The Cold-War Origins of Contemporary Anti-Semitic Terminology

Several important manifestations of anti-Semitism originate in the ideology and political culture of the former Soviet Union, whose legacy has survived its demise. A special type of political language which it devised has served as the bridge which links the earlier Soviet-styled anti-Semitism to that of the present.

Joel Fishman

Definition of the Problem and its Historical Context

Anti-Semitism in recent historical memory has generally been associated with the European ultra-nationalist movements which did not accept Jews as equal citizens or recognize them as belonging to their respective nations. Notably, Nazi Germany combined anti-Semitism with a racist totalitarian ideology and implemented a plan which resulted in the destruction of European Jewry. Today the present surge in anti-Semitism comes from the other end of the political spectrum. Its contemporar

Joel Fishman

Dr. Joel Fishman is a historian and Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. He received his doctorate in modern European history from Columbia University and has carried out post-doctoral studies at the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam. He has published on political warfare, devoting special attention to the cultural environment in which it is waged. At the Jerusalem Center he served as editor-in-chief of the Jewish Political Studies Review. He is the author of the pioneering contribution, “<a href="https://jcpa.org/article/ten-years-since-oslo-the-plos-peoples-war-strategy-and-israels-inadequate-response/">Ten Years since Oslo: The PLO’s ‘People’s War’ Strategy and Israel’s Inadequate Response</a>,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, <em>Jerusalem Viewpoints</em> No. 503, 1 September 2003.

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Joel Fishman

Dr. Joel Fishman is a historian and Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. He received his doctorate in modern European history from Columbia University and has carried out post-doctoral studies at the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam. He has published on political warfare, devoting special attention to the cultural environment in which it is waged. At the Jerusalem Center he served as editor-in-chief of the Jewish Political Studies Review. He is the author of the pioneering contribution, “Ten Years since Oslo: The PLO’s ‘People’s War’ Strategy and Israel’s Inadequate Response,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Viewpoints No. 503, 1 September 2003.

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