasingly salient to imperial strategy and ever more aggressive in its policies toward the Palestinians. In this context, a key ideological weapon is the cynical accusation of “anti-Semitism.” For historical reasons, this has been deployed most forcefully in France, and Alain Badiou and Eric Hazan caustically demolish the “anti-Semitism is everywhere” allegation, used to bludgeon opponents of the Israeli state and those who stand in solidarity with the banlieue youth. Ivan Segré undertakes a meticulous deconstruction of a rampant “reactionary philo-Semitism” that identifies Jewish interests with the “democratic West.”

Alain Badiou teaches philosophy at the École normale supérieure and the Collège international de philosophie in Paris. In addition to several novels, plays and political essays, he has published a number of major philosophical works, including Theory of the Subject, Being and Event, Manifesto for Philosophy, and Gilles Deleuze. His recent books include The Meaning of Sarkozy, Ethics, Metapolitics, Polemics, The Communist Hypothesis, Five Lessons on Wagner, and Wittgenstein's Anti-Philosophy.Eric Hazan is the founder of the publisher La Fabrique and the author of several books, including Notes on the Occupation and the highly acclaimed The Invention of Paris. He has lived in Paris, France, all his life.Ivan Segré is a doctor in philosophy and student of the Talmud who lives in Israel. He is also the author of Qu’appelle-t-on penser Auschwitz ?Shlomo Sand studied history at the University of Tel Aviv and at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, in Paris. He currently teaches contemporary history at the University of Tel Aviv. His books include The Invention of the Jewish People, On the Nation and the Jewish People, L’Illusion du politique: Georges Sorel et le débat intellectuel 1900, Georges Sorel en son temps, Le XXe siècle