Unmasking Prejudice: Confronting Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Racism Across Europe Lecture Series:
Although antisemitism was on the rise across Europe since 2001, the EU ignored the issue. In 2015, however, the tide seemed to change when the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, formed a coordinators office to combat antisemitism. In 2021, the office created the first ever strategy to combat antisemitism and foster Jewish life. This presentation will examine why and how the EU created a policy focusing on antisemitism and some of the policy tools the EU possesses to address antisemitism. The EU strategy attempts to address antisemitism with both preventative measures and actions to address antisemitism when it occurs. Although not created distinctly to address antisemitism, the EU has other legal underpinnings that provide a framework within which the EU can address antisemitism. After October 7th and the rise of antisemitic incidences in Europe, it begs the question what measures if any can the EU really implement? We will explore the possibilities and limitations of the EU’s policy and its influence on its member states.
Carolyn M. Dudek, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science and Director of European Studies at Hofstra University in New York. She received her Master and Ph. D. at the University of Pittsburgh. She has written extensively on the EU across various policy sectors. Her current work is focused on EU antidiscrimination policy with a particular focus on antisemitism. She is currently the grant writer and coordinator for an ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Module at Hofstra University, which is focused on EU anti-discrimination and hate crime policy, and she was recently awarded a Jean Monnet Chair to further her research. She is currently writing a monograph about the EU’s antisemitism policy.