I have always been curious about why and how the Holocaust has spawned new anti-Semitic tropes, such as Holocaust denial. Anthony Julius famously wrote in Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England that, “[T]he Holocaust should have altogether put paid to anti-Semitism. It should have rebutted once and for all the principal anti-Semitic fantasy of malign Jewish power; it should have satiated the appetite of the most murderous anti-Semites for Jewish death. And yet instead it precipitated new versions or tropes.” I wonder why this is. While it would be naïve to assume that all anti-Semitic thought died along with the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, the question is, why and how has a regime that had no other clear principle except murderous hatred of the Jews become the vehicle, at least in the way it is remembered, for further anti-Jewish resentment and hatred?

I took the opportunity to try to understand the reasons for, and the impact of two Holocaust spawned tropes that have become commonplace in discourses around the Israel / Palestine conflict here in the UK, when I was invited to present a paper on ‘anti-Semitism and the Holocaust’ at a recent conference in Brazil. Known as ‘Holocaust Inversion’ and ‘The Livingstone Formulation’ respectively, I chose these tropes because they were used earlier this year by a member of parliament in the coalition government and a by court of law, not only to criticise Israel, but also to criticise and insult Jews.

I gave my paper, titled, ‘Political and Legal Judgment: Misuses of the Holocaust in the UK’ on May 23^rd at the international and multidisciplinary II Coloquio Internacional Politicas, Direitos, Eticas, which was hosted by Rio de Janeiro State University.

My presentation can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xsVLfcAU5s0