Germans, Left-wingers and the Middle East Conflict

There are continual controversial discussions in Germany on the subject of whether, when and why the critical positions towards Israel in the Middle East conflict are simply a form of veiled anti-Semitism.

Peter Ullrich examines new perspectives: on the one hand, learning processes in the last few decades have caused left-wing debates on the Middle East in Germany to become more complex and balanced than ever. On the other hand, the dangers for a universalistic left-wing position remain evident.
Again and again the arguments become particularistic, whether they find their expression in anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia or an extreme over-identification with the parties involved in the conflict.
The author investigates various aspects of the German view of the Middle East conflict from a sociological and discourse analytical perspective.

Left-wing discourses on the Middle East, in the area of conflict between memory enforcement and memory defence.

The Author
Peter Ullrich, born in 1976, is a sociologist and cultural scientist and works as a research assistant at the Centre for Technology and Society (Institute of Protest Research) and at the Centre of Anti-Semitism Research at the TU Berlin.