The Return of Anti-Semitism by Gabriel Schoenfeld; Encounter Books; 193 pages; $25.95.

That there has been an upsurge in anti-Semitic activity in recent years is now beyond dispute, but journalist Gabriel Schoenfeld here gives us a concise, succinct account of this phenomenon, not only describing various incidents but delving into reasons and motivations.

 
The book is divided into three major sections, dealing respectively with the Islamic world, Europe (especially western Europe) and the United States. But one thread quite definitely connects all three areas— a pervasive hatred of the state of Israel. And many of those expressing this hatred deny harboring anti-Semitic attitudes and desperately seek to separate their feelings toward

 Jews as a people with those toward the Jewish state.

 

In many ways, Schoenfeld writes, the most virulent strain of current anti-Semitism emanates from a somewhat surprising sector: leftist, "progressive" individuals and organizations in Western Europe. This view had its origins in the so-called Enlightenment of the 18th and 19th centuries, symbolized by such philosophers as Voltaire, who repeatedly expressed anti-Jewish views. More recently, it took hold in the New Left heyday of the 1960s, when youthful rebels took up the cause of Palestinian "liberation." 

And now, it has increasingly found its way into mainstream media, including Britain's The Economist and Le Monde in France. The violence and virulence of British mainstream anti-Semitism in particular is among the most shocking facts in this study - relatively little about it has been reported in mainstream U.S. media. French anti-Semitism has been more widely

 publicized. On the other hand, he writes, Christian anti-Semitism— the main source of hatred toward the Jews in Europe for centuries — is now relatively muted, especially in the Catholic and Lutheran churches.

 

Schoenfeld's accounts of anti-Semitism in the Islamic world and in the U.S. are no less edifying. Although Muslim anti-Semitism can be traced back to Mohammed himself, Islam in the Middle Ages — when it dominated the Mediterranean world —was less harsh in its persecution of the Jews than its Christian contemporaries. Muslim anti-Semitism has risen in intensity recently, with the upsurge in Islamic fundamentalism and, at about the same time, the emergence of Israel. In fact, it is stressed, it is the modern Islamic influence that has been a major factor in the return of large-scale anti-Semitism in Europe and even in the U.S.

 

Much of modern American anti-Semitism traces its origins to the Black Muslim movement, beginning with the racial stresses of the 1960s. While it has gained less traction here than in Europe, it has found a foothold, especially among ideological heirs to the New Left and most especially on prestigious university campuses such as Harvard and UC Berkeley.

While Schoenfeld does not sound a shrill, strident alarm — the current climate is not comparable to that in the 1930s, he says— he does detect some dangerous signs. One example, he writes, is "the rising status of the forgery that is the Protocols of the Elders of Zion," which has found a large audience, both in Europe and the U.S. He cautions strongly against the indifference and denial that have been a persistent reaction to resurgent anti-Semitism.

 

With only 156 pages of text, this book is easy reading, and merits careful study of a subject that is only beginning to attract the attention it deserves.