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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Damned if they do...., March 20, 2008
This review is from: The Changing Face of Anti-Semitism: From Ancient Times to the Present Day (Hardcover)
Laqueur has written a very readable and quite objective account of the history of anti-Semitism, as well as its various manifestations throughout the ages. Why do we need yet another book on anti-Semitism you might ask? Laqueur claims that since WW2, anti-Semitism has transformed yet again, thus this can be considered an updated study on the phenomenon.
I should qualify my statement that he is objective. He is obviously against anti-Semitism but-for the most part-he gives a fair hearing to anti-Semitic arguments, even conceding that some of them do, in fact have an element of truth to them. He starts with a couple introductory chapters and then delves into a chronological history of anti-Semitism beginning with that of the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. He then contrasts this with the more religious and vindictive character of medieval Christian anti-Semitism. We are then brought through the Enlightenment and the racialist anti-Semitism of the 19th and 20th centuries, and ultimately to contemporary AS. Modern day AS, Laqueur writes, while still a component of far right groups has now manifested itself mainly in far-left and Muslim circles. To the far-left, the Jews represent the power behind the capitalist/imperialist menace that they so despise, as well as an anachronistic, tribal people who pose a threat to the nationless, raceless world that they envision. On the other hand, Muslim AS is heavily caused by the state of Israel and its "relations" with the Palestinians and neighboring Arabs. He points out that this was more of a catalyst though, as there has always been a degree of anti-Semitism in Islamic societies, and Islam itself. He points out something that I had always thought, that Muslims feel especially humiliated by Israel because Jews have always been weak, second-class citizens and while they were generally tolerated in this capacity, their dominance is unacceptable.
He points out that the anti-Semitism of the left is more similar to that of the medieval Catholic Church as opposed to the racialist variety of the 19th and 20th century. This is to say that both the Church and the left offer "salvation through conversion" meaning that they would accept the Jews, as long as they ceased to be Jews. He also makes some interesting points about Israel, showing how their treatment of the Palestinians is consistently singled out for condemnation, while the equally (or worse) harsh plight of numerous other peoples around the world are virtually ignored by the same people.
Laqueur does engage in some speculation and debatable interpretations but this is somewhat expected for this type of work. Overall, I'm not sure there's anything really groundbreaking here, and I highly doubt that Laqueur will sway any dedicated anti-Semites (and that's probably not his intent), but I would consider this a relatively objective, knowledgeable, concise, and up to date summary of the topic.
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36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book on Anti-Semitism, October 7, 2006
This review is from: The Changing Face of Anti-Semitism: From Ancient Times to the Present Day (Hardcover)
As I see it, Laqueur's book has advantages over the many other works on the same subject:
1) The author has a sure footing in two millennia of European history. Here and there I found myself in disagreement on matters of fact and interpretation. I looked these things up and found that in all of these cases Laqueur was right and I was wrong. This is not to say that there won't be specialists who can find errors here and there. There is no book that is immune to error. But I do not think that such errors will be numerous or grave.
2) The author is even-handed and sober. He flogs no ideology or partisan program. He is patient with the views of others, even when these are offensive.
3) He has taken the trouble of studying, in depth, what anti-Semites have to say. There are no second-hand condemnations based on handed-down opinions.
4) He knows the byways of history: shadowy characters like Abram Leon, the National Bolshevists, Michael Neumann, Horst Mahler, to name just a few, wander through these pages. Generally it is only the sectologists -- the historians of Trotskyism, the chroniclers of neo-Nazism, etc. -- who bother to tell us much about such figures. But where sectologists are interested only in these shadows, Laqueur shows us the shadows by way of illuminating the broader picture. He lets us travel both byways and highways.
When the messiah finally arrives, books will be perfect. This has not yet happened, and I must report that, indeed, there are things that I wish were better in this book.
Laqueur has no footnotes and only rarely makes direct reference to other scholars. Most of the time this is not a big problem since the facts that he adduces are generally well known, and, with Wikipedia and other internet resources widely available, a reader can often provide his own references, as indeed I have done. Sometimes, however, a topic cries out for emendation by footnote. On page 49, for example, the author mentions the "Deutsche Christen," a Nazi formation of Protestants who repudiated the Old Testament as Jewish. ("Deutsche Christen" is not found in the book's index.) Well, the reader should have been referred here to more information on this group. As it happens, the group Deutsche Christen was repudiated by the Nazi leadership and lost all influence after 1933, and the reader of the present book will be misled if all he reads is what he reads here.
I am also not happy with the long list of (unannotated) recommended readings. It is too long to be of much help. I would have liked to see a much shorter, annotated list of things that the interested reader should look into.
Laqueur tells us that there are about 40,000 books about modern anti-Semitism. My own overall opinion of his work is best expressed by the fact that I have ordered a copy for each of my nine grandchildren. I have included my youngest, now three, because of my confidence that by the time he reaches reading age for this sort of thing -- roughly ten years from now -- this book will still most likely stand as the best scholarly treatment of anti-Semitism.
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22 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Advance Praise for The Changing Face of Antisemitism, May 23, 2006
This review is from: The Changing Face of Anti-Semitism: From Ancient Times to the Present Day (Hardcover)
"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
"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
"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
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