ZIONISM AND ANTISEMITISM – INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: 24 May – 26 May 2017
Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck, University of London
CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS
This timely conference will examine the interaction between Zionism and antisemitism as it has developed from the late nineteenth century through to the present day. We are interested in exploring this interaction as it developed among Zionists and antisemites, and among Jews and non-Jews more broadly. We welcome proposals that consider this theme as it has developed in theory, in practice, and in the manifold domains of cultural representation.
Call for Papers: we seek contributions from across the range of disciplines including history, political science, literary and cultural studies, anthropology, sociology and theology. The conference is open to scholars at any stage of their career, from PhD students to established scholars. Proposals from independent scholars are also welcome.
Speakers will be provided with accommodation in London as well as support towards their travel costs.
Deadline for paper proposals: Monday 14 November 2016.
A paper proposal of 200-300 words, together with a brief CV or biography, (of no more than one page) should be sent to Elaine Hudson pearsinstitute@bbk.ac.uk by 14 November 2016.
Full information on the conference is available on the Pears Institute website.
Please circulate to others who may be interested.
Best wishes
Jan
Dr Jan Davison
Head of Communications and Institute Manager
Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism
School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy
Birkbeck, University of London
26 Russell Square
London WC1B 5DQ
020 7631 6613
Security, Conflict and International Development (SCID) 
It is a very interesting topic to explore the correlation between Zionism and antisemitism (to draw some lessons on a broader subject of religion based bias, conflict and crime in modern societies).
Take for example, the United States. On the one hand, pro-Israel lobby is considered the most powerful and influential at the Capitol Hill and across many big and rich states (like California). Additionally, the Zionist Organisation of America is actively involved in promoting the Jewish culture and countering antisemitism in education, media, social life. On the other hand, according to FBI, 57 percent of religious hate crime in the US were committed against Jews (to compare, 16 percent were against Muslims) in 2014.
In the UK, the Zionist Federation is an umbrella organisation for the Zionist movement in the United Kingdom, representing more than 30 organisations, and over 50 thousand affiliated members. However, anti-Semitic attacks in London have increased by 61 percent over the course of 2015, according to Metropolitan Police.
There are many questions to be explored: for example, if there is correlation between the promotion of ‘other’ (as compared to major/mainstream religion of native population) religious values in modern democratic society and hate crimes against it; if yes, what internal and external factors influence it; what are their root causes and whether they are at all related to particular religion or are growing from different social and ideological grounds but collide with ‘other’ values and beliefs as a consequence of identity search in the era of globalisation, urbanisation, and inter-cultural isolation.
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