Contemporary Antisemitism in the Political Discourse of Five Western European Countries: Germany, France, Britain, Spain, Ireland | INSS
go to header go to content go to footer go to search
INSS logo The Institute for National Security Studies, Strategic, Innovative, Policy-Oriented Research, go to the home page
INSS
Tel Aviv University logo - beyond an external website, opens on a new page
  • Contact
  • עברית
  • Support Us
  • Research
    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
        • Israel-United States Relations
        • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
        • Russia
        • Europe
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
        • Iran
        • Lebanon and Hezbollah
        • Syria
        • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
        • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
        • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
        • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
        • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
        • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
        • Turkey
        • Egypt
        • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
        • Military and Strategic Affairs
        • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
        • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
        • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
        • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
        • Data Analytics Center
        • Law and National Security
        • Advanced Technologies and National Security
        • Cognitive Warfare
        • Economics and National Security
    • Projects
      • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
      • Contemporary Antisemitism in the United States
      • Perceptions about Jews and Israel in the Arab-Muslim World and Their Impact on the West
  • Publications
    • -
      • All Publications
      • INSS Insight
      • Policy Papers
      • Special Publication
      • Strategic Assessment
      • Technology Platform
      • Memoranda
      • Posts
      • Books
      • Archive
  • Database
    • Surveys
    • Spotlight
    • Maps
    • Real-Time Tracker
  • Events
  • Team
  • About
    • Vision and Mission
    • History
    • Research Disciplines
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellowship and Prizes
    • Internships
    • Newsletter
  • Media
    • Communications
      • Articles
      • Quotes
      • Radio and TV
    • Video gallery
    • Press Releases
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
New
Search in site
  • Research
    • Topics
    • Israel and the Global Powers
    • Israel-United States Relations
    • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
    • Iran
    • Lebanon and Hezbollah
    • Syria
    • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
    • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
    • Conflict to Agreements
    • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
    • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
    • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
    • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
    • Turkey
    • Egypt
    • Jordan
    • Israel’s National Security Policy
    • Military and Strategic Affairs
    • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
    • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
    • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
    • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
    • Cross-Arena Research
    • Data Analytics Center
    • Law and National Security
    • Advanced Technologies and National Security
    • Cognitive Warfare
    • Economics and National Security
    • Projects
    • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
    • Contemporary Antisemitism in the United States
    • Perceptions about Jews and Israel in the Arab-Muslim World and Their Impact on the West
  • Publications
    • All Publications
    • INSS Insight
    • Policy Papers
    • Special Publication
    • Strategic Assessment
    • Technology Platform
    • Memoranda
    • Posts
    • Books
    • Archive
  • Database
    • Surveys
    • Spotlight
    • Maps
    • Real-Time Tracker
  • Events
  • Team
  • About
    • Vision and Mission
    • History
    • Research Disciplines
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellowship and Prizes
    • Internships
  • Media
    • Communications
      • Articles
      • Quotes
      • Radio and TV
    • Video gallery
    • Press Releases
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • עברית
  • Support Us
bool(false)

Publications

Home Publications Memoranda Contemporary Antisemitism in the Political Discourse of Five Western European Countries: Germany, France, Britain, Spain, Ireland

Contemporary Antisemitism in the Political Discourse of Five Western European Countries: Germany, France, Britain, Spain, Ireland

Memorandum No. 214, June 15, 2021

Shahar Eilam
Adi Kantor
Tom Eshed
Tal-Or Cohen

This report, produced by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), in collaboration with the Jewish Agency for Israel, examines and analyzes the phenomenon of contemporary antisemitism in the political discourse of five major Western European countries—Germany, France, Britain, Spain, and Ireland. The research is based on systematic mapping of public expressions of antisemitism by elected officials, over a period of one year, from late 2019 until late 2020.


The findings indicate that some politicians in Western Europe—on both the right and the left—deliberately and maliciously use antisemitic ideas and expressions for political gains. This can be seen in the context of the increasing strength of extremist and populist parties on both sides of the political spectrum, which have contaminated the political and public discourse with antisemitic statements and attitudes.


Indeed, the present analysis indicates that the scale is tipping toward those who espouse antisemitism and away from those who try to moderate it, particularly given the process of sociopolitical radicalization, growing polarization, and the rise of once marginalized extremists at the expense of the moderate center. These processes have been accelerated by social media, which has been exploited to spread hateful content almost without any significant limits, at least for the time being.


