"Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitic? Rethinking the Question" by Ethan Katz

This lecture will assess the meaning and significance of anti-Zionism historically and in our own time. In particular, it will examine the question of if and when anti-Zionism can be understood as antisemitic. The speaker posits two major strands of anti-Zionism over the past century or more -- what he calls "critical" vs. "negationist" anti-Zionism. He then addresses the impact of October 7 and the events that have followed in Israel and Gaza, asking how these events have changed the place and meaning of anti-Zionism. Altogether, the lecture:
-- Explains the multiple meanings of anti-Zionism, a largely ill-defined and misunderstood term.
-- Traces the two major streams that anti-Zionism has taken historically.
-- Analyzes the impact of October 7 and ongoing events in Israel and Gaza for the debates over anti-Zionism.
Ethan Katz is currently Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of the award-winning The Burdens of Brotherhood: Jews and Muslims from North Africa to France (Harvard, 2015) and the co-editor of several other volumes, including Colonialism and the Jews, and most recently When Jews Argue: Between the University and the Beit Midrash, which just appeared from Routledge last fall. Professor Katz has played a leading and thoughtful role in promoting complex and often difficult dialogues about antisemitism on college campuses. As the Chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Jewish Student Life and Campus Climate, as a co-founder of the Antisemitism Education Initiative at Berkeley, and as the chair of a taskforce of the Association for Jewish Studies on antisemitism and academic freedom, he has worked toward creating guidelines of education and engagement for students, campus leaders, and teachers across the United States. Through his scholarship and his public-facing work, he has developed considerable knowledge of the subject, as well as wide-ranging experience in dialoguing across differences.
Organized by The University of Houston Jewish Studies Program
Sponsored by: Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies, Rice University Progam in Jewish Studies, St. Edward's University, Texas A&M University Progam in Jewish Studies, Trinity University Discovery in Jewish Studies