Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Some terms and definitions
- Introduction: Race, racism and social work
- one Rethinking anti-racist social work in a neoliberal age
- two The growth of xeno-racism and Islamophobia in Britain
- three The catalysers: ‘black’ professionals and the anti-racist movement
- four “Same, same, but different”
- five Antisemitism and anti-racist social work
- six Anti-Roma racism in Europe: past and recent perspectives
- seven In defence of multiculturalism?
- eight Social work and Islamophobia: identity formation among second and third generation Muslim women in north-west England
- nine Institutionalised Islamophobia and the ‘Prevent’ agenda: ‘winning hearts and minds’ or welfare as surveillance and control?
- ten ‘Street-grooming’, sexual abuse and Islamophobia: an anatomy of the Rochdale abuse scandal
- eleven My people?
- twelve Twenty-first century eugenics? A case study about the Merton Test
- thirteen The role of immigration policies in the exploitation of migrant care workers: an ethnographic exploration
- Conclusion: Race, racism and social work today: some concluding thoughts
- Bibliography
- Index
five - Antisemitism and anti-racist social work
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Some terms and definitions
- Introduction: Race, racism and social work
- one Rethinking anti-racist social work in a neoliberal age
- two The growth of xeno-racism and Islamophobia in Britain
- three The catalysers: ‘black’ professionals and the anti-racist movement
- four “Same, same, but different”
- five Antisemitism and anti-racist social work
- six Anti-Roma racism in Europe: past and recent perspectives
- seven In defence of multiculturalism?
- eight Social work and Islamophobia: identity formation among second and third generation Muslim women in north-west England
- nine Institutionalised Islamophobia and the ‘Prevent’ agenda: ‘winning hearts and minds’ or welfare as surveillance and control?
- ten ‘Street-grooming’, sexual abuse and Islamophobia: an anatomy of the Rochdale abuse scandal
- eleven My people?
- twelve Twenty-first century eugenics? A case study about the Merton Test
- thirteen The role of immigration policies in the exploitation of migrant care workers: an ethnographic exploration
- Conclusion: Race, racism and social work today: some concluding thoughts
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
When the history of anti-racism in social work is examined, there is a notable gap: a developed analysis of one of the oldest ‘racisms’ – antisemitism. In this chapter Levine explores why this omission has occurred and locates opposition to antisemitism within the wider social work anti-racist discourse. In doing so the chapter examines the nature of antisemitism today in the UK and internationally. In addressing these issues, the chapter will further explore the fundamental debate surrounding the distinction between anti-Zionist and antisemitic discourses that have been conflated in recent years. Levine argues that this conflation leads to confusion and serves to undermine a full understanding of the true nature of racism and antisemitism.
Introduction
It is axiomatic that a core component of social work is its value base and related commitment to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice. This is borne out by the weight of social work literature that is committed to challenging racism, discrimination and oppression in their widest forms through a clear focus on achieving social justice for marginalised and oppressed groups in society. This focus on anti-racist values is enshrined in the International Federation of Social Work (IFSW) Statement of Ethical Principles (2012), which guides social work practice and education from a perspective firmly rooted in principles of human rights and social justice. Social work practitioners and students need to grapple regularly with the ethical contradictions thrown up in practice situations to ensure they are acting from anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive perspectives. Such contradictions and ethical dilemmas are unfortunately all the more apparent in a period of economic crisis and associated ‘austerity’ measures as are now being imposed by central banks and national governments across Europe and worldwide (Ferguson and Lavalette 2013a).
Within this broad context, there are deepening and continuing attacks on previously accepted ideas of welfarism and multiculturalism, which pose significant challenges for social work practice. As McKibbin (2013) and others argue, in the UK it is the poor, the disabled and the vulnerable who are increasingly bearing the brunt of the coalition government's ideologically driven attacks on welfare, leading to increasing impoverishment and misery for tens of thousands of people; many of whom will be in contact with social work.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Race, Racism and Social WorkContemporary Issues and Debates, pp. 85 - 114Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2013