Antisemitisms

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.

Rather than presenting a single linear history, Gilman constructs a series of overlapping historical formations that demonstrate the instability of both antisemitism and Jewish identity itself...Instead, he shows how "the Jew" is a symbolic figure – repeatedly invented to embody fears about modernity, disease, capitalism, and belonging. The book’s power lies in its refusal to stabilise its subject: antisemitism and Jewish identity are both unstable, shaped by the historical moments that produce them.' – Charles Bernstein

Gilman explores how antisemitism has been harnessed throughout history to advance specific political and social objectives. – Publishers Weekly