Antisemitism & Jewish Studies Definitions

Semitic

A group of languages originating in the Middle East with linguistic similarities, including Arabic, Aramaic, Amharic, and Hebrew.

Antisemitism

Hatred or hostility toward Jews because they are Jews; originally coined in 19th-century Germany to describe racial hatred of Jews.

Narrow definition of antisemitism

Hatred of Jews specifically on a racial basis rather than a religious basis.

Broad definition of antisemitism

Anti-Jewish prejudice or hostility in general.

Imagined Jew

The stereotypical Jewish figure created in an antisemite's mind, characterized by supposed shared negative traits rather than the diversity of actual Jews.

Zionism

A Jewish national movement that originated in 19th-century Europe and called for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine; today broadly associated with support for Israel as a Jewish state.

Anti-Zionism

Opposition to the existence of a Jewish state in the territory of Israel.

IHRA definition

Defines antisemitism as a certain perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred toward Jews, including rhetorical or physical manifestations.

Jerusalem Declaration

A contemporary framework for identifying antisemitism that distinguishes antisemitism from legitimate criticism of Israel.

Nexus Document

A contemporary framework addressing the relationship between antisemitism, Israel, and Zionism.

Jews

An ethnoreligious group connected through descent, conversion, and/or identification with Judaism.

Diaspora

The dispersion of a people from their original homeland.

Ashkenazi Jews

Jews historically associated with Central and Northern Europe.

Sephardi Jews

Jews historically associated with Spain and communities in North Africa, Turkey, and Greece.

Mizrahi Jews

Jews historically associated with the Middle East.

Monotheism

Belief in one God.

Matrilineal descent

Jewish identity being inherited through one's mother.

Patrilineal descent

Jewish identity being inherited through one's father; accepted by Reform Judaism when accompanied by Jewish upbringing.

Orthodox Judaism

A form of Judaism that views religious law as binding and emphasizes continuation of traditional Jewish practice.

Conservative Judaism

A movement that views Jewish law as binding while allowing for interpretation and evolution of tradition.

Reform Judaism

A movement that views Jewish law as non-binding and places greater emphasis on ethical tradition and individual choice.

Haredi

A highly traditional/ultra-Orthodox form of Judaism.

Collective memory

The way a group chooses to remember certain past events, people, and periods while forgetting or emphasizing others; important to group identity.

Taxonomy

A system of classification.

Extremist antisemite

Someone for whom antisemitism is central to their identity who openly expresses anti-Jewish beliefs and may support or engage in violence.

Social/Dinner-party antisemite

Someone who expresses anti-Jewish stereotypes or contempt through casual comments and jokes while generally denying being antisemitic.

Clueless antisemite

A generally well-meaning person who is unaware that they have internalized and reproduced antisemitic stereotypes.

White Nationalism

An ideology seeking a society or state dominated by white people, often based on the belief that white identity must be protected.

White supremacy

A system of beliefs and social arrangements asserting the superiority and dominance of white people, particularly white men, over others.

Alt Right

A radical right-wing movement associated in the course material with racism, white nationalism, and white supremacy.

Stereotype

An idea that people in a particular group share certain characteristics.

Perpetrator

Someone who actively harms or commits an offense against others.

Victim

A person who is targeted and harmed.

Bystander

Someone who witnesses harm but does not intervene.

Rescuer

Someone who intervenes to help a victim, often at personal risk.

Implicated subject

Someone who is not directly responsible for harm but participates in or helps maintain the social conditions that produce victims and perpetrators.

Microaggression

A brief statement or behavior that communicates a stereotype about a nondominant group, intentionally or unintentionally.

Unconscious bias

Social stereotypes about groups that operate outside conscious awareness.

Theory

A set of linked ideas intended to explain how something works.

Essentialist theory

A theory that looks at what is distinctive about Jews or Judaism in order to explain antisemitism.

Eternalist theory

The view that antisemitism has always existed and always will, emphasizing continuity across history.

Functionalist theory

A theory that examines the psychological or social functions antisemitism serves for non-Jews/antisemites.

Historicist theory

A theory that emphasizes the specific historical circumstances and differences of antisemitism across particular times and places.

Scapegoat theory

The idea that people experiencing problems or crises blame an innocent or vulnerable group, such as Jews, instead of addressing the actual source of the problem.

Scapegoating

Assigning blame for a problem to an innocent or vulnerable individual or group.

Projection

Attributing one's own unwanted qualities or impulses to another person or group.

Displacement

Redirecting negative emotions or blame from a risky target toward a safer or more powerless target.

Envy theory

The idea that perceived Jewish success can threaten an insecure in-group, producing resentment, envy, and negative stereotypes.

In-group

A social group with which a person identifies and considers themselves a member.

Out-group

A social group with which a person does not identify.

Onion model

Linda Maizels's model in which antisemitism consists of layers of older prejudices and stereotypes that accumulate, with newer forms building upon and adapting older ones.