It seems that antisemitism is everywhere these days. Violent attacks on Jews in Copenhagen and Paris come on top of surveys and monitoring exercises that suggest that antisemitic incidents and attitudes may be on the rise in Europe.
Yet it is perhaps more accurate to say that discourse about antisemitism is everywhere these days. The question of what antisemitism is, how it can be measured, what causes it and how to address it, are all heavily contested. This is a highly emotive debate in which, on the one hand, some argue that antisemitism is routinely disguised, excused, or denied, and on the other hand, others argue that antisemitism is exaggerated or used cynically for political ends.
In this essay I do not intend to take a position on who is right in specific controversies about antisemitism. Rather, I want to focus on why the antisemitism debate is so heated and there is so little unanimity.
