A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism [Paperback]

Phyllis Goldstein (Author), Harold Evans (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2011 | ISBN-10: 0981954383 | ISBN-13: 978-0981954387 | Edition: 1

A Convenient Hatred chronicles a very particular hatred through powerful stories that allow readers to see themselves in the tarnished mirror of history. It raises important questions about the consequences of our assumptions and beliefs and the ways we, as individuals and as members of a society, make distinctions between "us" and "them," right and wrong, good and evil. These questions are both universal and particular.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Many of the famous villains of literature were compelling orators, as was Hitler, using the power of speech to feed their frustrations and hatred into their audiences. So long as we have language, we will have its abusers on behalf of their pernicious programs, and the need to challenge them will remain. A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism will make both a valuable and timely contribution to our understanding of this subject."

-Lawrence L. Langer, author of Holocaust Testimonies: The Ruins of Memory, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism

"This book is a tour de force of one of the most intriguing and disturbing phenomena in history. Tracing the origins and evolution of antisemitism from antiquity to the present day, this book provides a well-informed, highly accessible, and admirably balanced account that should become a basic tool for educators and an essential textbook for students in all fields concerned with the humanities and social sciences."

-Omer Bartov, John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History, Brown University

"Facing History has done a characteristically masterful job in exploring antisemitism from ancient times to its current manifestation in a clear and lucid way accessible to students and their parents and to all concerned about the all too enduring quality of what has been termed "the longest hatred."

- Michael Berenbaum, American Jewish University in Los Angeles

"This book delineates with clarity and intelligence the long history of discrimination, insult, and assault against Jews. It makes depressing reading unless you remember what Facing History and Ourselves always remembers: that understanding the past helps us see how we can contribute to making the world better."

-Anthony Appiah, Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy and the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

About the Author

Phyllis Goldstein is the senior writer and researcher on key Facing History and Ourselves publications including the latest edition of "Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior," as well as "The Jews of Poland" and "Race and Membership in American History." She graduated from the University of Chicago and holds a master's degree in teaching from Harvard University. She has worked as a teacher, author, editor, and editorial director.

Harold Evans is editor-at-large of Thomson Reuters, the world's largest international multimedia news provider. He is also the author of two critically acclaimed best-selling histories of America: "The American Century" and "They Made America." His most recent book is his memoir, "My Paper Chase," which covers his early life and his years as editor of The Sunday Times and The Times of London. On the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Press Institute, Evans was honored as one of 50 World Press Heroes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Facing History and Ourselves; 1 edition (December 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981954383
• ISBN-13: 978-0981954387
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 1.1 x 6.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 115 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars With impeccable references and well-researched examples, Ms. Goldstein has created a tour de force. December 9, 2011

By Charles S. Weinblatt

Format:Paperback

A Convenient Hatred, with foreword by Sir Harold Evans, chronicles the evolution of anti-Semitism from the time of Alexander through the Holocaust and modern Israel.

This powerful treatise explores with exquisite detail the pernicious foundations of bigotry against Jews, from ancient times through the dark ages, the enlightenment and into contemporary examples. A Convenient Hatred could just as easily been called A Convenient History, as it illustrates the magnitude of anti-Jewish vitriol, loathing and detestation over the ages, leading to a unique and mendacious version of history that blames Jews for impossibly disparate and disconnected events and catastrophes.

Ms. Goldstein has produced a masterful exposition on the vulnerability of Jews throughout history, highlighting how malicious pagan and Christian leaders exploited the Jewish people. She also addresses the unending value of education within Jewish culture, a trait that has served them well for dozens of centuries. That Jews have been able to survive at all seems miraculous, considering the fact that until recently, Jews were largely forbidden from owning land and property and from most skilled occupations--including crafts and guilds--and were forced to take up the most distasteful occupation among Christians: money lending.

A Convenient Hatred is a profoundly authoritative resource for educators. Its examples, stories, references, maps, pictures, and illustrations bring the history of the Jews to life in a powerful way not experienced since James Michener's The Source, a work of fiction.

