2024/03/22 by Neve Gordon · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Jewish Identity and Society #Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies #Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/19436149.2024.2330821
openalex publication_date 2024/03/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
In this paper, I focus on the cultural and political work the IHRA definition of antisemitism carries out to explain why it has been adopted by hundreds of actors.I offer three key reasons to explain its effectiveness: First, it operates on an affective level, interpolating people who identify as Jews to also identify with Israel and Zionism; Second, it ties the right to Jewish difference with a Jewish State and Jewish sovereignty; Third, the definition provides a defence of a regime I call 'democratic apartheid'.The analysis reveals that the IHRA definition of antisemitism serves as a counterinsurgency tool aimed at shielding Israel from resistance to its oppressive form of racial governance and, following its recent war on Gaza, from accusations of genocidal violence.