Is Europe ‘nostalgic for a racist past’ when it didn’t have to apologise for its colonialism? 

In this week’s episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with renowned Australian anthropologist Ghassan Hage. 

Hage is currently fighting against the prestigious Max Planck Society in Germany over accusations of ‘antisemitism’ over his critiques of Israel.

This week, Germany’s government had to defend its ongoing military support for Israel’s war in Gaza after a legal case was filed at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Nicaragua, who accused Germany of “facilitating the commission of genocide”.

We go in-depth and speak about Germany, antisemitism and the end of liberal Europe.

Hage was invited to a placement at a Max Planck institute last year, but soon became the target of attacks by right-wing media in Germany, who lobbied the Max Planck directors to fire him. They did.

Despite being married to a Jewish refugee whose father fled Mussolini, and building a career in creating dialogue, Hage was denied a chance to defend the accusations.

Now he’s fighting back, and says his case is part of a wider trend in Germany and many western nations who are using ‘antisemitism’ as a cover to keep immigrants under control.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG