A powerful rethinking of how antisemitic fantasies take shape and persist.
Why do Jews continue to serve as targets of hatred—and how coherent is the idea of antisemitism itself? In Antisemitisms, Sander L. Gilman draws on decades of scholarship to argue that such hatreds are less stable and more opportunistic than often assumed. Tracing fantasies of Jewish difference—from appearance and biology to citizenship, nationhood, and “self-hatred”—he reveals how contradictory ideas have been used to justify exclusion and violence. This book moves beyond the familiar frameworks of “eternal hatred” or “thinking with Jews” to show how antisemitic and even philosemitic attitudes shift to suit changing political needs. As violence against Jews is on the rise once more, Gilman offers a clear, sobering account of what’s at stake.
Why do Jews continue to serve as targets of hatred—and how coherent is the idea of antisemitism itself? In Antisemitisms, Sander L. Gilman draws on decades of scholarship to argue that such hatreds are less stable and more opportunistic than often assumed. Tracing fantasies of Jewish difference—from appearance and biology to citizenship, nationhood, and “self-hatred”—he reveals how contradictory ideas have been used to justify exclusion and violence. This book moves beyond the familiar frameworks of “eternal hatred” or “thinking with Jews” to show how antisemitic and even philosemitic attitudes shift to suit changing political needs. As violence against Jews is on the rise once more, Gilman offers a clear, sobering account of what’s at stake.
