The New Anti-Semitism Hides Behind the Language of Virtue

Raymond Aron warned in 1967 that anti-Semitism was taking a new, more insidious form. His insights still hold true today.

An Israeli army tank moves along the border with the Gaza Strip at sunrise on March 6, 2024. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

Writing in December 1967, French public intellectual and sociologist Raymond Aron argued that the West was entering the “age of suspicion.” He was referring to a new strain of anti-Semitism ushered in by none other than Gen. Charles de Gaulle, hero of the Free French Forces during World War II and then president of France.