The Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University will host its third and final panel on Feb. 20 in a series celebrating the publication of a book that examines the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism.
The book Israel and the Diaspora: Jewish Connectivity in a Changing World gives a global perspective in examining Jewish identity, Israel-diaspora relations and brings together interrelated topics. It is authored by: York University Associate Professor Robert A. Kenedy; Director of the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies Carl Ehrlich; and Uzi Rebhun, a professor at the A. Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry.
As the late Robert Wistrich, a well-known scholar in antisemitism, pointed out, antisemitism is the world’s oldest and longest hatred. Wistrich’s analysis of the phenomenon encompasses both the age-old antisemitic racial, religious, and economic tropes in addition to what he terms the “new antisemitism.” In his estimation, this latter phenomenon, which has become quite widespread on university campuses, combines antisemitic with anti-Zionist rhetoric. The authors of this book examine the intersection of antisemitism and anti-Zionism with reference to Wistrich’s theoretical construct of the “new antisemitism.”
A panel discussion entitled “Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism” takes place on Feb. 20 from noon to 2 p.m. on Zoom. Panellists include:
- Jonathan Boyd, Institute for Jewish Policy Research (U.K.)
- Cary Nelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Robert A. Kenedy, York University
- moderator: Carl Ehrlich, York University
About the book’s authors
Robert A. Kenedy (PhD York University) is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at York University. He has written articles about immigration and resettlement in Canada focusing on integration into Canadian society. Kenedy has been studying ethnic identity issues since 1989, with much of his research focusing on collective identity, ethnic communities, diasporas, and identity formation through resettlement in host countries. He has written refereed scholarly works in the areas of identity, antisemitism, multiculturalism, interculturalism, civic participation, immigration, and resettlement. Most recently, he has been researching Lusophone resettlement in Canada, the French Jewish diaspora, and the new antisemitism.
Carl S. Ehrlich (PhD Harvard University) is a professor of Hebrew Bible in the Departments of History and Humanities and director of the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University. Among his areas of interest are synchronic, diachronic, and contextual approaches to the biblical text and Israelite civilization. His recent publications include the (co-)edited collections From an Antique Land: An Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Literature (2009) and Purity, Holiness, and Identity in Judaism and Christianity: Essays in Memory of Susan Haber (2013). Current projects include a cultural history of Moses and a commentary on Chronicles.
Uzi Rebhun (PhD Hebrew University) is a professor and head of the Division of Jewish Demography and Statistics at the A. Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He holds the Shlomo Argov Chair in Israel-Diaspora Relations. His areas of interest are Jewish migration, Jewish identification, the Jewish family, Israel-diaspora relations. His most recent book Jews and the American Religious Landscape was published in 2016 by Columbia University Press.
RSVP here for the event.