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Historian of ideology and propaganda

Jeffrey Herf

A historian tracing the distinct and interacting histories of right-wing, radical-left, and Islamist antisemitism and hostility toward Israel.

History & Historical ArgumentAntisemitism & Political Ideas

Profile

Jeffrey Herf is a historian whose scholarship examines political ideology, propaganda, antisemitism, Nazi Germany, East Germany, and postwar hostility to Israel.

Why this voice matters

Jewish Advocacy Network includes Herf because his work helps distinguish political traditions that are often collapsed together while still tracing their historical interaction.

What they help illuminate

  • Political propaganda
  • Right, left, and Islamist antisemitism
  • Postwar hostility to Israel

A note on perspective

Herf advances historically specific arguments about ideology and transmission. Readers should attend to period, actors, and evidence rather than turning his categories into labels for every contemporary disagreement.

Start here

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Jeffrey Herf — University of Maryland biography

University of Maryland Department of History

Authoritative institutional biography and overview of Herf’s scholarship on propaganda, political ideology, antisemitism, and hostility to Israel.

Open resource ↗

Sources and profile notes

Last reviewed 2026-08-25.