Accusations of Anti-Semitism in Social Media Disputes About Burning Animals: the Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies
Svetlana M. Bardina · Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences; SEFER Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization eBooks · 2022
This paper analyzes accusations of anti-Semitism in social media disputes about presumable cases of burning cats and other animals during celebration of Lag Ba-Omer. It is shown that such accusations are employed as rhetorical devices in order to undermine opponents’ claims. The paper focuses on particulars ways of how attributions of anti-Semitism are constructed; what is more, it is demonstrated why certain statements are recognized by the audience as anti-Semitic. It should be noted that the matter of whether analyzed statements are true is not being examined; all replicas are considered only as rhetorical devices.