Holding Jews Collectively Responsible for Israel’s Actions

Applying generalisations to an individual or a group based on their background—be it national, ethnic, religious or any other—is a common cognitive and discursive mechanism at the base of any stereotyping; it is also not unusual to blame the whole group for the faults or misdeeds of one of its members. While such sweeping assumptions are undeniably problematic, they are hardly unique to antisemitic discourse. However, this chapter deals specifically with the conceptualisation of all Jews and Israelis as a homogenous group liable for the actions of Israel on the basis of either their perceived religious affiliation or their ethnic origin, or both.