The Darkest Path: The Puzzling Resilience of Antisemitism

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On March 19, CIS will host our 22nd Acton Lecture. Join us for a lecture and discussion with Rabbi Ben Elton, exploring the historical and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism. The event will be hosted by Peter Kurti, Director of the CIS Culture Program.

Jew hatred erupted onto the streets of Australia after 7 October 2023 and now stands at unprecedented levels in this country. Yet antisemitism has long been a feature in societies where Jews have lived.

From the Romans to Martin Luther; from the Hadrianic persecutions to massacres in Medieval Europe and more recently Eastern Europe, to the Holocaust and contemporary anti-Jewish violence, many Jews have lived in the midst of the hatred of those around them and have often suffered at their hands.

Rabbi Elton will consider how antisemitism has evolved over the centuries from religious to racial hatred, and now to a national hatred. In his lecture and discussion with Peter Kurti, he will also weigh possible options for policy makers committed to combatting antisemitism.

Rabbi Ben Elton is a Jewish historian and the Chief Minister of The Great Synagogue in Sydney. Before ordination to the rabbinate, he worked for the British Government in the Ministry of Justice and served successive Lord Chancellors. Rabbi Elton has become an important voice in the Australian public conversation about antisemitism and other moral and social issues.

Peter Kurti is director of the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program at CIS and is also Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Law and Business at the University of Notre Dame Australia.