How Iran and Hamas Mainstreamed Anti-Zionism - with Jeffrey Herf

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In this episode, Dr. Rachel Fish talks with historian Dr. Jeffrey Herf, a leading expert on Nazism, the Holocaust, antisemitism, and the connections between Europe and the Middle East. Dr. Herf explains how antisemitism and anti-Zionism have become more accepted in universities and public debates, and why that’s so dangerous.

They discuss Iran’s state-sponsored antisemitism, Hamas’s genocidal ideology, and how these views are being normalized in higher education and social justice circles. Dr. Herf also talks about how Western foreign policy often downplays threats to Israel, and how parts of the academic left have morally failed by ignoring or excusing hatred.

He explains how groups with extreme right-wing, religious, and misogynistic views have been wrongly embraced by people who see themselves as progressive. Together, they explore what it will take to restore moral clarity, defend historical truth, and push back against hatred disguised as justice.

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Guest Bio:

Jeffrey Herf, a historian of modern European, especially German, history, is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, College Park. His publications include The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust (Harvard U.P., 2006), Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World (Yale U.P., 2009), Israel's Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945-1949 (Cambridge UP, 2022), and Three Faces of Antisemitism: Right, Left and Islamist (Routledge, 2024). Before and since October 7, 2023, he has published essays on contemporary issues have appeared in the pages of The Free Press,, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Quillette, Persuasion/American Purpose, Sapir, and The Washington Post.

Mentioned in this episode:

Laurent Murawiec, The Mind of Jihad (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Hamas Charter

7 October Parliamentary Commission Report

Anti-Israel Campus Groups: Online Networks and Narratives

Jeffery Herf's Articles:

'Free Palestine' Terrorism, The Free Press, June 1, 2025

Why it’s wrong to call Israel’s war in Gaza a ‘genocide’, The Washington Post, June 3, 2025 (with Norman J.W. Goda)

From the River to the Sea, Persuasion, Nov 20, 2023

Jeffrey Herf’s Books:

Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World (Yale University Press, 2010)

Three Faces of Antisemitism: Right, Left and Islamist (Routledge, 2023)

Israel's Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945–1949 (Cambridge University Press, 2022)