1st Edition
Responses to 7 October: Law and Society
One of three volumes responding to the 7 October attack, Law and Society begins with a legal and a genocide studies critique of the claim that Israel is genocidal; another reflects on the absence of an understanding of antisemitism in international legal discourse.
There are reflections on experiences in the Palestine solidarity movement and on the twists that discourse there takes. Contributions draw on Judaism, feminism, and sociology to face what happened and to trace how Israelis were transported back to a quintessentially pre-Israel Jewish experience. Others survey reports of antisemitism around the globe in the wake of 7 October, including pieces about Britain and Germany.
This work will appeal to scholars, students, and activists with an interest in antisemitism, Jewish studies, and the politics of Israel.
Foreword: 'My grandmother was killed in a pogrom. Then my daughter was, too'
Ilan Troen
Introduction
Rosa Freedman and David Hirsh
Editor’s Note
1. International Law and the Conflict in Gaza
Robbie Sabel
2. The Holocaust, Genocide, and October 7
Philip Spencer
3. International Law Is Not Antisemitism-Proof
Ulf Haeussler
4. ‘But Israel claims to be a democracy!’ – Hypocrisy, double standards, and false equivalences
Eric Heinze
5. A Visit to Kibbutz Kfar Azza, November 28, 2023: Reflections on the Jewish Present and the Jewish Past
John Strawson
6. From the River to the Sea
Jeffrey Herf
7. Indecent Jewish theology, post October 7: the G-d of the bathroom floor
Yehudis Fletcher
8. Collective Trauma and Resilience for the Jewish People in the Aftermath of 7th October
Leslie Morrison Gutman and Samuel D. Landau
9. After the Pogrom: A shift in the Jewish Configuration
Danny Trom and Bruno Karsenti
10. Global Leaders, Experts Must Reject Surging Antisemitism and Affirm Jews’ Equal Rights
Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
11. Antisemitic Reactions to October 7: The German Case
Julius Gruber, Bianca Loy, Daniel Poensgen
12. The worst month in my lifetime for UK antisemitism
Jack Omer-Jackaman
Biography
Rosa Freedman is Professor of Law at the University of Reading and Research Fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, UK.
David Hirsh is the Academic Director and CEO of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
‘I was brought up believing it’s a good thing Israel exists, to stop those who would push all Jews into the sea. Anti-Israel hysteria made me re-examine whether subconscious bias had left me blind to its evil. Facts, context and history tell me no, and such confident yet malicious accusations raise alarm bells. Anthologising this phenomena is vital work.’
Rachel Riley MBE, TV presenter, activist against antisemitism and advocate for women and girls in STEM
‘Essential and compelling reading on the 7 October attacks by a distinguished array of historians, lawyers, feminists, novelists and sociologists, who debate the significance of the Hamas kill-raid against Israel and analyse the denial, glorification and trivialisation that followed.’
Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian, author of Jerusalem: the biography
‘Absolutely and heartbreakingly necessary: some of the greatest thinkers of our day addressing the worst Jewish trauma in most people's living memory.’
Hadley Freeman, journalist
‘Following the horrifying blow of the atrocities of October 7th came the additional shock that virulent antisemitism had actually intensified in its aftermath. In this upside down moral universe feeling has sometimes overwhelmed reflection. But this magnificent collection of essays, at once deeply felt and sharply thought, is an anchorage for the intellect to confront the poisoned madness of this moment. It ought to be compulsory reading.’
Simon Schama, historian
