"Befriending the Jew in Post-Holocaust Europe: 1945 to October 7, 2023," with G. Daniel Cohen, Rice University
The talk discusses the politics of Jewish befriending in post-Holocaust Europe, with emphasis on the European Union since its inception. How did the politics of enmity give way to a politics of friendship in the aftermath of the Shoah? What concrete forms did the supposed valorization of Jews assume, especially in Germany, the so-called “land of perpetrators”? What have been its consequences, not only for Jews but also for Arabs, Muslims, and Palestinians, in Europe and beyond? How might we write a history of European philosemitism that acknowledges its blind spots while placing the befriending of Jews at the center of mainstream European politics and culture over the past eight decades? These interrogations extend to the present. Are we now witnessing the collapse of the post-Shoah European framework, a moral-emotional economy put to the test in the aftermath of October 7, 2023.
G. Daniel Cohen holds the Samuel and Goldye Chair in Jewish Studies at Rice University. His last book, Good Jews. Philosemitism in Europe since the Holocaust (Cambridge University Press, 2025), explores shifting European attitudes towards Jews, Judaism, Jewishness and Israel from 1945 to the present.
Katie Jenio
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