From the Damascus Blood Libel to the "Arab Spring": The Evolution of Arab Antisemitism

Abstract

Abstract:This article traces the development of antisemitism in the Arab world, outlining major clusters of the phenomenon—Islamic anti-Jewish motifs; classic Western antisemitic tropes; and major themes in Holocaust discourse. It also highlights Arab voices critical of Arab antisemitic discourse, bigotry, and incitement against Jews—a subject largely neglected in the scholarly literature thus far. As in other societies, Arab antisemitism is not a phenomenon that is isolated from other social and political trends, but is part and parcel of the ongoing debate between competing worldviews.