All this has contributed to antisemitism’s increasingly becoming part of the political mainstream; the politicization of antisemitism as a means for political rivals to attack one another; and the appearance of cracks in the broad consensus both to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and fight against antisemitism. These cracks are manifested primarily by distorting and rewriting history mainly on the right and by anti-Israel discourse on the left.


Although it has unique characteristics, antisemitism must not be perceived as a local and domestic challenge for Jewish communities alone but rather as manifesting a much wider phenomenon of hate speech, hateful discourse, and sometimes even violence. The increasing politicization of antisemitism demonstrates the magnitude and influence that its destructive consequences have for the entire society, Jews and non-Jews alike, and therefore it needs to be recognized as a global concern.


Table of Contents:

Amos Yadlin, Isaac Herzog
76 years have passed since the end of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe. Despite the ongoing commitment of most European leaders to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and to fight antisemitism, we have experienced a rise in antisemitism recently in a number of locations in Europe. Once again, Jews in certain cities and neighborhoods are feeling insecure and increasingly threatened as individuals and as communities.
Read more

This report examines and analyzes the phenomenon of antisemitism in the political discourse of five major Western European countries—Germany, France, Britain, Spain, and Ireland. It is the final report of a research project implemented during the second half of 2020 by a team of researchers at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), in collaboration with the Jewish Agency. In this regards, it is important to note that this study was finalized prior to the security escalation between Israel and Hamas in May 2021 and the surge of antisemitic events that followed it.
Read more

This research addresses existing antisemitism in the political discourse in five Western European countries: Germany, France, Britain, Spain, and Ireland. Most of these Western European countries, some of which are home to the largest and most historic Jewish communities of Europe, have a legal and official record of being committed to fighting antisemitism. However, too often the elected officials and official representatives of these states—who are supposed to uphold and reflect the commitments of the countries they represent and serve—fall short of the state’s commitment to combat Jew-hatred and at times even perpetuate it.
Read more

In the year 2020, 75 years after the gates of Auschwitz were finally opened, and the world stood still in shock at the sights and scale of horror and death of the German so-called “Final Solution of the Jewish Question,” Jew-hatred seems to be again dangerously rising in Germany. In his speech given on the occasion of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum on January 23, 2020 in Jerusalem, German president Walter Steinmeier referred to this disturbing development
Read more

On July 16, 1995, in a historical speech at the memorial for the Jewish victims of the Vél d’Hiv roundup of 1942 in Paris,14 President Jacques Chirac confessed the role of France in the tragic fate of its Jewish population during the German occupation and for deporting thousands of Jews to the death camps. After decades in which French leaders firmly refused to admit that French authorities had taken part in the systematic persecution, it took one brave leader standing in front of a small crowd of Jewish leaders and survivors of the death camps to state the following, marking an important milestone in the French contemporary memory discourse
Read more

During the last decade, and for the first time since the Holocaust and the end of World War II, antisemitism has become a central issue in the political and public discourse in Britain. It is one of the most controversial issues witnessed in Britain’s political arena in recent years. The parliamentary elections in 2019 exposed the severity of the problem, although members of Parliament, particularly Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, made antisemitic statements before the 2019 elections. The gravity of the accusations of antisemitism and the many scandals that emerged from the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020 led to the dismal outcome in which many of Britain’s Jews abandoned the party after having been its most loyal supporters for decades; for them, the Labour Party had been their political home. According to Gillian Merron, the head of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and former minister on behalf of the Labour Party, “anti-Semitism in Britain is already not a hidden problem but one that visible and on center stage. Surprisingly, it is at the heart of our politics”.
Read more

Antisemitism in modern-day Spain has never been an organized political phenomenon; rather it is a manifestation of persistent anti-Jewish stereotypes in Spain’s society and culture, based on religious and mainly Catholic foundations. The de facto absence of Jews in Spain from the 15th to the 19th centuries, however, means that antisemitism in the country cannot be explained simply by the conflict between the Christian majority and the Jewish minority. Therefore, the phenomenon in Spain should be explained in the context of “antisemitism without Jews.” According to the scholar Anna Menny, antisemitism in Spain is not generally directed against the country’s Jewish community but rather against the image of the Jew as representing the “stranger” or the “immigrant”.
Read more

The history of modern Ireland is characterized primarily by the period of British colonialist rule, which continued for several hundred years until the creation of an independent Ireland in 1919. This period of gaining independence from British rule is still an important factor in shaping the Irish national narrative. Currently, large segments of the Irish public are opposed to to colonialism all over the world, thus explaining the widespread Irish support for the Palestinian claims in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The vocal criticism of Israel’s policies sometimes has deteriorated into demonstrations of hostility toward Israel and even antisemitic stereotypes.
Read more

