Conspiracy Fetishism, Community, and the Antisemitic Imaginary

Abstract

Abstract:Antisemitism has deep anthropological roots. But its form changed with the reaction to modernity and the establishment of the modern nation state. Jews were seen as the ethereal "Other," the alien force whose unrooted nature apparently confirmed not only true loyalty to their global ranks as against their respective communities but also as harbingers of an all-encompassing world conspiracy bent on hastening the destruction of Western civilization in general and white Christendom in particular. This conspiratorial outlook was reflected in the infamous and fabricated Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, which continues to serve as the cornerstone of modern expressions of Jew-hatred. Antisemitism blends what I have called "conspiracy fetishism" with parochial interpretations of what constitutes the true community. This article distinguishes between modern antisemitism from the Right and the Left while also providing objective criticisms of Israeli policies that separate rather than conflate progressive critique with charges of antisemitism.