Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and associated faculty in the History Department, recently published an essay in the relaunch issue of The Jewish Quarterly. The piece, “White insurrectionists: Anti-semitism in America,” examines the roots of far-right extremism in the United States. Read a short excerpt from the piece below, a longer excerpt at Jewish News, and the full article (subscription required) at The Jewish Quarterly.

“[The January 6 U.S. Capitol] assault shocked and surprised many people. It was unprecedented. (The Capitol had been attacked previously, but that was in 1812 by the British, not a swarm of American citizens.)

“I was not, however, surprised by either the insurrection or the antisemitism that was part of it. Rather than an ex nihilo event, it constituted a link in the growing chain of far-right extremist violence.

“During recent years, the United States – as well as much of Europe – has witnessed a decided growth in and sophistication of far-right white-power movements.

“Now that they have emerged more fully into the daylight, it is important that we recognise how the racism and antisemitism within them are inextricably linked.”