Civil Society and Democratic Culture in Germany

Anti-Semitism is not a question of “left-wing” or “right-wing” views. In an interview with Goethe.de, Samuel Salzborn, a lecturer at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Gießen, talks about the link between anti-capitalism and anti-Semitism, the current bank crisis and the anti-Semitic tendencies of the Left.

Dr. Salzborn, Jews as rapacious capitalists, as money makers – how did this anti-Semitic resentment come about?

The crucial point for many anti-Semitic images, including this one, is the transition to modernity and so the direct link with the emergence of a capitalist society in which elements such as lending and stock transactions came into being. Because of specific developments connected with the emergence of national states, and because of the successful and at the same time unsuccessful integration of Jews in Europe (where the failure had very much to do with the majority societies), many modern insecurities were projected onto the Jews. These imputations increased steadily and the image of the greedy Jew was reactivated in capitalist crises. In the meantime things have gone so far that anti-Semitic insinuations in connection with economic crises no longer need to refer explicitly to Jews because the context appears to be so clear for anti-Semites.

Currently there is again an economic crisis with massive criticism of those who make money with money, of speculators and stockbrokers. Are there parallels here? Do such parallels promote a new anti-Semitism?

They exist today – there are anti-Semitic banners with very deliberately anti-Semitic analogies to the effect that Jews have something to do with the crisis. This is still not the majority of the current movement. But there is always a flank open to anti-Semitism, especially in the anti-globalization movement.

Anti-Semites are the cause of anti-Semitism

The historian Götz Aly explains German anti-Semitism of the Nazi era as above all the result of an envy that finally debouched into hate and persecution of the better-educated and economically more successful Jewish minority. Is that the gist of the matter?

I think that anti-Semites are the cause of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semites are subject to the same conflicts and crises in modern societies as are other people, but they deal with them differently. Jews are used as a projection surface because they seem to correspond to certain resentments that the anti-Semite carries about with him.

Anti-Semitism is mainly associated with the right-wing of the political spectrum. You’ve written an essay on anti-Semitic tendencies in the Left Party, which has caused quite a stir. What sources feed left-wing anti-Semitism? What are its causes?

This isn’t something that just now fell from the sky. Since at least the 1960s and 70s you could meet with anti-Semitism on the left, especially among the anti-imperialist left, whose basic orientation is anti-American and anti-Israeli. This plays a big part in the West German organizations of the Left Party. The other link that you think of immediately seems to be that to the GDR as an anti-Zionist state. But this is seen somewhat too narrowly, because most of those in the Left Party who speak out against Israel come from the West.

What distinguishes left-wing anti-Semitism from mere criticism of Israel, which in many respects today is not unjustified?

“Criticism” means an objective debate. You know you’re dealing with an anti-Semitic or an anti-Zionist world view when Israeli policy is considered one-sidedly, when Israel, for instance, is criticized for actions that are northing more than counter-terrorism. This goes hand in hand with a demonizing of Israeli actions that is linked to delegitimizing the Israeli state. It means that the existence of Israel, as a Jewish state, is more or less openly questioned.

Is left-wing anti-Semitism always a form of anti-capitalism?

There isn’t any genuine logical connection between anti-Semitism and anti-capitalism. But there is also no logic that makes left-wing positions immune against anti-Semitism. Often the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist world view is a dominant feature of the left-wing part of the political spectrum. This world view has something to do with exclusivity, with excluding certain groups. It is usually not a racist exclusion, but rather one oriented to economic dimensions. When, however, this thinking associates money and profit with Judaism, Israel and the United States, then the analogy comes very quickly to hand.

Your article caused quite a stir. How did the Left Party respond?

The reactions and discussion have shown that, within the Left Party, the main concern is to lose this subject. In broad sections of the Party there isn’t even an interest in seriously discussing it at all. And the other voices in the Party are not loud enough. I think it symptomatic that the most minimal formulation in the Party program, which is a matter-of-course for most parties in the democratic spectrum, had to be so fiercely fought for. This shows how ongoing the problem is in the Left Party.

What does that mean for the Left Party in general?

To put an end to this wavering policy, the Left Party has to accept that it has a manifest problem. In my view, the Left Party, and especially its leadership, is just at the beginning and needs first of all a fundamental willingness to self-criticism, and then to draw the political consequences.