Lecture addresses study of anti-Semitism

Though the Holocaust ended in Europe some 60 years ago, anti-Semitism in the world is not infrequent today.

Thursday inaugurated IU’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism.
The institute is the second of its kind established in the U.S. and will be used as a base for research. Additionally, it will seek to illustrate the causes and consequences of antisemitism.

Robert Wistrich, Neuberger Chair for modern European and Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, spoke about “Liberte, Egalite, Antisemitism: The French Connection.”

Wistrich’s lecture touched on the current and past issues of anti-Semitism in France.
“To be honest, I don’t know quite frankly why I picked on the French,” he joked in the beginning.

Wistrich followed with several anecdotes about hundreds of anti-Semitic acts that occurred in France in 2008 alone.

He then articulated the magnitude of power which the French government had on anti-Semitic policies and sometimes pro-Arab policies.

Wistrich said that over time many laws in France targeted the Jews, and French police collaborated in deporting Jews to Nazi death camps.

Although World War II ended the Holocaust, anti-Semitism prevailed in France, he said.

“When you examine soberly what happened after 1945, it was one of the most anti-Semitic periods the world has seen,” he said.

Charles de Gaulle, former French President, held a press conference during his reign and addressed the Jews in what Wistrich called “a sermon to the Hebrews.”

As time progressed, Wistrich said anti-Semitism was often woven into political movements. Tension with the Palestinians escalated the excuse for an outburst against French Jews, Wistrich said.

Even as recent as the 21st century, Wistrich stated, French government tended to be reluctant to address the anti-Semitic issues, even sometimes denying it altogether. Young children were also targeted.

“There was really shocking abuse in French schools,” he said. “If anti-Semitism could be identified, it could be mobilized.”