Ep. 22: The Legacies of Antisemitism and Racism: How Antisemitism Has Shaped the World (Prof. Dr. Magda Teter – Fordham University, USA; President, American Academy for Jewish Research)

Guest: Prof. Dr. Magda Teter, Chair of Judaic Studies and History, Fordham University Hosts: Yusuf & Mert Bio: Professor Magda Teter is a leading historian of antisemitism. Recommended by David Nirenberg for this conversation, her scholarship explores the historical roots and systemic impact of antisemitic tropes. She is the author of Christian Supremacy: Reckoning with the Roots of Antisemitism and Racism (2023) and Blood Libel: On the Trail of an Antisemitic Myth (2020), which won the National Jewish Book Award, the Ronald Bainton Prize (2021), and the George L. Mosse Prize (2021). Teter has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute. She has served as co-editor of the Association for Jewish Studies Review, Vice-President for Publications of the Association for Jewish Studies, and is currently President of the American Academy for Jewish Research. In this episode: Professor Teter traces the history of antisemitism from antiquity to the present. She examines early antisemitic narratives, including the blood libel myth, their evolution under Christian theology, and their enduring influence on Western thought and societal structures. The discussion explores conspiracy theories about Jewish power, the intersection of antisemitism and racism, and the concept of Christian supremacy as a framework for understanding antisemitism as systemic knowledge. Contemporary antisemitism is also addressed, including manifestations in anti-Israel discourse, challenges of defining antisemitism today, and forms beyond the Western world. The conversation highlights the role of Christian institutions in perpetuating prejudice, the persecutions leading to Zionism, and continuities and ruptures culminating in the Holocaust. Teter provides historical context and critical tools to understand antisemitism without centering perpetrators. This episode was recorded on June 26, 2025. Links: Teter, Magda. Blood Libel: On the Trail of an Antisemitic Myth, Harvard UP, 2020 https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674240933 Maps and historical sources tracing the blood libel myth https://thebloodlibeltrail.org/the-sources/ Teter, Magda. Christian Supremacy: Reckoning with the Roots of Antisemitism and Racism, Princeton UP, 2023 https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691242583/christian-supremacy?srsltid=AfmBOoqh4cjyrZcaR0nTZhFbs2zvBP4ina1vpbiwkNWGw-gRAUDbPMrr Further resources: Nirenberg, David. Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition, W. W. Norton, 2013 https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393347913?utm_source=chatgpt.com/about-the-book Disclaimer: Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast team. Technical legal terms are explained in Episode 36 with Prof. Claus Kreß; contested histories are addressed by Prof. Gudrun Krämer in Episode 21.