Responses to 7 October: Antisemitic Discourse

Rosa Freedman is Professor of Law at the University of Reading and Research Fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, UK.David Hirsh is the Academic Director and CEO of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.

‘I was brought up believing it’s a good thing Israel exists, to stop those who would push all Jews into the sea. Anti-Israel hysteria made me re-examine whether subconscious bias had left me blind to its evil. Facts, context and history tell me no, and such confident yet malicious accusations raise alarm bells. Anthologising this phenomena is vital work.’Rachel Riley MBE, TV presenter, activist against antisemitism and advocate for women and girls in STEM‘Essential and compelling reading on the 7 October attacks by a distinguished array of historians, lawyers, feminists, novelists and sociologists, who debate the significance of the Hamas kill-raid against Israel and analyse the denial, glorification and trivialisation that followed.’Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian, author of Jerusalem: the biography‘Absolutely and heartbreakingly necessary: some of the greatest thinkers of our day addressing the worst Jewish trauma in most people's living memory.’Hadley Freeman, journalist‘We were promised “Never Again.” As shocking as was the pogrom of October 7, 2023, no less distressing is how the public square and academy resonated with the cacophony of sympathizers. These essential volumes of reflections and analyses will long stand as a landmark in understanding this contemporary outrage.’Ilan Troen, Professor Emeritus of Israel Studies at Brandeis University and Modern History at Ben-Gurion University, and Founding Editor of Israel Studies‘Following the horrifying blow of the atrocities of October 7th came the additional shock that virulent antisemitism had actually intensified in its aftermath. In this upside down moral universe feeling has sometimes overwhelmed reflection. But this magnificent collection of essays, at once deeply felt and sharply thought, is an anchorage for the intellect to confront the poisoned madness of this moment. It ought to be compulsory reading.’Simon Schama, historian

• Introduction Editor’s Note 1. What has changed? 2. 7 October and the precariousness of being Jewish 3. Introduction to Howard Jacobson’s chapter The text of Howard Jacobson's LCSCA Robert Fine Memorial Lecture, 22 October 2023 4. The Ideology of Mass Murder 5. Echoes of the Past: Understanding Today's Antisemitism Through a Medieval Lens 6. Where are Jews at home? 7. Disenchanting Palestine: Moralism and Hyperpolitics in the aftermath of October 7th 8. ‘Little Short of Lunatics’: Post-Trotsky Trotskyism and the radical Left’s degenerate response to 7 October 9. October Reflections: Antisemitism, Antizionism and the Jewish Question 10. The German Press, Israel, and October 7, 2023: Initial research findings on reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 11. The King’s “No”: Anti-Israelism and antisemitism in Norway after the 7 October massacre 12. A View from the “Second World”: Holocaust and Colonialism in Contemporary Contexts of Eastern Europe 13. ‘It’s all about context’: Antisemitism in the discursive space post 7 October