The late Congressman Tom Lantos drew attention to the
phenomenon of ‘new antisemitism’ already in his 2002 article, The Durban
Debacle.
Antisemitism has
been around since the existence of Jews. Recently, it has manifested itself
worldwide in a contemporary form. New antisemitism refers to the use of double
standards towards the State of Israel, demonizing its acts as well as
questioning the country’s raison d’être.
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, present
in many aspects of everyday life from trade to academia, is widely regarded as
the most obvious type of new antisemitism. While there are several studies
focusing on the emergence of new antisemitism in the Western world, there is a
lack of academic research regarding its existence and forms of manifestation in
Central and Eastern Europe.
There are even fewer reports examining the phenomenon from
a regional perspective based on a uniform set of criteria. This research fills
this gap by examining the different forms of antisemitism in the Visegrád
countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), with a particular
focus on new antisemitism.
This
report examines the phenomenon in country-specific case studies, considering
the region’s historical, legal, and political context in its comprehensive
analysis.
