Educational Media Reviews Online

This 2-video series from Alden Films captures a lecture series at The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. These seven scholars represent leaders in the field of Western European anti-Semitism.

The first video, Judeophobia in France, offers three speakers. Fr. Patrick Desbois chronicles the standardization of Jewish stereotypes as expressed in political cartoons and French newspapers. Professor Daniel Dayan offers a wide-ranging perspective on the loss of public debate in Europe. France, he claims, is entering a period not unlike America under McCarthy in the 1950s. Filmmaker Jacques Tarnero suggests that European nationalism has informed the media to such an extent that Israel has been completely delegitimized.

The second video, Old and New Anti-Jewish Stereotypes in Western Europe, presents four speakers. Historian Gilad Margalit positions the Molleman Affair in Germany in 2002 as an opportunity for insidious anti-Semitism to come to light through the German press. Professor Henrik Bachner shows the ways in which the overwhelmingly secular state of Sweden through the Swedish press has reinvorgorated traditional stereotypes of Jews, such as re-presenting the blood libel charge against Israel. Church of England advisor Margaret Brearley addresses anti-Zionism in the British press, which has reduced Zionism to a racist plot and accords pro-Palestinian writers places of prominence on their pages. Even the Anglican papers cannot stem the tide of anti-Israel rhetoric, where many of their own clerics rail against Jewish settlement in Palestine. Professor Simcha Epstein closed with an empowering perspective on Jewish responses to French anti-Semitism, outlining the alternative media channels through which Jews questioned the foundations and efficacy of anti-Semitism. While hopeful for change, Epstein did wonder if in fact there is still a need or even a place for such alternative presses.

To the videos’ credit, the subject matter is both thought-provoking and timely, especially in an era of increasing nationalism and religious extremism. These speakers, all leading figures in the field, offer cutting edge perspectives on where anti-Semitism has been and where it is today in Western Europe. While the Holocaust certainly plays a role in the expression of European anti-Semitism, none of these scholars reduces Jewish hatred to that singular moment but instead, they offer a far more modern and informed evaluation on the state of anti-Judaism as it is today, based on where it has come from.

That is the strong point of these videos. The downside is the production value. What the DVDs offer is basically a series of scholars standing at a podium, reading their lengthy talks while being filmed by what we can only assume is a single camera on a tripod in the back of the room. Very occasionally, the camera will show an illustrative point on the PowerPoint screen but the distance means that whatever is there is virtually unreadable. Nor do we see the totality of the visual evidence; we must be satisfied primarily with the spoken lecture. And, more distressingly, since it's a single camera in the back of the room, as folks come and go, they walk in front of the camera, obscuring the speaker while they decide on a seat. And, while there is a question and answer period from the audience, the audio fails to sufficiently pick up the questions so when the speaker expounds upon the question, we are left to conjecture as to the complete question that was asked. Furthermore, all of the speakers on Judeophobia in France are native French speakers whose English is heavily accented and, at times, more than a little difficult to understand. Subtitles are not available on these videos so some of their points are lost to the audience.

Having said that, the subject matter is absolutely worthwhile and the content crucial for those who work in Jewish studies or modern European history. But, it seems more likely that a college-level class or an adult forum might prefer to experience each of these speakers alone rather than the lengthy and rather tiresome experience of watching them read their papers, one after another.