Seeing Antisemitism Through Law: High Promises or Indeterminacies?

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Thilo Marauhn; Dr. Reut Yael Paz
• Subject Area: Principles of Law and Jurisprudence ; Public Law
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 446952759

Antisemitism has been called history’s longest hatred. The question of whether such an unrelenting hatred ought to be reckoned with remains less important than the manner in which it is confronted. It certainly needs to be tamed. The legal form can be a powerful tool for combating antisemitism, and the penalization of antisemitic hate crime may perform an important deterrent function. Law, however, also disregards or even reinforces antisemitism. The a priori assumption is that neither the law nor antisemitism are found in some pre-existent reality external to the social. Both are integrative and interlaced aspects of society and ought to be understood in their wide-ranging social existence.The goal of this project is to examine links comparatively between the legal form and antisemitism in several European countries. There is more to learn about the ways in which law meets, confronts and shapes antisemitism than is first apparent, and there has been little legal research dedicated to these matters. This project attempts to rectify this deficiency from a new perspective. It focuses on the law’s promises and indeterminacies when tackling antisemitism. The project will open up a novel and interdisciplinary scholarly avenue. The project’s originality does not stem simply from its examination of antisemitism through the legal form. It is also vested in understanding that the widespread a priori assumption that legal problems can and should always find a legal solution is at least problematic. Only if it is accepted that law’s promise remains necessarily limited by the structural properties of the legal system, can it be examined in a more appropriate manner. Legal "Solutions" to antisemitism still seem to be limited by three main aspects: First, by substance, as most legal research ignores research dedicated to antisemitism from other disciplines. Second, the time it takes the law to react to antisemitism is as important. Third, as a result of the limited legal substance, legal theory often overlooks the historical process in which Jewish emancipation progresses in sync with two movements: universal human rights and antisemitism.The overarching objective of this project is to address these issues by examining the law’s ability to address these tensions through the concrete practices of courts in several European countries. An examination grounded in actual events will produce a fresh examination of law’s role in the neutralization and universalization of both universal human rights and antisemitism. This project will necessarily unpack issues such as free exercise of religion, free speech, academic freedom, censorship, and of course, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Finally, the project will provide a detailed comparative examination of several legal systems with both straightforward data about court procedures and practices, and legal theoretical underpinnings and a discussion of their similarities and differences.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Israel
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Yoram Shachar