Oxford University Chabad Society combats rising tide of anti-Semitism by hosting academic symposium

Oxford University Chabad Society combats rising tide of anti-Semitism by hosting first academic symposium

‘Anti-Semitism Symposium: Philosophical, Historical and Literary Perspectives’

7 June 2009

With the rising tide of anti-Semitism on UK campuses, the Oxford University Chabad Society responded by hosting its first high-profile interdisciplinary symposium on anti-Semitism in Oxford with distinguished Oxford scholars and graduate students on Sunday 7 June 2009 at the David Slager Chabad Centre, 61 George Street, Oxford.

The five panelists and their talks were:

Dr Brian Klug, lecturer in philosophy, St Benet's Hall, University of Oxford- "The Concept of anti-Semitism"

Dr Peter Claus, Historian, Pembroke College, University of Oxford - "Get back to Palestine: Mosley, anti-Semitism in the East End of London in between the Wars"

Dr Beth Tovey, lecturer in Old English literature, Magdalen College, University of Oxford- "Anti-Semitism in Old-English literature"

Stephen J. Ross, DPhil candidate, English Faculty, St John's College, University of Oxford- "T.S. Eliot & anti-Semitism"

Guy Sela, DPhil candidate, Law faculty, Keble College, University of Oxford- "Anti-Semitism and Condemnation"

The symposium was conducted in the presence of an exclusive audience of around 30 scholars and students and chaired by Rabbi Eli Brackman, director of the Oxford University Chabad Society.

Rabbi Brackman explained that the aim of the symposium was to combat anti-Semitism by raising awareness of its phenomenon that despite the evolution of history over centuries, anti-Semitism still persists even in Western democratic countries, as the UK. By presenting anti-Semitism as a phenomenon that is not due to any particular circumstances or conflict in the Middle East, but can be found in all periods in history and literature from Old English to Modern and contemporary, it shows that anti-Semitism is an irrational bigoted hatred and should be seen as such.

The structure of the symposium allowed for the panelists to speak for no longer than 15 minutes each in succession, followed by a general discussion involving all the panelists and questions from the floor.

The first member of the panel to speak was Dr Brian Klug, who discussed the concept of anti-Semitism, drawing upon his background as a philosopher and experience as a contributor to the British All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-semitism, which published its report in September 2006. Klug is also an honorary fellow of the Parks Institute for the Study of Jewish-non-Jewish Relations at the University of Southampton, associate editor of Patterns of Prejudice, and a founder member of the UK-based Jewish Forum for Justice and Human Rights. Klug spoke of anti-Semitism as a discourse, according to which the definition of anti-Semitism is the hostility to Jews as ‘Jews’, a discursively-constructed group.

Following Dr Klug, spoke Dr Claus on the subject of British fascist attitudes towards Jews as foreigners before the Second World War, and in particular, the personal development of Mosley’s own anti-Semitism. Dr Claus contrasted the anti-Semitism of the political right with the anti-Semitism of the far left in the contemporary period.

The following two speakers, Dr Beth Tovey and Stephen J. Ross are specialists in English literature. Dr Tovey discussed the Anti-Semitism in Old English literature, based on theology, while Mr Ross focused upon the dehumanizing anti-Semitism found in the poetry of T.S. Elliot, in such poems as ‘Gerontion’ and ‘Dirge’.

Mr Ross’s academic supervisor is Professor Ronald Bush, Drue Heinz Professor of American Literature at the University of Oxford, who was also present in the audience Bush is a leading expert on the philosophy of T.S. Elliot and Anglo-American modernist literature in general. Prof. Bush thought that as a Jew, he was able to forgive poets like T.S. Eliot.

The final panelist was DPhil candidate Guy Sela, a legal philosopher, who spoke passionately on the philosophy of speech acts and their use in the condemnation of Israel and/or Jewish people in general.

Everyone concerned felt that the symposium had been a highly productive and profitable as a means of broadening understanding of anti-Semitism and that it had particularly benefited from its interdisciplinary approach, as the diversity of material and methodologies helped to deepen understanding of the phenomena, and to help to understand its full cultural and intellectual significance within the contemporary context.

Law student Ruvi Ziegler, who attended the lecture, commented, “I thought the panel was very illuminating - well done to Chabad for organizing it”. Another student said “I found the talks very thought provoking and look forward to attending future symposia on the subject”.