A brief, even-toned overview of American antisemitism, suitable for all readers.
A survey of the origins and history of antisemitism and how only a vigorous response from the community can stop it.
Finkelstein (1941-2024), a two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Awards, begins with the New Testament: “Embedded in its messages of love and compassion is a clear contempt for Jews and Judaism.” The author then concentrates on Jewish settlement in early America and resistance to it, e.g., by New Amsterdam governor Peter Stuyvesant, who called Jews a “deceitful race.” Nevertheless, the Jewish community grew, and many prominent Jews supported the American Revolution, including Haym Solomon, who helped finance it. In response to Jewish nervousness about equal treatment in the new republic, George Washington assured them in a 1790 letter that “all possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.” Finkelstein shows how Jews fervently believed in America’s promise of equality and opportunity, despite efforts to restrict them. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln swiftly countermanded Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s outrageous Order No. 11 expelling all Jews from his military district, which covered parts of three states. In the decades to come, the swelling of Jewish immigration would create a powerful new voting bloc. The 1915 lynching of Leo Frank and the fomenting of anti-Jewish feelings by Henry Ford were counterbalanced by the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and the appointment of Louis Brandeis to the Supreme Court. The author also examines the important relationship between Jews and African Americans during the civil rights struggle. The rise of Israel has been both a boon in public perception of Jews and, in recent years, a negative, as Zionism has been equated with racism. After the 2018 Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh and other antisemitic violence, Finkelstein emphasizes the importance of education.
A brief, even-toned overview of American antisemitism, suitable for all readers.Pub Date: May 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780827615236
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Jewish Publication Society
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.
Two bestselling authors engage in an enlightening back-and-forth about Jewishness and antisemitism.
Acho, author of Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, and Tishby, author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth, discuss many of the searing issues for Jews today, delving into whether Jewishness is a religion, culture, ethnicity, or community—or all of the above. As Tishby points out, unlike in Christianity, one can be comfortably atheist and still be considered a Jew. She defines Judaism as a “big tent” religion with four main elements: religion, peoplehood, nationhood, and the idea of tikkun olam (“repairing the world through our actions”). She addresses candidly the hurtful stereotypes about Jews (that they are rich and powerful) that Acho grew up with in Dallas and how Jews internalize these antisemitic judgments. Moreover, Tishby notes, “it is literally impossible to be Jewish and not have any connection with Israel, and I’m not talking about borders or a dot on the map. Judaism…is an indigenous religion.” Acho wonders if one can legitimately criticize “Jewish people and their ideologies” without being antisemitic, and Tishby offers ways to check whether one’s criticism of Jews or Zionism is antisemitic or factually straightforward. The authors also touch on the deteriorating relationship between Black and Jewish Americans, despite their historically close alliance during the civil rights era. “As long as Jewish people get to benefit from appearing white while Black people have to suffer for being Black, there will always be resentment,” notes Acho. “Because the same thing that grants you all access—your skin color—is what grants us pain and punishment in perpetuity.” Finally, the authors underscore the importance of being mutual allies, and they conclude with helpful indexes on vernacular terms and customs.
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781668057858
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon Element
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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