Lecture: Antisemitism and the Artistic Zeitgeist of Today

How the Art World is both the Problem, and Solution

Session Length: 60-80 Minutes

     In the Post-Oct 7th world, we’ve seen a dramatic shift in the cultural landscape of many metropolitan centers where Jews have lived and thrived for several generations - with no shortage of antisemitic (or “anti-Zionist”) views infiltrating the art and culture sphere. With visual canards and stereotypes flooding the social media feeds of teenagers, and celebrities sharing hateful libels and unhinged rants, Jews across the world feel increasingly pushed out of the art world, be it fine art, cinema, or music - a field generally known as a historical safe haven for Jews. Though, as a people who have for centuries engaged in, and been leaders of progress, in the world of arts - can we use it as a tool to fight back against antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and disinformation? Over the course of this interactive seminar-style lectures, we will:

• Go through examples of contemporary antisemitic elements in art, and compare it with older tropes from various historical periods such as the Holocaust/Dreyfus Affair/Medieval Tropes Etc.

• Discuss Where the Boundary of Antisemitism/Anti-Zionism/Acceptable Criticism is as a group

• Showcase examples of how Jewish and Israeli artists today are using a variety of creative mediums to combat anti-Jewish hate and ignorance, and how members of your community can utilize those tools as well