Global Stuff on Antisemitism as a Political Tool

On this podcast episode of Global Stuff, host Jimmy Durchslag talks with Ian Lustick, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, on how the Trump administration is using its assertion of antisemitism on college campuses and elsewhere as a means to push its political agenda. Jimmy and Ian discuss the definition of antisemitism: “Antisemitism is discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against Jews as Jews (or Jewish institutions as Jewish).” Criticizing or questioning the actions of Israel or the US policies towards Israel, Hamas or the situation in Gaza is not antisemitism. The conversation covers the many non-Jewish actors taking on the mantle of antisemitism, such as the Rachel Project from the Heritage Foundation, as well as the assault on universities using claims of antisemitism. The podcast also updates the current situation between Israel and Gaza and whether or not a lasting ceasefire can be achieved.

Ian Lustick: Dr. Lustick holds the Bess W. Heyman Chair in the Political Science Department of the University of Pennsylvania.  He teaches Middle Eastern politics, comparative politics, and computer modeling. He is a recipient of awards from the Carnegie Corporation, the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Social Sciences Research Council.  Before coming to Penn he taught for fifteen years at Dartmouth College and worked for one year in the Department of State. His present research focuses on the implications of the disappearance of the option of a negotiated “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and techniques of counterfactual forecasting. He is a past president of the Politics and History Section of the American Political Science Association and of the Association for Israel Studies, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Among his books are Arabs in the Jewish State (1980); For the Land and the Lord (1988, 1994); Unsettled States, Disputed Lands (1993); Trapped in the War on Terror (2006); and Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality  (2019).

Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest driven talk show for over 20 years. He has interviewed many prominent scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.