conflict & communication online, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2010
www.cco.regener-online.de
ISSN 1618-0747

Wilhelm Kempf
Patterns of criticizing Israel and their relationship to modern anti-Semitism

Even though the expression of anti-Semitic attitudes is no longer socially acceptable to the German public, it has not ceased entirely. It has been camouflaged in various ways and has even found politically correct expression in the criticism of Israeli Palestine policy. It cannot, however, be assumed that all criticism of Israel is motivated by anti-Semitic attitudes.
The present paper uses Latent Class Analysis to identify typical patterns of criticizing Israel and relates them to manifest, secondary and latent anti-Semitism.
The study suggests that it is not criticism of Israel per se which should alarm us, but rather the ways in which Israel is criticized. However, it also suggests that the sort of neutrality that avoids expressing any criticism may also conceal anti-Semitic tendencies.