Political and legal judgment : misuses of the Holocaust in the UK

Political debates in the UK concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict frequently use the Holocaust as a means to criticise Israel and "the Jews". They do this by comparing Israel with Nazi Germany or by characterising the Holocaust as a 'moral lesson' for, or a 'moral indictment' of, "the Jews". Those who raise concerns that such expressions of hostility to Israel cross the line into anti-Semitism are frequently told that they are acting in bad faith to deflect criticism of Israel. This moves the debate from legitimate questions about contemporary anti-Semitism to questions about acting dishonestly to defend Israel. As a result contemporary antisemitism is not acknowledged and resisted. The unwillingness to acknowledge contemporary forms of anti-Semitism is linked to an association of the Holocaust with genocidal antisemitism that has been consigned to the 'old' Europe and an associated failure to accept that antisemitism exists at the level of discourse of discourse (indeed, discourse often informs practice or activity). The aim of this paper is to understand why and how the Holocaust informs contemporary manifestations of antisemitism in the UK.