Critical Studies on “New Antisemitism”

In this lecture Anat Kraslavsky introduces critical studies on “new antisemitism” as an emerging field of inquiry that interrogates how “new antisemitism” functions as a racializing, securitizing, and governing assemblage in Europe, with particular attention to Germany. Existing critical scholarship has shown how antisemitism is increasingly depicted as Israel-centered. The “new antisemitism” constructs a perceived global alliance of Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians, migrants, leftists, and “bad Jews,” depicting them as threats to Western values such as tolerance and democracy. Kraslavsky argues that this emergent body of work requires clearer definition as a field. Therefore, the marking of the “antisemite” should be studied as a mechanism of knowledge production. Within the politics of state philosemitism, this marking enables repression, surveillance, and securitization under the guise of protecting Jewish life, thereby linking European border regimes with settler colonial logics.

Kraslavsky examines how mobilization of LGBTIQ and feminist discourses on women’s rights, gender equality, and sexual freedom become appropriated to sustain settler sovereignty and European bordering politics. These dynamics are especially visible in the knowledge production surrounding October 7, where discourses of gender and sexuality are weaponized to frame dissent as antisemitism. By defining critical studies on “new antisemitism” as a field, this lecture highlights how scholarship can resist reproducing settler colonial logics in research on antisemitism and instead illuminate the entanglements of antisemitism discourse with racialization, gender, sexuality, and state violence.

---

Anat Kraslavsky is a PhD candidate at Humboldt University of Berlin. Their research explores how discourses on ‘new Antisemitism’ contribute to the erasure of Palestine in Germany, examining entanglements of queer politics, philosemitism, and racial governance. Grounded in anti-colonial and decolonial frameworks, their work foregrounds diasporic Jewish resistance and relational forms of solidarity. They hold a BA in Film and Television Studies from Tel Aviv University and an MA in Religion and Culture from Humboldt University of Berlin. They have taught on religion and gender at Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Potsdam, and currently teach critical studies on "new antisemitism" at HU's Institute of European Ethnology.

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Time: 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm CET/GMT+1

Location: Kidd Hall Cafe (W15)

Subscribe: Save this Event: Subscribe / .ics File