White supremacy, antisemitism and the end of liberal Europe | Ghassan Hage | The Big Picture S4E5

Is Europe ‘nostalgic for a racist past’ when it didn’t have to apologise for its colonialism?

In this week’s episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with renowned Australian anthropologist Ghassan Hage.

Hage is currently fighting against the prestigious Max Planck Society in Germany over accusations of ‘antisemitism’ over his critiques of Israel.

This week, Germany’s government had to defend its ongoing military support for Israel’s war in Gaza after a legal case was filed at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Nicaragua, who accused Germany of “facilitating the commission of genocide”.

We go in-depth and speak about Germany, antisemitism and the end of liberal Europe.

Hage was invited to a placement at a Max Planck institute last year, but soon became the target of attacks by right-wing media in Germany, who lobbied the Max Planck directors to fire him. They did.

Despite being married to a Jewish refugee whose father fled Mussolini, and building a career in creating dialogue, Hage was denied a chance to defend the accusations.

Now he’s fighting back, and says his case is part of a wider trend in Germany and many western nations who are using ‘antisemitism’ as a cover to keep immigrants under control.

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Timeline:
0:00 - Intro
01:45 - Hage's legal battle with Max Planck Society
06:20 - Germany's crackdown on Pro-Palestine activism
11:50 - Hage targeted by German media attacks and termination experience
17:30 - Hage responds to the antisemitism accusation
22:15 - Accusations of antisemitism used to suppress immigrants
28:40 - Europe's shift to nationalism and xenophobia.
34:05 - Europe's nostalgia for its colonial past
39:20 - Max Planck Society's institutional betrayal
44:15 - Dialogue and empathy crucial for societal issues.
49:30 - Conclusions

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