Product Description

For thirty years the director of the Wiener Library in London, the leading institute for the study of anti-Semitism, Walter Laqueur here offers both a comprehensive history of anti-Semitism as well as an illuminating look at the newest wave of this phenomenon. Laqueur begins with an invaluable historical account of this pernicious problem, tracing the evolution from a predominantly religious anti-Semitism--stretching back to the middle ages--to a racial anti-Semitism that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The author then uses this historical account as backdrop to a brilliant analysis of the newest species of anti-Semitism, explaining its origins and rationale, how it manifests itself, in what ways and why it is different from anti-Semitism in past ages, and what forms it may take in the future. The book reveals that what was historically a preoccupation of Christian and right-wing movements has become in our time even more frequent among Muslims and left-wing groups. Moreover, Laqueur argues that we can't simply equate this new anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism and write it off as merely anti-Israel sentiments. National and religious minority groups have been systematically persecuted from Indonesia, to Bangladesh, Rwanda, and beyond, but their fate has not generated much indignation in Europe and America. If Israel alone is singled out for heated condemnation, is the root of this reaction simply anti-Zionism or is it anti-Semitism? Here is both a summing up of the entire trajectory of anti-Semitism--the first comprehensive history of its kind--and an exploration of the new wave of anti-Semitism that will be of interest to all concerned about the future of Jews, Judaism, and Israel.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #366039 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Booklist
As anti-Semitism seems on the upsurge in Europe and the Islamic world, this compact volume serves as a timely reminder that what has been called "the longest hatred" remains a potent force. Laqueur, director of the Wiener Library in London, the leading institute for the study of anti-Semitism, traces the history of anti-Semitism (or its precursor, anti-Judaism) from the classical period to its new manifestations in our present age. He traces the evolution of this hatred from a xenophobic distrust in the pre-Christian era to a rage against "Christ killers" in the medieval Christian world. In the nineteenth century, it morphed into racial hatred, forming the basis of twentieth-century genocide. But it is Laqueur's analysis of anti-Semitism today that gives the work special value. Racial anti-Semitism is today largely confined to extreme right-wingers. However, on the left of the political spectrum, extreme hostility toward the State of Israel is common. This is a disturbing but important work likely to spur further debate. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Walter Laqueur provides us with powerful new insights into an age-old problem. Distinguished scholarship and an authoritative moral voice are the hallmarks of this important book. Anyone wanting to understand the history and persistence of anti-Jewish hatred should read it." --Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League and author of Never Again?: The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism

"An interesting general analysis of the variations of anti-Semitism over the past 2000 years.... Laqueur's major strength is his critique of contemporary issues, especially the role of Israel in anti-Semitic thought, and the question of the relationship between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism."--Library Journal

"Once more, Walter Laqueur has brought his formidable learning, incisive style, and sheer brilliance in writing concise and yet gripping history to a subject matter of extraordinary complexity. The result is vintage Laqueur and an extremely valuable contribution to the subject of the history of antisemitism." --Michael Stanislawski, Nathan J. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Columbia University

"Walter Laqueur has written a thoughtful book about a difficult subject, bringing history and his own keen analytical skill together in a new way. Engagingly written, it offers both an overview of the past and an analysis of the 'new antisemitism.' He treats antisemitism sympathetically, even as he largely avoids the apologetics that characterize so much writing on the subject." --Mark R. Cohen, author of Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages

"A remarkable and eminently readable review of antisemitism throughout history from the persecution of the early Israelites in Egypt to the recent attacks on Jewish targets in twenty-first century Europe. Laqueur describes with skill and precision antisemitism's context in every era--be it economic, religious, social, or political." --Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of International Jewish Affairs, The American Jewish Committee

"Well-researched and written by a very perceptive scholar. Especially worth reading and contemplating are the chapters on the modern era."--Washington Jewish Week

"A brilliant, lucid and compelling survey of a social, psychological, cultural, political and intellectual malady that has preoccupied and distorted European and Arab societies, Christian and Muslim civilizations, and both the political right and the political left. In this short volume, Laqueur provides an elegant, fast-paced and immensely readable account of a complex, confounding and still-mutating condition that continues to afflict our world. This book is a vital contribution to our understanding of an important and disturbing dimension of our past--and, as Laqueur so incisively shows, of our present and our future. There is no other book like it." --Walter Reich, Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University

About the Author
Walter Laqueur was Co-Chairman of the International Research Council at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington D.C. He is the author of many books and has published numerous articles in such newspapers and periodicals as the New York Times, the Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Encounter, and the New Republic. Laqueur's books and articles have been reprinted in many countries. His most recent works include Fascism: Past, Present, and Future and The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction.

