History Can Be an Antidote to Antisemitism

By David Nirenberg, Director and Leon Levy Professor: 

"What counts as antisemitism? Is it on the rise, and if so, who’s to blame—the left or the right, Christians or Muslims? Or is it “the Jews” and their actions that are at fault, as some maintain. These questions may feel new, but the resurgence of antisemitism didn’t begin in 2022, and it’s not only happening in the U.S.

...

Are we on the brink of a new era in which explicitly anti-Jewish politics once again becomes acceptable, perhaps even capable of provoking mass murder, as in the 1930s and ’40s? There is no consensus among historians on this question. How could there be? History does not repeat itself. It doesn’t even rhyme. But while comparisons between historical periods can be misleading, they can also be revealing, making us aware of our own blind spots."

Read more at Wall Street Journal.