G. Daniel Cohen: Good Jews. Philosemitism in Post-Holocaust Europe

G. Daniel Cohen (Rice University)
Good Jews.Philosemitism in Post-Holocaust Europe

While the liberation of Europe in 1945 did not announce the end of antisemitism, Jews, Judaism or Jewishness also acquired positive value in the aftermath of the Shoah. Like antisemitism, European “philosemitic” discourse mutated over time. To counteract the image of the Jewish enemy, secular and Christian “philosemites” imagined various types of loveable “good Jews” in Western Europe from 1945 to 1989, and in the European Union since its inception. Under its multiple guises, the „good Jews” rhetoric was not devoid of ambiguities, potentially recycled stereotypes and functioned as Holocaust compensation. But while the national Israeli Jew or the cosmopolitan „pro-migration“ Jew continues to fuel antisemitic paranoia, “philosemitism” also defines the relationship between contemporary Europe and its Jews.

Discussant: Pavel Barša (Charles University)

The lecture is organized with the support of the European Regional Development Fund Project “Creativity and Adaptability as Conditions of the Success of Europe in an Interrelated World” (No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000734)