April 8-9, 2025 “Antiscience and Antisemitism: An Alarming Convergence,”
Organized by Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, and Matthias Henze, director of the Program in Jewish Studies at Rice University, will examine the junction of two accelerating and alarming trends of the 2020s antiscience and antisemitism.
Antiscience activism now manifests as climate denialism and coordinated efforts to discredit life-saving public health interventions such as vaccines and immunizations. The full expression of science denialism occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and now targets prominent American scientists.
Antisemitism is also on the rise, as documented by the Anti-Defamation League and other groups. The conference, hosted by the Holocaust Museum Houston, explores the current and historical overlap between antiscience and antisemitism. Such an investigation reveals a 500-year history that began during the Black Death in Europe and targeted prominent Jewish scientists in Weimar, Germany, and Stalinist Russia and continues today through attacks on scientists working to slow or halt pandemics and climate change. The
conference will feature eight preeminent academics, specializing in the sciences and the humanities.
https://9368a.blackbaudhosting.com/9368a/Antiscienceand-Antisemitism-An-Alarming-Convergence
The Short Leap from Anti-science to Antisemitism with Peter Hotez and Jennifer Bardi
Join Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College, and Moment Deputy Editor Jennifer Bardi in a thought-provoking Moment Magazine discussion exploring the alarming connection between the rise of anti-science sentiments and the resurgence of antisemitism.
This insightful conversation delves into:
The globalization of anti-science narratives: Analyzing the societal consequences of the spread of harmful misinformation across borders.
The rise of anti-science aggression: Examining how anti-science movements are exploited for political gain and their impact on public health.
Historical and contemporary links between anti-Semitism and anti-science rhetoric: Uncovering the disturbing parallels between these harmful ideologies.
The impact of misinformation on vaccine hesitancy: Exploring how the spread of false information fuels public health crises.
The challenges of addressing vaccine hesitancy: Examining the complex interplay of identity, politics, and public health.
https://momentmag.com/the-short-leap-from-antiscience-to-antisemitism/?srsltid=AfmBOorAExT_f1QM1EQtzzaJXzkiwqcxjZCH_bK3e6XdTI-Y3xWoucsK
On Antiscience and Antisemitism
Recent surges in antivaccine activism and other antiscience trends now converge with rising antisemitism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, authoritarian elements from the far right in North America and Europe often invoked Nazi imagery to describe vaccinations or at times even blame the Jewish people for COVID-19 origins and vaccine profiteering. Such tropes represent throwbacks to the 14th century, when European Jews were persecuted during the time of the bubonic plague. This article provides both historical and recent perspectives on the links between antiscience and antisemitism, together with the author’s personal experience as a Jewish vaccine scientist targeted by both dark forces. New approaches to uncoupling antisemitism from antiscience, while combating both, are essential for saving lives and preserving democratic values.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38661936/
Global Vaccinations: New Urgency to Surmount a Triple Threat of Illness, Antiscience, and Anti-Semitism
Because of rising antivaccine activism and some key global policy missteps, we risk eroding more than 70 years of global health gains. This is occurring through an enabled and empowered antiscience ecosystem, with anti-Semitism and the targeting of Jewish biomedical scientists at its core.
Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, DSc (hon) 