The rise in the degree of Antisemitism in Britain and the Western world in general has not occurred in a vacuum. The phenomenon is part of a growing upward trend in hate crimes against minorities – ethnic, religious or otherwise.

While overt state-sponsored Antisemitism ended in Europe with the fall of the Soviet Union, Antisemitic attitudes have remained prevalent in Europe, the UK, and more broadly in the West. Some political actors have instrumentalized Antisemitism for political gain – more often than not, playing up to the notion of Palestinian victimhood, the new form of virtue signalling, to better justify their rationale.

Unlike direct Antisemitic incidents: such as violence, vandalism, insults and so on,  the political use of Antisemitism, including by omission, is much more insidious, and does not necessarily target Jews themselves – rather, it is aimed at domestic or foreign audiences as a means of gaining political support.

If Jews remain the primary target of such ‘othering’ they are not alone in suffering from its repercussions – one could argue in fact that such exercise in Antisemitism remains the biggest impediment to peace in the Middle East, democratic advancement, religious tolerance and multiculturalism.

To discuss the politics of Antisemitism, The Henry Jackson Society is pleased to welcome you to join the expert panel in Parliament.

 

 

David Hirsh is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is interested in antisemitism, right and left populism, totalitarianism and anti-democratic movements. He has written on antizionism and its relationship to antisemitism. His book ‘Law against Genocide: Cosmpolitan Trials’ won a prize for the best first book in Sociology in 2003. He published ‘Contemporary Left Antisemitism’ in 2018. He is currently editing a book to be published in 2022 on the 20th anniversary of the ‘call for an academic boycott of Israel’, written by scholars who were active in opposing that call.

 

 

Itai Reuveni is an expert on social movements and civil society, NGO role in conflict, foreign funding, terrorism and modern antisemitism. Currently the Director of Communications in NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem based non-profit research institute. Until 2019, Itai was the director of the Israel Research Desk in NGO Monitor for more than 7 years. Itai is an alumnus of the International Visitor Leadership Program, a prestigious program run by the United States State Department that deals with issues relating to the promotion of human rights. Earned a BA in Political Science and Iranian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he also obtained an MA in Political Science and International Affairs.  In 2018, he was included in a list of the most influential young adults in Israel, and in 2019 he was awarded Haifa University’s “Online Ambassadors Award” for his work in combating antisemitism.

 

 

Catherine Perez-Shakdam is a French Jewish political analyst and commentator for the Middle East. A former consultant for the United Nations Security Council on Yemen’s War Economy; her research was instrumental in better understanding Yemen’s political landscape and actors’ financial interests.

Her writing and commentaries on the Middle East have graced the cover of countless publications, including the Huffington Post, BBC Arabic, BBC Persia, Voices of America, and the Times of Israel.

In 2017 Catherine was the only Western media personality to have been granted an interview with now-President Ibrahim Raisi.

Her ability to move close to Iran’s Leadership and have access to key information as to the regime’s propagandist structure bought her the ire of Tehran and allegations that she had operated in Iran at the behest of foreign powers.

Once a close friend to Nader Talebzadeh, Catherine had a front row seat to the inner-workings of the Islamic Republic.

 

 

Joan Ryan is the Executive Director of ELNET-UK, who are sponsoring this event, and is expected to say a few words. Following a successful career as a local councillor, Joan Ryan was elected as a UK Member of Parliament in 1997. In 2002 Joan Ryan was promoted to Government Whip followed by a further promotion to become the Home Office Minister responsible for Immigration and Police Improvement. In 2007 she was appointed as Special Representative to Cyprus by the Prime Minister and appointed to the Privy Council by Her Majesty the Queen. In 2015 Joan Ryan was appointed as Chair for the Labour Friends of Israel and in 2016 she was appointed by the Speaker to the House of Commons Speaker’s Panel, chairing public bills and parliamentary debates.

 

 

Lord Pickles was appointed as the next Conservative Party nominee to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in July 2019 and was subsequently appointed as Chair following an open competition, in line with the Cabinet Office Governance Code, taking up the role in April 2020. His appointment was approved following pre-appointment scrutiny by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.

Lord Pickles was appointed Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust issues in September 2015, replacing Sir Andrew Burns. Lord Pickles works closely with the wide range of Holocaust academics, survivors and educational and social organisations in the UK.

Along with the former Labour Cabinet Minister, Ed Balls, he CoChairs the United Kingdom’s Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

He was made a Life Peer in 2018. First elected to Parliament in 1992 he retired as MP for Brentwood and Ongar at the 2017 general election. He was previously Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

 

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EVENY SUMMARY

 

The Henry Jackson Society was pleased to host an event with David Hirsh, Catherine Perez-Shakdam, Itai Reuveni, Joan Ryan, chaired by Rt Hon Lord Pickles. The event started with Joan Ryan saying that it is impossible to fight antisemitism unless you fight anti-Zionism. The rhetoric espoused by Jeremy Corbyn is the same one that is espoused by the Islamic Republic of Iran. David Hirsh made the point that antisemitism has now become so normalized in academic spaces that many people are worried that not going with it will endanger their careers. Itai Reuveni went on to describe the work that his organization is doing and said that this involved focusing on organizations that claim to promote rights but are getting involved in promoting the opposite, including antisemitism. At the end, the panel addressed questions from the audience such as if it would be possible to address the issue of antisemitism through economic cooperation, and how to correctly communicate the fact that anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism.

 

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This event is sponsored by ELNET