Feminist Antisemitism

An Intellectual History

Kara Jesella author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:24th Jun '26

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Feminist Antisemitism cover

Feminist Antisemitism: An Intellectual History establishes the antipathy toward Jews that existed as the movement began and tracks how changes in feminist in‑groups and theories manifested in new, feminist‑inflected forms of antisemitic thinking.

Though the feminist response to the brutal Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023, shocked onlookers, in fact, hostility toward Jews, Jewish women, and Israel has become a central feature of the feminist movement and its most important theories. As different versions of feminism competed, a feminism that does not seek mainstream feminist goals like equal rights or treatment has become predominant, particularly in academia. Newer feminist and queer theories, often related to “whiteness” and race, have migrated far outside of feminism, energizing movements like Black Lives Matter, justifying Islamist violence, and harming not just Jews but also women.

This book will be of interest to scholars researching and teaching about antisemitism, feminism, feminist theory (including Black feminism, women of color feminism, and intersectionality), feminist history, and Jewish women’s history and to the general reader who is interested in feminism, antisemitism, and contemporary debates around education reform, free speech, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

“With her exhaustive research and deeply insightful interpretation of key texts, Kara Jesella reveals that antisemitism was endemic in second-wave feminism from the outset, not—as some would have it—a result of Zionism. In fact, she shows, it was this antisemitism that predisposed the movement to become antizionist and led feminists to deny that Hamas had committed sexual violence on October 7. This is a bold, brave, and necessary book.

Sonya Michel, Professor Emerita of History and Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Maryland

“One of the saddest—and yet most indicative—features of contemporary antizionism has been its willingness to abandon the historic feminist commitment to equality in favor of hostility to Jewish women. Kara Jesella’s eloquent and immensely important book offers a compelling account of both how feminism lost its way and what its consequent impact on contemporary politics has proven to be. If you have been troubled by these developments, this is the book to read to understand them.”

Cary Nelson, author of Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles

ISBN: 9781041001201

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 400g

200 pages