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Anti-semitism and Xenophobia*

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Abstract

This paper explores the link between anti-Semitism and xenophobia from a psychoanalytic prism. The author claims that anti-Semitism is a particular form of xenophobia directed against Jews, with some unique characteristics. She first introduces some basic notions about xenophobia, and then discusses the origins of anti-Semitism as they are viewed in early psychoanalytic thinking and in contemporary psychoanalysis. The article explores the nature of anti-Semitism in society today, and presents some reflections on the interplay between anti-Semitism and other kinds of xenophobia.

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Correspondence to Ilany Kogan.

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Address correspondence to: Ilany Kogan, 2, Mohaliver St., Rehovot, 76304, Israel.

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Kogan, I. Anti-semitism and Xenophobia*. Am J Psychoanal 77, 378–391 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s11231-017-9113-6

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