A Convenient Hatred communicates the magnitude of anti-Jewish prejudice throughout the centuries, offering well-researched examples of why so many people throughout time have found it convenient to hate Jews.... A Convenient Hatred belongs globally in every high-school history classroom. With impeccable references and well-researched examples, Ms. Goldstein has created a tour de force.

The author carefully examines the origins of anti-Semitism in an age when Jews were forced from their ancestral homes and temples in ancient Israel to Europe and Asia. She methodically details the separation of Jews from Christians leading to centuries of Jewish slavery, incarceration, and extermination during the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, The Reformation, and the English Expulsion.

The rise of the Islamic empire and holy wars are also carefully explored. Centuries of intolerance produced the Diaspora, in which Jews fled to safe haven in places far and wide, but were again faced with extermination when blamed for the Black Death (plague) across Europe. This marked a period in which Jews were charged with ritual murder and blood libel; as well, the Talmud was universally attacked by Christians and Muslims. Jews were also almost universally oppressed during the Dark Ages. They sought reprieve in places as disparate as Poland and the Ottoman Empire. But for hundreds of years, Jews remained ostracized, antagonized, and isolated.

The ages of enlightenment and nationalism are also painstakingly explored. Ms. Goldstein proffers "the power of publicity" as a tool used by anti-Semites to attack and condemn Jews in a prolific manner.

The same level of discriminating detail continues in an examination of anti-Semitism during Renaissance France and Russia, continuing into the age of nationalism and World War I. Ms. Goldstein carefully describes the consistent deleterious effect of anti-Jewish propaganda in incongruent Renaissance societies with France being democratic and Russia communist.

The age of written communication via printing presses almost immediately delivered anti-Semitic books, such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, one of the most significant attacks upon Jews. She describes Hitler's rise to power largely upon the backs of Jews, through propaganda and putsches by the proletariat against Germany's Jewish population. The "turning point" came in 1941 with the Nazi establishment of the "Final Solution to the Jewish question."

Finally, Ms. Goldstein adroitly illustrates anti-Semitism after the Holocaust, throughout the Cold War, and into contemporary society, which she calls, "a convenient hatred." Here, nationalism and xenophobia collide in a perfect storm of bigotry and persecution. The result of this collision is a brainwashing of impoverished youth, the economically and socially oppressed, and the politically disadvantaged, resulting in a unified hatred of all things Jewish, especially Israel.

Ms. Goldstein calls to mind a speech by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, in which he states that we cannot judge contemporary Germans for the genocide perpetrated by their ancestors. At the same time, all Germans can be held accountable for preserving the memory of the Holocaust--for its link from past to future holds in the balance the potential for the survival of the human spirit as well as the destiny of the Jewish people.

A Convenient Hatred is a powerful, historically astute, contemporary masterpiece and a superb illustration of prejudice. It is a groundbreaking educational tool and an indispensable textbook for students of history, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. Phyllis Goldstein's cogent examination of the history of anti-Semitism is a seminal work, lucidly explaining the magnitude of illogical hatred and its centuries-old influence against the Jews.

Charles S. Weinblatt
Author, Jacob's Courage Read more ›

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book not only of antisemitism but world history January 1, 2012

By Al Frank

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am almost half way through the book (~350 readable pages) and started reading this only 2 days ago. I consider myself a slow reader but this book and subject matter is very interesting and reads easily. I never understood why the world hates Jews no matter where they are, who they are, or what they do but this book explains it clearly using historical documents and eyewitness accounts. This book does a great job of showing exactly where the hatred and antisemitism started, how it evolved, how and why it was and continues to be perpetuated. If I were a member of the school board, this is a book that I would make required reading for every highschooler. Any one with an interest in either world history, history of antisemitism, and even history of Israel would appreciate having read it. Phyllis Goldstein has written one of the best history books in my opinion.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars scary nonfiction February 3, 2012

