Antisemitism and Social Democracy: The Case Study of Norway

How can antisemitism persist in a social democracy that prides itself on justice and equality? In this book, Torkel Brekke provides a historical analysis and interpretation of how far-left anti-Zionism entered the political mainstream, using Norway as a case study. Drawing on antisemitic rhetoric and symbols shaped during the Cold War, the far left and the Palestine movement gradually influenced the core institutions of Norway's social democracy, especially the trade unions. While the 1990s brought hope for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the darker global political climate after 2000 saw antisemitism reemerge in new, dangerous, and worldwide forms, even without support from the former Communist Bloc. By examining contested concepts and historical connections, Brekke's book offers a diagnosis of one of the defining political controversies of our time. It provides the conceptual tools that enable insights into current debates about antisemitism and Israel.