Are Those Who Hate Jews “Anti-Semites” or “Antisemites”? A Tribute to Yehuda Bauer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Intense debates are underway about what constitutes antisemitism, who has the right to define it, how extreme anti-Israel animus should figure in to such discussions, and even whether the term antisemitism should designate hostility to Jews alone or be broadened to include other “Semites.” Yehuda Bauer has made seminal contributions to these debates, including on the preferred spelling of the term: with a hyphen, as in “anti-Semitism,” or without, as in “antisemitism.” This article pays tribute to Professor Bauer for his critical interventions on these matters, which go well beyond orthographic niceties and can illuminate the essence of Jew-hatred itself. As an extension of these concerns, the article raises similar questions about the best way to spell the term that designates eliminationist opposition to Zionism and Israel: with a hyphen, as in “anti-Zionism,” or without, as in “antizionism.”