By Sherman Lambert

Format:Paperback

As an urban public high school chemistry teacher my usual home reading is fiction for entertainment. This book appeared too important to ignore.
Many people believe that the success of individual Jews proves antisemitism no longer exists. There has been improvement but Nazi Germany is part of modern history. Pope John the XXIII excused the Jews of blame for the death of Christ, part of Catholic dogma for almost 2000 years, only 60 years ago.
Today Jews get blamed for the failures of Wall Street and almost every problem in the Islamic world.
Unfortunately, this excellent work is too relevant in current events. The contemporary style makes the book especially readable, informative and disturbing. I learned things I didn't want to know but the issues can effect all of us.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars POWERFUL!!! February 8, 2012

By Michael D. Moses

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Every once in a while a book comes along that is so interesting and grabs your attention so forcefully, it compels the reader to want to read it cover to cover. "A Convenient Hatred" is such a book. I purchased it on Jan 23rd and just finished reading it and I have to admit, this book takes information that has existed separately for years and has compiled it under one roof. I also could not understand how Jews were so marginalized throughout history and after reading this book, I now have a better understanding of the history and relationship between the Jewish religion and those who attack it. I also see in these pages an indictment against those Christians who have perpetuated the myths surrounding this old and devout religion.

Even though Judaism is the forerunner of Christianity and Islam, and even though these two religions have drawn on Judaism's religious thought and background in establishing their own religions, its major detractors and perpetrators of mindless persecutions have come from these two faiths. Christianity has much to answer for in its development of the lies and falsehoods surrounding Judaism down through the centuries. This can be traced back to the early development of the Church, where Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians competed for control and power. The myth that Jews were responsible for the "death of God" developed in the 300 C.E. period while the claim that the Jews were a "race" instead of just a religion gained strength in Spain of the 1400-1500 time frame. These are just two examples of mindless hate developed by priests and church authorities to justify their using the Jews as scapegoats to explain away their own inadequacies.... The book also looks at the insidious pamphlet, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and traces that history back to the Russian Czar's secret police, who wrote these lies to justify their pogroms against the Jews. Unfortunately, there are those who today still believe in what this trash tries to establish.

I also never fully understood why so many Jews lived in Eastern Europe and Russia at the time of the Second World War until the book pointed out that they were the refugees from the other European countries who expelled all their Jews in prior years and had no place to go except for Eastern Europe. Even though there were some Jews in Western Europe, most were in the East. This made it easier for Hitler and the Nazi Party to carry out its "Final Solution" during WWII.

Another fact that I was glad to see investigated in this book was the role the Grand Mufti of Egypt, along with the Islamic countries of the Middle East and the Balkans, played in supporting the Nazi regime during the war. Many people are unaware of this insidious role on the part of Muslims. The Grand Mufti organized a division of Muslim warriors and turned them over to the Nazi SS, who outfitted them for the sole purpose of following the Eastern armies into Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and eradicating the Jews, which they did with savage fury. This role was grossly overlooked by the Allied powers at that time and still is not explored fully to this day due to the Muslim fighters being sent home without any punishment after the war, the main reason being the power of oil production to the West after the War. Several Islamic nations still support the goals and desires of the Nazi Party and are working to institute their own "Final Solution".

What was equally revealing was the fact that antisemitism survived the war to rear its ugly head again and again, even increasing as we continue into the "modern" age. The entire Holocaust is now being questioned and not only in the Middle East, but throughout the world. The Christian religious community has apologized for its actions in bygone centuries, but antisemitism is still alive and well in many denominations. Whenever money or support is given to the Palestinians at the expense of the nation of Israel, that is a basis of antisemitism.

In short, this book is highly recommended to all people as a means of recognizing what has gone before and the dangers of repeating these centuries-old mistakes. The writing flows extremely well and is accompanied by detailed maps that are surprisingly easy to understand. Its bibliography is quite extensive and gives the reader a comfortable feeling that the subject matter has been well researched. My only caution is, once you start this book, you will find it hard to put down. Read more ›