Hannah Arendt’s Errors and Great Foresight

Hannah Arendt moves through the history of Europe with a sweeping synthesis and a speed that can be difficult to follow. The article therefore focuses on one issue it considers debatable and in need of further qualification: her account of antisemitism.

Arendt argues that the persecution of Jews resulted from their financially strong position and from their consistent efforts to remain on the side of rulers in the hope of protection. According to the article, this position developed in the modern era.

The criticism is that the roots of antisemitism reach further back, into the Middle Ages, when the persecution of Jews was primarily linked to religion. That religious persecution also continued in the modern era, the article says.

Although Arendt’s analysis is described as highly original, the article argues that she almost entirely overlooks the religious reasons behind the persecution of Jews. It presents this omission as a significant limitation in her explanation of antisemitism.