Revisiting Definitions of Antisemitism; More Videos on Topics in the Section

What was the Enlightenment all about?

Spanned the 17th to early 18th centuries in Western Europe.

Focused on the possibility of positive change in society, including potential improvement in Jewish life.

Came after the difficult conditions of the Middle Ages.

enlightenment emphasized

Reason and rational thought

Social justice and republican/democratic ideals

Freedom of thought and scientific discovery

Separation of church and state

Religious freedom

The “rights of man” and universal human rights

What key question did the Enlightenment raise for Jews?

Could Jews be part of the “ideal new society” envisioned by Enlightenment thinkers?

Could there be Jewish emancipation (legal equality and citizenship) — or not?

Could humanity extend beyond religious or racial identity?

What did John Locke (England) believe about Jews?

Supported Jewish emancipation.

Saw Judaism as a legitimate faith deserving of tolerance.

What did Montesquieu (France) believe about Jews?

Criticized Judaism as a religion but saw Jews as useful members of society, especially for their role in commerce and capitalism.

What did Lessing (Germany) and Dohm (Prussian Germany) believe?

Lessing’s play Nathan the Wise promoted the idea that “the Jew is a man more than a Jew.”

Dohm argued for Jewish emancipation and equal rights.

Both supported inclusion of Jews in Enlightenment society.

What did Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) believe about Jews?

Criticized the Israelite religion for animal sacrifice and ritualism.

Described Jews as “nothing but an ignorant and barbarous people... combining sordid avarice, detestable superstition, and hatred for all who tolerated them.”

His antisemitic ideas were part of his broader critique of Christianity, which he saw as destructive to classical Greco-Roman culture.

What new idea developed during and after the Enlightenment regarding race?

race and racial antisemitism 

concept of race

emerged as a way to categorize human difference

racial antisemitism

grew in the second half of the 19th century, laying the groundwork for Nazi ideology.

concept of race claimed

Claimed certain cultures and races were more “advanced” than others.

Race became tied to physical and biological features, even within “white” populations, creating hierarchies.

Jews came to be viewed as a distinct race, whose features were unchangeable, regardless of assimilation.

Who was Joseph de Gobineau and what did he argue?

French racial theorist (1850s).

Claimed interracial mixing (“contamination of Aryan blood”) would cause the downfall of civilization.

Viewed Jews as a destructive race that undermined Aryan achievements in Europe.

Who was Wilhelm Marr and why is he important?

German writer who coined the term “antisemitism” in 1879.

Wanted to replace old religious-based “Jew-hatred” with a modern, racial definition.

Believed hostility toward Jews was rooted in race, not religion.

Called for a “revolution” against Jews and helped launch the antisemitic movement.

Later became repentant, but his influence had already spread.

His ideas combined anti-Judaism (religious hatred) and antisemitism (racial hatred) based on historical misconceptions.

Wilhelm Marr’s idea cobmined

anti-Judaism (religious hatred) and antisemitism (racial hatred) based on historical misconceptions.

How did racial antisemitism differ from earlier religious antisemitism?

Earlier antisemitism (anti-Judaism) targeted Jewish beliefs.

Racial antisemitism targeted Jewish biology — claiming Jewishness was inherited and permanent.

Made assimilation impossible because “Jewishness” was seen as embedded in the body.

What happened to antisemitic ideas on the far right after WWII?

After the Holocaust, open antisemitism was suppressed.

By the 1990s and early 2000s, far-right political parties began to reemerge across Europe.

Rising nationalism and populism made far-right ideologies politically relevant again

What characterizes the far right today?

Some are single-issue parties (focused on immigration, nationalism, etc.).

Others are extreme right or neo-fascist, endorsing or excusing violence.

Right-wing populist parties remain within democratic institutions but use nationalist rhetoric.

Antisemitism remains part of the ideology — sometimes embedded in coded or conspiratorial language.

Limited ideological content leads

these movements to recycle old antisemitic narratives (e.g., Jewish elites, global control).

How has the far left related to antisemitism in the modern era?

Historically focused on class divisions, but shifted toward viewing politics through oppressor vs. oppressed dynamics.

Within this framework, Israel is often portrayed as the ultimate oppressor in global imperialism.

This framing can unintentionally (or intentionally) center Jews as symbols of oppression, reintroducing antisemitic tropes.

Legitimate criticism of Israel

normal political critique, held to the same standard as other countries.

Antisemitic criticism

when rhetoric:

Echoes historical antisemitic allegations (e.g., conspiracy theories, dual loyalty, global control).

Targets Jews as a people rather than Israeli government policies.

key differences in antisemitic v. legitimate criticism

intent, scope, and language