Accusations of anti-Semitism are an effective strategy to discredit Muslims and their views, he argues Sanne van Oosten. This ‘Jewish nationalism’ reflects other forms of instrumentalization of vulnerable groups. For example, ‘femonationalism’ and ‘homonationalism’ exploit gender equality and gay rights to marginalize cultural others, especially Muslims
Prejudice
Against the backdrop of the war on Gaza, Jewish people around the world are experiencing increasing anti-Semitism, face to face and in their online lives. Anti-Semitism was on the rise in Israel even before the October 7 attacks.
But when political leaders choose to speak out against anti-Semitism, an Islamic antagonist is often lurking. This begs the question: are politicians’ concerns about anti-Semitism genuine? Or are they exploiting anti-Semitism to discredit Muslims and the causes Muslims are more likely to support?
Recent research shows that people are generally quite unlikely to discriminate against same-sex parents, women and even ethnic minority politicians. However, there is much debate about whether this shift is real or the result of social desirability. Some scholars point to the increasing tendency – especially among educated people – to hide their prejudices in order to portray themselves as civil.
Anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism and sexism are all socially unacceptable. What makes prejudice against Muslims more bearable?
However, it seems that many people do not bother to hide their prejudices against Muslims. This is especially reflected in the prejudices against the representation of Muslims in politics and on the labor market. Muslims remain a group that is highly stigmatized, discriminated against and politically underrepresented in most Western societies. Plus, people aren’t afraid to admit it.
Today, the vast majority agree that expressions of anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism and sexism are “rude.” So what makes anti-Muslim prejudice more palatable than these other forms of prejudice?
Civil standards
Research shows that contemporary nationalism is embedded in civic norms. In Western societies, gender equality is a common topic in debates about Muslim integration. For example, field experiments show that bystanders are less likely to help a Muslim woman in a hijab who has dropped a bag of lemons than to help a non-Muslim lemon dropper. However, if those same bystanders listened to the Muslim woman on the phone shortly before she dropped her lemons, and she vocally supported gender equality, they are more likely to intervene and help.
This resonates with the literature on femo-nationalism, which argues that political actors use gender equality as a weapon to justify who belongs and who does not belong. The reasoning is that drawing attention to sexism among Muslims creates confusion among people with an egalitarian worldview who would otherwise support women’s rights and oppose anti-Muslim discrimination.
Drawing attention to sexism among Muslims creates confusion among people with an egalitarian worldview
Likewise, homonationalism questions the justification of Islamophobia by pointing to homophobia among Muslims. Homonationalist narratives argue that gay rights are unchallenged in Western countries, unlike other supposedly backward, homophobic cultures, especially in Muslim-majority countries.
Scholars have long debated whether the use of women’s and gay rights to discredit cultural others is real or instrumental. To investigate this real/instrumental conundrum, a recent British survey experiment divided respondents into two random groups. The control group read a newspaper article about protests by British parents about LGBT school lessons. The other group read the same article, except that the demonstrators depicted wore Muslim clothing and had Arabic names. Those who saw the newspaper article featuring Muslim protesters were significantly more likely to support LGBT rights, especially respondents with anti-immigration attitudes.
We need more research into whether politicians consciously mobilize LGBT stories. But the aforementioned British survey already shows that the alleged support for LGBT rights may not be completely genuine.
Jewish nationalism
Much research has been published on the impact of stories about women’s and gay rights to discredit or support Muslims. More recently, anti-Semitism has been exploited for the same cause. In the shadow of the Holocaust, accusations of anti-Semitism inevitably stifle contemporary debates on Israel and Gaza.
On March 7, 2024, I coined the term “Jewish nationalism” in a magazine article. My goal was to show how effective anti-Semitic narratives are in discrediting Muslims.
Survey research shows that Muslims in Europe are indeed less likely to support gender equality and gay tolerance. Muslims are much more likely than Christians to agree that “Jews cannot be trusted.” The data also shows that strong criticism of Israel correlates with anti-Semitism, but moderate criticism does not.
So when a political leader denounces anti-Semitism, how can we know if he really means it, or if he has an ulterior motive?
Contemporary anti-Semitism
The problems with anti-Semitism on the left side of the political spectrum are well documented. But data shows that anti-Semitism is much more common among right-wingers. Left-wing voters have significantly fewer anti-Semitic views than moderates. Right-wing voters, especially the far right and those who believe in conspiracy theories, are significantly more likely than moderates to hold anti-Semitic attitudes.
The increased anti-Semitism stems from the same far-right online actors who previously promoted anti-Muslim statements
The difference is especially large among far-right voters in the 18 to 30 age group. They are by far the most likely group to hold anti-Semitic views, especially the belief that Jews have “too much power.”
Nevertheless, there is more anti-Islamic than anti-Jewish sentiment among left-wing and right-wing voters, especially on the right. Research into the relationship between anti-Semitic and Islamophobic language on the internet shows that increased anti-Semitism stems from the same extreme right-wing online actors who previously promoted anti-Muslim expressions. Anti-Muslim prejudice and anti-Semitism do indeed share a cultural logic, although anti-Muslim prejudice is much more common.
Destructive hostility
Ultimately, increased Islamophobia leads to an alternation between anti-Muslim prejudice and anti-Semitism. Strengthening anti-Muslim attitudes strengthens anti-Semitism. Thus, pitting Muslim and Jewish communities against each other will fail to create security or equality for either group, no matter how many people claim to act in Jewish interests.
In short, every time political leaders speak out against anti-Semitism, ask yourself: is it sincere or instrumental? The subsequent discrediting of cultural others may be an indication that the latter may well be the case.
