CIJR | Canadian Institute for Jewish Research
L'institut Canadien de Recherches sur le Judaisme

Analysis

The Emptiness of “Antisemitism Studies”

books - canvas
books - canvas

 

Christopher L. Schilling

The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, June 13, 2025

“In some cases, “antisemitism studies” veers into the unethical and, paradoxically, becomes an inversion of what the field stands for.”

Following the shock caused by the antisemitic campus riots of spring 2024, Günther Jikeli spoke up. Jikeli, an associate professor from Germany and one of only two faculty members at the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (ISCA) at Indiana University, published a call to action in The Algemeiner:

Giving up on universities is not the right strategy. […] Donors, both large and small, should support research and programs that oppose antisemitic thinking and behavior. By investing in serious and effective academic research, we equip ourselves with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively combat antisemitism, not only today but for generations to come.

Jikeli ended his call, in all seriousness, with the question, “If this cannot be done in academia, where can it be done?”

The right question is whether antisemitism can be opposed in the current academy, not outside of it. Are there no places outside of academia where antisemitism can be opposed? No left-leaning institutions like the Anti-Defamation League or the Berlin International Center for the Study of Antisemitism? No conservative think tanks like the Manhattan Institute or the American Enterprise Institute? The UK-based Campaign Against Antisemitism and the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists are further examples of places outside academia where “it can be done.” There are also scholars without institutional affiliation working on the topic. Hannah Arendt was an independent scholar when she wrote her masterpiece, The Origins of Totalitarianism. Max Dimont worked in advertisement when he gave us Jews, God, and History. Eric Hoffer was a dockworker when he wrote the highly acclaimed book The True Believer. Indeed, the right question is whether “it” can be done in current academia, not outside of it. The latter we already know…..SOURCE

 

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