Leonard Dinnerstein

Antisemitism in the 1990s: A Symposium

We recently addressed the following statement and questions on the strength and nature of anti-Semitism in the 1990s to a number of Jews and non-Jews throughout the world: Talk of a ‘revival’ or ‘resurgence’ of anti-Semitism is now commonplace. This seems to be the result of developments in the former USSR and in Eastern and Central Europe since 1989, but also of increasing reports of anti-Semitic incidents taking place throughout Western Europe and similar problems emerging in North America, South America, Australia and South Africa. 1) How serious is the recent ‘resurgence’ of anti-Semitism? Is this in any sense a global phenomenon? Is talk of a ‘revival of antisemitism’ justified? 2) What are in your view the most important contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism? Should anti-Semitism still mainly be seen as a phenomenon of extreme right- and left-wing politics and ideology, or is contemporary anti-Semitism more seriously present in popular culture, within political and social elites, in the school playground? 3) What role, if any, do you think the conflict between Israel and the Arab world is playing in fostering anti-Jewish sentiment? How important is the emergence of Islamic fundamentalism in this context? To what extent is anti-Semitism today taking the guise of anti-Zionism? 4) Finally, if there is indeed an upsurge in antiswemitism, what do you think are its major causes? What part is nationalism, particularly in the Commonwealth of Independent States and in Eastern and Central Europe, playing in causing or exacerbating contemporary anti-Semitism? Do you agree that there was until recently a post-Holocaust taboo on anti-Semitism that has now been lifted?

Does Anyone Want the Displaced Persons

Book reviwed in this article: Arieh J. Kochavi, Post–Holocaust Politics: Britain, the United States, and Jewish Refugees, 1945–1948

The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century (review)

Explores the meaning of Jewishness in light of the increasing assimilation of Americas Jews and suggests ways to preserve Jewish identity.

From the Old Country: An Oral History of European Migration to America.

The authors explore the symbol of the American melting pot and other concepts in an oral history comprising the voices of European immigrants to Connecticut.

Book Review: From the Old Country: An Oral History of European Migration to AmericaFrom the Old Country: An Oral History of European Migration to America. Edited by StaveBruce M. and SutherlandJohn F. with SalernoAldo. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. Pp. 281.

Sarah Collinsons well-documented study Europe and International Migmtion, published in 1993, attempts to casta clearer light on the current debate on migration issues,which not only occupya prominentplace on the current political agenda but are also seen as of the uttnost significance fur the future by European society as a whole. The author, whose study addresses a more general public, aims at the necessary clarification of certain concepts related to migration issues in an effort to counteract dangerous irrational positions and attitudes held in this discussion. She believes that in the political debate attention is given too much to the various aspects of migration pressure, whereas other questions, such as how to develop a comprehensive and coherent migration policy through governmental action, are neglected. After a brief introduction setting out the major types ofinternational migration and its broad current trends, the specific situation of Western European countries is analyzed, on the one hand in comparison to other regions of the world and, on the other hand, in a historic perspective. The book concentrates on the theme of state action in the field of migration flows, focusing on how the policies ofcertain major receiving and sending countries of migrants have influenced voluntary movements ofpersons over the past 40 years. A centtal chapter of the book is devoted to the question of the integration of immigrants, which became a concern ofhost societies only after it was realized that the immigration, originallyperceived as a temporary phenomenon, had in fact become permanent and that this development had significant social implications. Keeping to the comparative method, the author examines the various approaches followed by European receiving countries in integration-related issues, pointing in particular to difficulties in overcoming assimilationist attitudes prevalent in some states on the way to a genuine concept of multiculturalism and equality of opportunities. Integration was, in the past, conceived as a process of adaptation of the immigrant to the majority population. The book describes from a critical point of view the developments takingplace in this area and does not omit to mention structural difficulties, starting with the fact that there are no reliable or comparable statistics or other indicators permitting evaluation ofpolicy implementation. Finally, the author takes up the question ofharmonization ofvisaand asylum policies, identifying the incapacity ofgovernments to transcend traditional concepts of immigration control and restriction as one of the major obstacles on the way to an effective common migration policy in Europe. In her concluding remarks, Sarah Collinson calls for a more comprehensive, imaginative approach to migration policy in Western Europe. So far clear policy proposals for action to alleviate migration pressure are missing. The migration debate should not be pursued in isolation but placed in the broader context of foreign and security policies. A more constructive approach in addressing root causes of migration and a more open attitude to the integration of immigrants are requested. First and foremost, the recognition by receiving states of being immigration countries could help curb the spread ofdangerous xenophobic tendencies which feed on the perception that governments are not capable ofconceptualizing and implementing a rational and coherent immigration policy. One cannot but join Sarah Collinson in her well-arguedplea.

