The New Anti-Semitism

The New Anti-Semitism by Phyllis Chesler

This book by feminist Phyllis Chesler is not so much a book as it is a rant.  She is mightily ticked off.  Reading this book, I kept wondering, when she turned in the draft to her publisher, if she typed the entire manuscript with the caps lock key on.  One feels as though they are being assaulted while reading.  I can definitely excuse her, however.  Being a well-educated Jew, she has every right to be infuriated with the current state of affairs concerning Israel and its mistreatment by the rest of the world.

When I say the “rest of the world”, I mean that quite literally.  As history as shown us time and time again, there always seems to be an infuriating hatred against the Jewish people.  Why?  Search me.  We’re talking about a race of people who have spent their entire history being abused, persecuted, humiliated, and regularly killed for no other reason than their identity as being Jewish.  What aids in the author’s anger is that she identifies herself as a leftist feminist, yet feels many of this crowd shares the same hatred towards Jews, Israel, Zionism, etc.  So she rightly feels betrayed.  How can people “on her side” be so prejudiced as well?

I really enjoyed this book, but couldn’t help thinking that if she would have taken a few deep breaths from time to time, the material could have been presented a bit better.  She pulls no punches.  Quite often she opens up a paragraph with “Let me say again…..” or “Let me be perfectly clear….”, so it’s quite obvious she feels quite exasperated.  I would not want to challenge this woman to an argument.  I must say again, that such sentiments are entirely justified based on history, and the perceived resistance by many to do anything differently. 

She spends a good amount of time pointing the finger at everyone throughout history – Arabs, Christians, Fascists, Liberals, etc. since all parties have, in fact, been guilty at one time or another of fierce anti-Semitism.  Throughout much of the book, she basically details a dirty laundry list of many key figures, countries, and governments and all of their offenses.  Despite her anger, she’s quite fair in her assessments, and does tend to look at everything rationally.  Example: She acknowledges that the United States has been guilty of crimes in the past – whether it be slavery, colonization, the treatment of Native Americans, or anti-Semitism, but she points out that one really needs to grade on a curve when looking at a country’s history.  America, like Israel, is definitely guilty of some crimes during its existence, but when matched up with its charitable contributions and philanthropic efforts, it’s very clear that rational people really shouldn’t be demonizing nations that do so much good for the world.

I also enjoyed the fact that she rarely mentions God, or quote scriptures throughout the book.  I only say this because it’s easy for one to be skeptical of Israel since they identify themselves as “God’s chosen people”.  Secularists will argue that this doesn’t matter (some would call the claim ludicrous), yet Chesler shows us that Jews throughout history have never used the “God is with us” argument to grab what they want, and they continue to be persecuted regardless.  In other words, God or no God, there’s no excuse to not give Israel what is rightly theirs, and was taken away from them over a thousand years ago in barbaric fashion.

Speaking of God, I felt that this book makes a very strong case for the Judeo-Christian deity.  How else can such a tiny underdog persevere under such conditions unless they have a higher power on their side??  You would think civilized people would cheer and rally to the Jewish cause, but alas, this is not to be.  Perhaps because Israel and/or the Jewish community has persevered and triumphed so many times is what makes so many cynical “intellectuals” hate them?  How dare a country keep winning wars that other people start.

I really didn’t read anything here “new” about the “new” anti-Semitism.  It’s the same old same old, the author just sadly reminds us that nothing has gotten better and, in many cases, gotten worse.  Perhaps I’m more of an optimist, but in the circles that I frequent, most are not oblivious to the situation, and apart from the occasional crabby celebrity who doesn’t have a clue as to what he is talking about (Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters comes to mind), most seem to rally behind Israel’s cause.  Even Howard Stern.

A good book, yet frustrating at times.  Not because of the author’s literary screaming in-your-face diatribes, but because so much still hasn’t changed, and too many ignorant “intellectuals” still can’t quite eradicate their obvious anti-Semitic attitudes.