Introduction

Rooted in antiquity, antisemitism remains a potent form of hate. Antisemitism is also a considerable threat to non-Jews. In part, this is because it is often the antisemite who defines who is and who is not Jewish. Many well-intentioned efforts are characterized by promises to carry out initiatives, a goodly number of which have begun to ring hollow due to lack of follow-through or a tendency to engage in half measures that reflect weak understanding of the dangers of antisemitism. Antisemites were able to weaponize and exploit attitudes already deeply rooted in mainstream culture. Given the persistence of implicit anti-Jewish ways of thinking as well as the protean permutations of antisemitism, the inability of many people to recognize the phenomenon, or even agree on what it is, should come as no surprise. The words of the great historian of Jewish mysticism Gershom Scholem on the Yellow Star offer the most appropriate conclusion.