Discussions about Israel and Zionism can shift from an historical investigation or geopolitical discussion to one that traffics in antisemitic messages, tropes, and/or motivations, which consequently can affect the treatment-and sense of safety-of Jewish and non-Jewish students alike. As writer Shane Burley writes, "Anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitic...but the way in which anti-Zionism often plays out, the types of strategies it utilizes, the language it is comprised of, and the way it can place double standards on Jews, can certainly be."
How can we understand and navigate the overlaps–and distinctions–between antisemitism and critical discussions about Israel? When is “Israel'' or “Zionist” a modern replacement for the word “Jew”?
It is imperative that educators and students have support and tools to navigate this distinction so that important world events can be unpacked thoughtfully in the classroom without incorporating antisemitic ideas or behaviors.
During the webinar, we will:
Identify when anti-Zionism crosses into the realm of antisemitism
Explore how antisemitism shows up in conversations about Israel
Strategize about how to confront and discuss antisemitism when it emerges in classroom conversations about geopolitical conflict
Captioning will be provided during this webinar, which takes place from 7–8 PM ET/6–7 PM CT/ 5–6 PM MT/4–5 PM PT. If this time doesn’t work for your schedule, be sure to register and we’ll notify you once the recording is available on our On-Demand Learning Center.
You will be eligible to receive one-hour of professional development credit for participation if you actively watch the webinar. At the conclusion of the webinar, you will be able to download a certificate of completion from the webinar console. Check with your school or district in advance of the webinar to ensure that the professional development credit is accepted.
About the Panelists:
Dimitry Anselme, Facilitator
Facing History and Ourselves
Dov Waxman, Presenter
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies
University of California Los Angeles
Dov Waxman is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair of Israel Studies and the director of the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He received his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from Johns Hopkins University, and his B.A. from Oxford University. He is the author of four books: The Pursuit of Peace and The Crisis of Israeli Identity: Defending / Defining the Nation (2006), Israel’s Palestinians: The Conflict Within (2011), Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel (2016), and most recently, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2019). His writing has also been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic.
Haras Rafiq, Presenter
Counter Extremism Expert
The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy
Haras Rafiq is the Managing Director for the Institute for The Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) and has been a counter extremism/terrorism expert and practitioner since 2004. Prior to this, he was the CEO of Quilliam International based in London and USA for seven years and has been part of numerous international Governmental task forces, including the UK government task force looking to counter extremism/terrorism in response to the 2005 terrorist bombings in London. He is a Trustee of the UK charity, Muslims Against Antisemitism (MAAS) and he was also a member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda at Europol’s European Counter-terrorism Centre (ECTC). In addition to this, Haras has been a trustee of the UK and French Government Securities Think Tank – The Franco British Council. Haras is regularly featured in the media as a commentator and has been a cultural ambassador through the UK Government’s “Projecting British Islam” initiative.