Antisemitism: What Everyone Needs To Know by David Harris

About this episode

The episode discusses the resurgence of antisemitism in the 21st century and its implications for society and human rights.

History teaches that antisemitism is a disease which begins with the Jews but does not end with them. Once antisemitism is unleashed, it knows no bounds and can attack the very fabric of society. This deadly strain of hatred often turns against other minority groups too, not to mention foundational democratic values, beginning with equal rights and equal protection before the law. Therefore, antisemitism should be viewed as a universal human rights issue of importance to all, and not solely as a parochial Jewish or Israeli concern.Antisemitism: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford UP, 2025) explores how, in the 21st century, antisemitism is once again resurgent. In recent years, the FBI reported that well over half of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the United States targeted Jews, even though Jews comprise just over two percent of the population. It is striking how little understood antisemitism, including the term itself, still is. This extends quite widely to political leaders, educational authorities, law enforcement and the judiciary, civic groups, and media outlets. Polls have also shown how knowledge of the Holocaust, which was widely considered to be a firewall…

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: David Harris

Topics covered

• antisemitism
• human rights
• hate crimes
• minority groups
• democratic values
• education

Keywords

• antisemitism
• hate crimes
• Jews
• human rights
• democracy
• education
• Holocaust

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Oxford UP, FBI

Books & works: Antisemitism: What Everyone Needs To Know

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