The goal of this research was to examine and analyze contemporary manifestations of antisemitism, in the political discourse of five major European countries—Germany, France, Spain, Britain, and Ireland—over the course of one year, from June 2019 through September 2020. The basic assumption underlying this research was that the public and the political arenas mutually feed upon one another, such that the political discourse expresses the attitudes of the public to a large extent and influences the social processes and attitudes within the context of the public discourse and therefore also on today’s antisemitism. The main research questions asked were: How common was antisemitism in the political discourse among elected officials in these countries during the given time frame? How did antisemitism characterize the political discourse? How did the uniqueness of each country affect this context? Were there similarities between the countries in the way that antisemitism characterized their political discourse? In addition, the research emphasized the way the Jewish community in each country experienced and handled antisemitism.
Read more
The opinions expressed in INSS publications are the authors’ alone.
Publication Series Memoranda
TopicsAntisemitismContemporary Antisemitism in the United StatesEurope

Events

All events
The 18th Annual International Conference
25 February, 2025
08:15 - 16:00
Photo: Ronen Topelberg

Related Publications

All publications
Shutterstock
The Strengthening of the Extreme Right in the West Following the October 7 Massacre
Alongside the global spread of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli, and antisemitic narratives, fueled by the “green-red alliance” (formed between Islamists and radical leftists) in the West during the Israel–Hamas conflict, there is growing concern about the influence of the far-right movements, particularly in Europe. These movements see the war in the Gaza Strip as an opportunity to strengthen public support and promote their antisemitic ideology. It is crucial for the State of Israel to recognize the dangers posed by the far-right movements in the West, as well as the normalization of antisemitic narratives on both ends of the political spectrum in the public discourse following the October 7 massacre and the subsequent war. Israel should develop a long-term strategy for addressing this emerging threat, which not only endangers Israel’s interests but also undermines the security of Jews and Israelis around the world, while challenging the stability of liberal democracies.
09/05/24
Iran – The Devil's Advocates
Contrary to a common misconception, antisemitism is not a new phenomenon in Iran. It predates the Islamic Revolution and even the establishment of the State of Israel. Alongside good relations between some Persians and Jews and the economic flourishing of some in the Jewish community, and partly as an antagonistic response to those realities, anti-Jewish hatred has existed for hundreds of years in the country that has become, in today’s world, the fiercest enemy of the Jewish people.
05/05/24
Russia – Fascists going from bad to worse
In 2023, the level of antisemitism in Russia intensified in comparison to the previous year. Senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin himself, have systematically used antisemitic tropes and Holocaust distortion to promote their political interests. Statements by government representatives encouraged and legitimized antisemitic discourse in traditional media and on social networks. Following the massacre in southern Israel on October 7, the antisemitic discourse escalated even more and translated into antisemitic events in the North Caucasus republics of Russia.
05/05/24

Stay up to date

Registration was successful! Thanks.
  • Research

    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
      • Israel-United States Relations
      • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
      • Russia
      • Europe
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
      • Iran
      • Lebanon and Hezbollah
      • Syria
      • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
      • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
      • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
      • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
      • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
      • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
      • Turkey
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
      • Military and Strategic Affairs
      • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
      • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
      • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
      • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
      • Data Analytics Center
      • Law and National Security
      • Advanced Technologies and National Security
      • Cognitive Warfare
      • Economics and National Secutiry
    • Projects
      • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
      • Contemporary Antisemitism in the United States
      • Perceptions about Jews and Israel in the Arab-Muslim World and Their Impact on the West
  • Publications

    • All Publications
    • INSS Insight
    • Policy Papers
    • Special Publication
    • Strategic Assessment
    • Technology Platform
    • Memoranda
    • Database
    • Posts
    • Books
    • Archive
  • About

    • Vision and Mission
    • History
    • Research Disciplines
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellowship and Prizes
    • Internships
    • Support
  • Media

    • Communications
    • Articles
    • Quotes
    • Radio and TV
    • Video Gallery
    • Press Release
    • Podcast
  • Home

  • Events

  • Database

  • Team

  • Contact

  • Newsletter

  • עברית

INSS logo The Institute for National Security Studies, Strategic, Innovative, Policy-Oriented Research, go to the home page
40 Haim Levanon St. Tel Aviv, 6997556 Israel | Tel: 03-640-0400 | Fax: 03-744-7590 | Email: info@inss.org.il
Developed by Daat A Realcommerce company.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.