A capacity crowd filled the Hassenfeld Conference Center Wednesday night to hear Princeton University Near Eastern Studies professor Bernard Lewis speak about the historical roots of anti-Zionism and its correlation to anti-Semitism. The lecture was titled "The New Anti-Semitism: First Religion, Then Race, Then What?" It served as the keynote address in a two-day international scholars' symposium hosted by Brandeis, which focused on the relationship between anti-Israel sentiments and anti-Semitism.

The event was the only one of the symposium open to the general public, as the other events were geared toward more scholarly dialogue.

The event commenced with a greeting from University President Jehuda Reinharz and introductory words from Prof. Anita Shapira of Tel Aviv University and Robert Rifkind, the honorary president of the American Jewish Committee .

Reinharz set the tone for Lewis' lecture, asserting, "the creation of the state of Israel has opened a new chapter in anti-Semitism" with "no immediate solutions." The association of anti-Zionism with historical anti-Semitism remained the focus for Lewis' keynote address.

Lewis identified three discrete trends in the historical development of anti-Semitism.

The first, he claimed, has its roots in theology and dates back to the early stages of Christianity. According to Lewis, the scriptural Passion story of the New Testament provided the springboard for violence against Jews in medieval Christian Europe.

In the second stage of its development, Jew-hatred adopted a pseudo-scientific racial model. Though this particular strand saw its culmination in the racial and ethnic cleansing of the Holocaust, Lewis traced its roots back to the Spanish Inquisition, in which the "purity of blood" doctrine became useful in enforcing conversions to Christianity.

Lewis identified modern anti-Zionism as the third and present stage in the historical progression of anti-Semitism. According to Lewis, the current-day vilification of "the Jewish lobby" by anti-Israel activists and the imposition of ethical double standards on Israel represent the modern installation of a long-standing tendency of Jew-hatred.

In an example taken from current events, Lewis contrasted the global denunciation of Israel's recent assassination of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin with the currently unfolding congressional investigation into the questionable aggressiveness of pre-9/11 efforts to assassinate Osama Bin Laden.

Lewis' message was well-accepted by the predominately elderly crowd attending the lecture. Elaine Kamowitz '54 said she found the lecture "exceptionally clear." "We need people to listen to him," Kamowitz said, "and I am glad Brandeis presented him."

Yoni Morse '07 also appreciated Lewis' lecture.

"I'm Jewish and pro-Israel," Morse said. "It's important to get a reaffirmation that not all Israel does is bad."

But Morse felt that Lewis failed to "present an objective picture of what's happening today." He disagreed with Lewis' critique of the double standard being imposed on Israel. "

"Palestinian society is very different than Israeli society," he said. "you can't judge everyone by the same standards."

Morse also disagreed with Lewis' categorical association of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. "A lot of it is anti-Semitism," Morse said, "but, at the same time, a lot of it is ignorance."

In an interview with the Justice, Shapira, who heads the Weizmann Institute for the Study of Zionism at Tel Aviv University, summed up Lewis' position on the matter.

"All of us have a problem accepting the fact that that some people hate us -all of us would prefer to avoid facing it. Professor Lewis has the courage to face the facts and present them to us in all their ugliness."

Asked about the lecture's relevance to Jewish students' approach to anti-Zionism, Shapira offered words of encouragement.

"We cannot leave the arena for those who are vociferously and aggressively anti-Israel," Shapira said. "Young Jews have to make a commitment and not leave the battlefield.