Readjusting Cultural Codes: Reflections on Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism

Abstract

Abstract In this article I seek to apply the notion of anti-Semitism as a cultural code, which I initially developed 25 years ago with relation to the antimodernist trends in late-nineteenth-century Germany, to the phenomena of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism today. From the 1960s anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism formed part of a larger ideological package consisting of anticolonialism, anticapitalism, and a deep suspicion of US policies. In the eyes of members of the developing countries, Jews became a symbol of the West and legitimate targets for hatred. Thus, the position on the Jewish question, even if not in itself of paramount importance, came to indicate a belonging to a larger camp, a political stand and an overall cultural choice. The question is whether the position towards Israel today, which has become a central issue for the European left, can still be considered a cultural code or whether it rather indicates a more direct anti-Jewish attack, above all as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Notes [1] CitationVolkov, "Anti-Semitism as a Cultural Code." [2] See CitationGeertz, "Ideology as a Cultural System," in his The Interpretation of Cultures, 193–233. Geertz, who uses terms such as 'cultural patterns' or 'symbolic systems,' finds the term 'code' rather less appropriate. On that see his "Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture," also in Geertz, "Ideology as a Cultural System," in his The Interpretation of Cultures, 3–30, especially 9, where he critically discusses Gilbert Ryle's ethnographic approach and a term he used, "established codes." [3] A more favorable reaction to the term and its potential use was forthcoming after a lecture and publication of a subsequent paper, CitationVolkov, "Le Texte et la Parole." [4] See CitationVolkov, "Anti-Semitismus und Antifeminismus," 62–81. [5] For the relevant bibliography, see CitationVolkov, "Anti-Semitism as a Cultural Code," and "Le Texte et la Parole." [6] See CitationVolkov, "Selbstgefäligkeit und selbshaß," inidem, Anti-Semitismus als kultureller Code, 181–96. [7] CitationSilberner, Sozialisten zur Judenfrage; CitationWistrich, Socialism and the Jews. [8] See CitationLeuschen-Seppel, Sozialdemokratie und Anti-Semitismus, especially chap. 5. [9] See, above all, the unfortunately rather neglected book of CitationNa'aman, Marxismus und Zionismus. [10] See CitationVolkov, "The Immunization of Social Democracy against Anti-Semitism." [11] See CitationVolkov, The Rise of Popular Antimodernism in Germany. [12] See CitationVolkov, "Le Texte et la Parole," and the bibliography there. An English version can be found in CitationFuret, ed., Unanswered Questions. [13] For this issue see, among the many new books on this subject, CitationBirnbaum, The Anti-Semitic Moment. [14] See CitationVolkov, "Antisemitismus und Antifeminismus." [15] For a critique of my work from this perspective, though without reference to the cultural-code thesis, see CitationEley, From Unification to Nazism. [16] By now the literature on the Sonderweg debate is enormous, indeed, but still critical for understanding its origins is CitationEley and Blackbourn, The Peculiarities of German History. The earlier German version was published in Frankfurt a. M., 1980. [17] See CitationEley, Reshaping the German Right, and a wider perspective in "The German Right: How It Changed," idem, From Unification to Nazism, 231–53; and CitationChickering, We Men Who Feel Most German. [18] See CitationNipperdey, Deutsche Geschichte, 1866–1914, 2:301–3, and an earlier but, as far as I can see, more balanced view, in "1933 und die Kontinuität der deutschen Geschichte," in his Citation Nachdenken über die deutsche Geschichte , 186–205. Also compare CitationZmarzlik, "Anti-Semitismus im Deutschen Kaiserreich," 249–70. [19] I am thankful to Gideon Reuveni for providing me with a copy of his as yet unpublished paper, ""Productivist" and "Consumerist" Narratives regarding Jews in German History." [20] Still very useful is Leuschen-Seppel, Sozialdemokratie und Anti-Semitismus. See also Wistrich, Socialism and the Jews. [21] See CitationSterling, "Anti-Jewish Riots in Germany in 1819," and CitationKatz, Die Hep-Hep Verfolgungen des Jahres 1819, especially 71–88. This is a translation of an article that had appeared in Hebrew almost 20 years earlier, in Zion 38 (1973): 62–115. Additional informationNotes on contributorsShulamit Volkov Shulamit Volkov is Professor of Modern History and incumbent of the Konrad Adenauer Chair for Comparative European History at Tel Aviv University.