Graz historian:

“Demos are often clearly anti-Semitic”

Palestine supporters marched with the KPÖ's May Day demonstration in Graz

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

Protest camps at universities, Palestine flags and banners at demonstrations by the Styrian Communist Party: how anti-Semitic is the political left? Graz historian Gerald Lamprecht explains why even seemingly unproblematic messages quickly become anti-Semitic. 

What is still criticism - and what is already anti-Semitism? There is a fine line that many people walk in the discourse surrounding the war in the Middle East. Gerald Lamprecht knows this too. The historian heads the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Graz and the anti-Semitism research focus of the Academy of Sciences. "Since October 7" - the day of the Hamas terror attack on Israel - "Israel-related anti-Semitism has been very strong and visible".