The COVID-19 pandemic and the May conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have both given rise individually and in unison to one of the worst waves of antisemitism in recent decades.
Jew hatred from the Right and Left, from white nationalists to so-called progressive and racial justice activists, has erupted across the world resulting in violent assaults, appalling vandalism and terrifying incitement against Jews and Jewish institutions.
In such times, the need for authoritative voices to speak out against the ancient scourge of Jew hatred is paramount, and there is perhaps no one today who is more knowledgeable and has spoken with greater clarity than Deborah Lipstadt.
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Lipstadt is the renowned historian of the Holocaust and Jewish history, who famously took on Holocaust denier David Irving in court and won. She has authored numerous books and papers on antisemitism and the Holocaust and was in July nominated by US President Joe Biden to be the next US special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism.
She is a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and the founding director of the Institute for Jewish Studies at the university.
Lipstadt is also the author of eight books, including her 2005 memoir: History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier about the libel case brought against her by Irving.
And the professor has been clear that the current wave of antisemitism emanates from across the political and ideological spectrum.
In an essay published earlier this year in The Jewish Quarterly, Lipstadt denounced the antisemitism prevalent among the white nationalists and others who participated in the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill in the US, describing it as a “defining component” of the “white power, white supremacist and white nationalist” agenda.
At the same time, she has also spoken out against antisemitism on the left, notably criticizing comments made by US Rep. Ilhan Omar who said that accused pro-Israel groups of demanding lawmakers “pledge allegiance to a foreign country.”
Said Lipstadt: “Dual loyalties is part of the textbook accusations against Jews. They are cosmopolitans, globalists, not loyal to their country or fellow citizens,” adding that Omar was relying “on traditional antisemitic tropes” in her claims.
More recently at the seventh Global Forum on Antisemitism at the Foreign Ministry in July, Lipstadt argued that antisemitism must be tackled as part of the fight against all prejudice, and that those fighting it must be consistent.
“You cannot fight antisemitism and be a racist. Conversely, you cannot fight for the rights of other groups an engage in antisemitic attacks,” she said of the broad swathe of the political and ideological map that engages in Jew hatred.
“The fight might never result in total victory, the roots of this hatred are too deeply embedded to ever be eradicated, but we must act as if we are able to achieve that victory,” she concluded.
As the designated new US special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism, with a confirmation hearing expected to take place in the next few months, Lipstadt will be well placed to exert her influence over this fight and help direct US policy on how to best combat the resurgence of the unremitting bane of Jew hatred.