Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition 1st Edition

First things first, this book is not easy reading. Nirenberg writes in the tradition of literary criticism firmly embedded in an approach that is thoroughly academic. Reading book is work. It demands a great deal of attention and intelligence from the reader. Clearly Niremberg understands that he is writing an "important" tome on a very serious subject. So if you get through the deep complexity of his approach, you will be rich rewarded. This book is a narrative of how ideas about Jews have sustained a very long and agonizing history of anti-judaism. The author painstakingly seeks to connect these ideas to the actual "real" events of history and I believe that he does this in a way that is profoundly compelling. The ideas that he explores continue to affect my own lived experience as a Jew and as someone perceived as a Jew. For me, this is a profoundly tragic history and understanding it from my own perspective is singularly sad and even a little frightening. He describes a people trapped by ideas that single them out as not deserving freedom or even life itself and if this isn't a viewpoint filled with tragedy and horror, then I don't what is!

Nirenberg makes a strong, evidence-based case by observing and explaining the abundance of anti-Judaism ideas in many key streams of western thought. How long this has existed, how deep it goes, and how shockingly dehumanizing it has long been - these discoveries await the sensitive reader and help to put the pivotal event of the Shoah in a much larger context and tradition. I think it is very important to understand these things, although I’m not sure this awareness teaches us what to do about it. Given the nature of confirmation bias, this book may not fundamentally change many minds. But it can deepen some of them, and that has its value.

For everyone seeking to understand Judaism in the modern world, this book is a must read. Whether the reference is to real Jews or virtual Jews, Jews and Judaism continue to be referred to in a negative context. From the ancient Egyptians, to the Greeks, Christianity, Islam, Enlightenment, Reformation and Modernity, there is a continuous anti-Jewish thread. Nuremberg documents that thread with an extensive list of references. The notes in themselves are important reading. Will any Western philosophy be able to express its ideals without reference to the Jews?

The phenomenon of anti-Judaism is one of history's peculiarities. Whether you're Jewish or not, whether you care particularly about Jews or don't care particularly, this book is an indispensable guide to an extraordinary subtext under history's surface.

Just his explanation of anti-semitism as being the Egyptian counter-narrative to the Biblical story of Exodus is worth the price of this book.

A thought provoking book. It is history that was never taught in school. It is not an easy read, have to use the dictionary for several words to understand some of the points. This is not a beach read, but should be read by those who like history and a different point of view. It is definitely worth reading.

FANTASTIC SCHOLARSHIP. COULDN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN.

Hectic reading, painful, true and historically accurate. If you want to know the extent and depth of Anti Jewishness, READ THIS BOOK!

This book isn't just for those interested in racism, religious conflict or the history of the Jewish people. The most profitable findings of this books can be found in its examination of the contexts in which anti-Jewish and anti-Judaic hatred festered from antiquity to the modern era. Its uses extend far beyond matters relating to Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Islamic relations. One thing you may be surprised to learn quickly from this book is just how bizarre some of the beliefs of the Church Fathers were with regards to their adoption (one may say hijacking) of the Hebrew Bible 'Old Testament' and Ancient Greek philosophy. It might be a bit too far to call them deluded - but then again, claiming that Moses traveled to Athens, influenced Aristotle and that both of them were 'really' Christians the whole time without knowing it is fairly batty. Shameful episodes in the history of the early Church - the burning of synagogues, the massacre of Jews and the seizure of their property - show that it wasn't just the economic conditions of the Middle Ages which established violent antipathy between the rival children of Abraham. Anti-Jewish hatred is shown to be embedded deep within the Christian scriptures and the earliest literary works and correspondence of the pre-Constantine church, with matters only getting worse for the Jews after the Christianisation of the Roman Empire.I recommend this book to anybody interested even remotely in Jewish history and especially to those more broadly concerned with the cruel and irrational nature of humans divided in groups. It should be mandatory reading for anyone even thinking of going out and proselytizing to Jews about the "Good News" of Jesus - you'll be quick to learn that for the past two millennia, this news has really been 'anything but'.

A lot more demanding intellectually than I thought.Obviously aimed at Uni studentsWorth ploughing through though

well rounded examination of how religion carries within it the seeds of hatred against others. Myth stories created long ago because they become sacred and unalterable haunt us today.We live in a much smaller world than existed when these faith stories were enshrined. All Abrahamic faith systems extole the brotherhood of man but also contain the pernitious seeds of ongoing hatred.

This is an excellent book, though I confess I found it difficult reading as it is an academic book and I don't find that style easy to follow. However the ideas are very important so I have ploughed through it and am now digesting it. I originally got it from the library, but it was taking me so long to read I bought a copy!I want David Nirenberg - or someone else! - to write a popular, plain English version of this book. At a time like now when anti-Semitism is horribly on the rise (Too many people are deluded into believing nonsense like the 'Zionist conspiracy' theory; holocaust denial is on the rise, attacks on jews, verbal and physical, are much too common. and yet there is still a denial amongst many people that anti-Semitism exists.), and there is all sorts of hatemongering of one group or another, all of which are increased by the existence of anti-Semitism which was almost the blueprint for such oppression and lies in the modern world, we all need to keep a clear head and really try to understand how the scapegoating of the Jewish people has actually nothing to do with actual Jews but is rather to do with an accumulation of misinformation that has gathered momemetum over milleniums - Jews were picked as a scapegoat to distract people from other issues, and this is happening to this day.

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