Feldman, David (2018) Towards a history of the term anti-Semitism. American Historical Review 123 (4), pp. 1139-1150. ISSN 0002-8762.
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Abstract
This essay traces the changing meanings of the term ‘anti-Semitism’ from the late nineteenth century to the present. Focusing on Britain, it demonstrates that anti-Semitism, like any other concept, has a history: but in this case, one that remains largely uncharted. The essay draws a contrast between early usages of the term which regarded anti-Semitism as a specifically modern phenomenon and later meanings that have conceived anti-Semitism as a continuous and deep-seated malaise. Changes in the history of the concept of anti-Semitism were closely bound up with the history of minority rights and with the changing relationship of Jews to states. The foundation of the State of Israel in 1948 was a revolution in the relationship of Jews to state power that also led to radical changes in the meanings of anti-Semitism. Acknowledging the sedimented layers of meaning that lie within the concept of anti-Semitism will help us understand why the term has become so contentious in the present.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The version of record is available online at the link above. |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Anti-Semitism, Minorities, the State, Rights, Israel |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | The Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism |
| Depositing User: | David Feldman |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Jun 2018 13:50 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:42 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/22832 |
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