Holocaust Inversion

‘Holocaust Inversion’ involves a literal inversion of reality in which Israelis are cast as the ‘new’ Nazis and the Palestinians as the ‘new’ Jews. It also employs an inversion of morality, whereby the Holocaust is presented as a moral lesson for, or even a moral indictment of ‘the Jews’.

According to law lecturer and antisemitism specialist Lesley Klaff, those who object to these inversions are told  that they are acting in bad faith, and that their only concern is to deflect criticism of Israel. The Holocaust, an event accurately described as a "rupture in civilisation" organised by a regime that, as the political philosopher Leo Strauss observed, "had no other clear principle except murderous hatred of the Jews",  is now being used, instrumentally, as a means to express animosity towards the homeland of the Jews. "The 'victims have become perpetrators’ is being heard more and more. That is Holocaust Inversion," says Klaff. Drawing parallels between Nazis and Jews/Israelis since the Hamas pogrom of October 7, 2023 has become even more widespread on social media and in the media and popular discourse.

Holocaust inversion is widespread in anti-Zionist discourse, which has long drawn comparisons between Nazi Germany and Israel.

The American historian Deborah Lipstadt calls such comparisons "soft-core" Holocaust denial.

(Last updated on 12/04/2024)

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