Is Anti-Semitism leading to mental illness

Anti-Semitism and its mental health effects Professor Kate Miriam Loewenthal

This paper looks at definitions and examples of anti-Semitism, examples of victim’s reactions to anti-Semitism including some ways of coping and their effects, and describes the Holocaust and its effects, including the KZ syndrome (concentration camp syndrome) and its effects on descendants.

Definitions

A range of definitions of anti-Semitism has been offered, all converging on the concepts of prejudice, stereotyping and hostility towards Jews. For example:

• ‘Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.’ (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) May 2016

• The government is to formally adopt a definition of what constitutes anti- Semitism (above), which includes over-sweeping condemnation of Israel (www.businessinsider.com/britain-new-anti-Semitism-definition-2016-12)

• ‘The belief or behaviour hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that proclaim the inferiority of Jews, for instance, or political efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise injure them. It may also include prejudiced or stereotyped views about Jews’. (ADL Anti- Defamation League, accessed March 2017)

• Anti-Semite: ‘A person who is hostile to or prejudiced against Jews’. (Oxford Dictionaries, accessed March 2017)

  Is anti-Semitism on the rise? The general conclusion is affirmative, but the evidence base could be stronger, and actual reporting of anti-Semitic incidents is very much lower than the occurrence of such incidents. I, for example, have experienced a number of incidents but have never regarded any as sufficiently significant to report. Examples of recent media reporting include:

• The Guardian 2 Feb 2017:’The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK rose by more than a third to record levels in 2016, according to data released by the Community Security Trust... The CST, which monitors anti-Semitism and provides security to Jewish communities, recorded 1,309 incidents of anti- Jewish hate last year, compared with 960 in 2015, a rise of 36%. The previous record number of incidents was in 2014, when 1,182 were recorded... The CST’s chief executive, David Delew, said: ‘While Jewish life in this country remains overwhelmingly positive, this heightened level of anti-Semitism is deeply worrying and appears to be getting worse. Worst of all is that, for

1various reasons, some people clearly feel more confident to express their anti- Semitism publicly than they did in the past.’The Independent 25 Jan 2017: ‘Jewish people in Europe are suffering from a virulent wave of anti-Semitism amid a rise in dangerous political extremism that is threatening to divide societies, a senior leader of the community will warn in a meeting with the Pope on International Holocaust Remembrance Day’.