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American Jews have never been more ‘at home in America’ than they are today. However, the steady, albeit small, number of anti‐semitic incidents and the odd instance of discrimination indicate that antisemitism is not dead in the United States, but dormant. In particular, certain black politicians are using the Jewish community as a scapegoat for their frustrations with American society. But, these exceptions must be kept in perspective.

Antisemitism in the United States today

can. One searches through the work to discover some ideas of what makes an American but is turned back by page after page of evidence of ethnic, religious and racial conflict. If there is an American, independent of an ethnic identity, such a person is not easily found. Evidently being American is more than the legal status as such. The historical materials presented are accurate, but the failure of so many people to reach the status of American, after so many generations standing, is a discouraging distraction. This book is not one about Americans after the immigrants experience, but one which makes and retains that experience as something from which no one living in America can escape, historically or psychologically. The point has been made in literally hundreds of books that America is a nation of immigrants. Where is that new man who emerged out of the immigrant experience-the American? Becoming Americans might have contemplated such a question instead of overwhelming the reader with data, much of which is readily accessible in other works. Itwould have been intriguing for there are very rich data in the book which lay the groundwork for such analyses. This book, nevertheless should establish Archdeacon as a first rate analyst and observer of ethnic problems in America.

Book Review: Jewish Life in Twentieth-Century AmericaJewish Life in Twentieth-Century America. By PlesurMilton. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1982. Pp. 235.

IRWIN UNGER has just told you about his experiences in authoring a text and getting it to market. Now its my turn to talk about the work of an editor. First, let me say that putting together a reader requires an idea, a minimum amount of talent, and a great deal of luck. In fact, of the components, I would say luck is the major ingredient. When I first had the idea for doing any reader-and The Aliens, a collection of articles on American minorities historically considered, was the first-publishers were giving contracts to just about every half-baked proposal they received. In addition, I lived in New York, came in contact with people who were publishing, and was entertained several times by editors at lunch. Many an idea thrown out in idle conversation later found itself typed neatly on a contract. Today, fortunately or unfortunately depending upon ones perspective, greater selectivity is the rule. Textbook sales plummeted in the 1970s when required courses ceased to be the rule, when textbook adoption committees faded from the scene, and when young instructors decided that they would add life to their surveys by dropping texts and using a variety of paperbacks instead. (Mind you, I am not saying this critically, but merely by way of historical explanation of why publishing houses became more cautious with their policies.) Readers came into vogue in the early 1960s and quickly became a successful genre. Sidney Fine and Gerald Brown pitted opposite interpretations of several important historical questions in The American Past. Conflicting Interpretations of the Great Issues in

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immigrants in their decision making processes remains valid. In showing that a more differentiated and complex response to the migrant presence has not been engineered by policy makers but has resulted from discrete challenges to institutionalized authority, Professor Martin displays a sensitivity to the issues and a willingness to delve behind official rhetoric and accepted folklore. She provides the correct dosage of facts and figures and does not allow her theoretical perspective to overintrude. Only occasionally does the complexity of the material overwhelm comprehensibility. The book is justifiably aimed at the general as well as the scholarly public.