Inside the Antisemitic Mind : The Language of Jew-Hatred in Contemporary Germany

Monika Schwarz-Friesel, Jehuda Reinharz

• Publisher: Brandeis University Press
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781512600773
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Discrimination & Race Relations
• Index: Social Sciences

Antisemitism is on the rise in Europe, sometimes manifest in violent acts against Jews, but more commonly noticeable in everyday discourse. This innovative empirical study examines written examples of antisemitism in contemporary Germany. Drawing on 14, 000 letters and e-mails sent between 2002 and 2012 to the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the Israeli embassy in Berlin, as well communications sent between 2010 and 2011 to Israeli embassies across Europe, the authors show how language plays a crucial role in activating antisemitism across a broad spectrum of social classes, investigate the role of emotions in antisemitic argumentation patterns, and analyze "anti-Israelism" as the dominant form of contemporary hatred of Jews.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface to the English Edition (2016)
• Preface to the German Edition (2013)
• Notational Conventions
• 1. Introduction The Need for This Book
• 2. Hostility toward Jews and Language Verbal Imposition of Power and Violence
• 3. Hostile Stereotypes of Jews and Their Historical Roots
• 4. Present-Day Verbalization of Stereotypes
• 5. Echo of the Past “The insolent Jew is harassing Germans once again!”
• 6. Anti-Israelism as a Modern Variant of Verbal Antisemitism The Modern Conceptualization of the Collective Jew
• 7. A Comparison with Other Countries in Europe Results of a Contrastive Analysis
• 8. The Emotional Basis of Modern Hostility toward Jews
• 9. Acts of Verbal Violence
• 10. Textual Strategies and Patterns of Argumentation
• Appendix
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index