Customer Reviews

An insightful essay
This concise survey of antisemitism from the ancient world to the present illumines some unusual angles of the virus' shape-shifting habit as well as its common features in space and time. Spellbinding and thought-provoking, the elegantly worded text in the form of a lengthy essay contributes significantly to the quest of defining the constantly mutating plague. Laqueur is clearly an expert on the judeopathic mindset, occasionally displaying an almost exasperating level of tolerance when examining such evil and despicable thoughts. As a secular academic he is uncertain of the future, speculating at length on possible scenarios in the concluding chapters.

He attributes the earliest manifestations of the affliction in Egypt and classical antiquity to animosity resulting from Jewish cultural practices. But those who respect the "Old Testament" as history will remember that it was fear - judeophobia - of their numbers that led to the oppression & infanticide before the Exodus. In Christianity the virus mutated into an intense theological hatred articulated by numerous "church fathers" like Melito of Sardis, Chrysostom and Augustine and later by reformers like Martin Luther. The accusation of deicide was accompanied by the usurpation of the Tenakh and the idea that the church had replaced the Jews as the chosen of God: the doctrine of replacement theology. The problem grew worse in exact proportion to the influence of Christianity that culminated in the disastrous triumph of the Constantine version.

The next mutation, racial prejudice, arrived with modernity in the 1800s. Now the danger was perceived to inhabit the genes so it followed that physical annihilation was seen as the solution, leading to the Holocaust. First the culture, then the religion, then the race had to be eradicated. Now it is the nation, the State of Israel that they want to wipe out. Laqueur is not fooled by the sophistry of the semitism vs zionism distinction, recognizing anti-Zionism as the typical contemporary variety. Israel is a constant target of disinformation (like the Jenin and ad-Dura hoaxes) and repeatedly singled out for denunciation while atrocities like those in e.g. Chechnya, Darfur, Tibet & Zimbabwe raise little protest. This is confirmed by Bernard Harrison in The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel, and Liberal Opinion: criticism of the State resembles the "old" antisemitism in concept, imagery and assumptions. The fad of Moral Relativism is not applied to both sides; it is used to justify suicide/homicide bombings but never to Israeli measures to defend its people.

The aforementioned historical mutations overlapped to an extent, e.g. the earlier race-based persecution of the "Marranos" in Spain contrasted with the absence of this element under communist oppression. Moreover, the racial strain made use of the imagery inherited from centuries of theological antisemitism. In addition, the aforementioned replacement theology or supersessionism is undergoing a revival today as part of the anti-Zionist strategy, as Barry Horner warns in Future Israel: Why Christian Anti-Judaism Must Be Challenged.

The book's weaknesses include the bizarre opinion that Israel should have withdrawn to its 1948 borders after the great victory in 1967 and deficient attention to those dreadful passages in the foundational documents of Islam and Christianity. A thorough study of the first is available in The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism by Andrew Bostom while William Nicholls scrutinizes the New Testament with admirable intellectual honesty in Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate. The influence of these religious texts combined with the vulnerability of a scattered minority made persecution inevitable.

Fear and paranoia amongst the populace played a part in medieval Europe but not under Islam where Jews were considered inferior Dhimmis like other religious minorities. That is why the rebirth of Israel in 1948 caused such profound shock in the Arab World whose media now abound in stereotypes, calumnies and conspiracy theories borrowed from the European tradition like the infamous forgery The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion (Stephen Eric Bronner's study is highly recommended). In contrast to the duplicitous approach of "respectable" western antisemitism, the Islamic variety doesn't burden itself with distinctions between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. For proof, see Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery by Arieh Stav.

Laqueur excels in analyzing the unholy alliance between Leftists and Islamists. This is not as weird as it seems when the political spectrum is viewed as circular instead of linear. Ideologies with a totalitarian streak occupy adjacent space. This also explains why Old Right Paleotards in the USA share judeophobic attitudes with liberation theologians like Naim Ateek of Sabeel and his fawning followers amongst leftist Anglican clergy in the UK. Laqueur's observation that Leftist antisemitism resembles the medieval Christian strain makes perfect sense if one recognizes leftism as a secular "salvationist" ideology of true believers as Eric Hoffer described it in his seminal study on mass movements. Recommended sources for a deeper understanding are Sinisterism by Bruce Walker and A Century of Horrors by Alain Besançon.

For those in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Bible confirms the above: Amalek worships absolute power and pursues it in a ruthless, genocidal and sadistic way. His bloodlust begins with the Jews but targets all mankind. Yoram Hazony has conducted a most penetrating analysis of its modus operandi and narcissistic character in The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther, along with sound advice on how to counteract it. There is reason to believe that the message conveyed by the successful actions of Mordechai and Hadassah includes the advice: Do not go into denial, do not be paralyzed by fear, seek God's help and act boldly.