Jewish History, Jewish Religion - New Edition: The Weight of Three Thousand Years (Get Political) [Paperback]

Israel Shahak (Author)

Book Description

Series: Get Political | Publication Date: September 20, 2008

Israel Shahak was a remarkable man. Born in the Warsaw ghetto and a survivor of Belsen, Shahak arrived in Israel in 1945. Brought up under Jewish Orthodoxy and Hebrew culture, he consistently opposed the expansion of the borders of Israel from 1967. In this extraordinary and highly acclaimed book, Shahak embarks on a provocative study of the extent to which the secular state of Israel has been shaped by religious orthodoxies of an invidious and potentially lethal nature. Drawing on the Talmud and rabbinical laws, Shahak argues that the roots of Jewish chauvinism and religious fanaticism must be understood before it is too late. Written from a humanitarian viewpoint by a Jewish scholar, this is a rare and highly controversial criticism of Israel that will both excite and disturb readers worldwide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Shahak subjects the whole history of Orthodoxy ... to a hilarious and scrupulous critique.' --Christopher Hitchens, The Nation

 

'The voice of reason is alive and well, and in Israel, of all places. Shahak is the latest - if not the last - of the great prophets.’ --Gore Vidal

 

'The future of the Palestinian people would have looked much brighter if there had been more Israelis like Shahak ... An outstanding personality.' --The Jerusalem Times

About the Author

Israel Shahak survived the Warsaw Ghetto and Bergen-Belsen. He arrived in Palestine in 1945 and lived there until his death in 2001. He was an outspoken critic of the state of Israel and a human rights activist. He was also the author of the highly acclaimed Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel (Pluto Press 1999) and Open Secrets: Israeli Nuclear and Foreign Policies (Pluto Press 1997).

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press; Second Edition, New Edition edition (September 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745328407
• ISBN-13: 978-0745328409
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shahak The New Prophet of Israel, October 8, 2010

By 

Peter J. Piaseckyj "palyvoda" (Sunny Isles Beach, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jewish History, Jewish Religion - New Edition: The Weight of Three Thousand Years (Get Political) (Paperback)

I couldn't resist reading this book. My three favorite American intellectuals Noam Chomsky, Edward W. Said and Gore Vidal have in one way or another recommended it. This in itself is high praise.

I find Israel Shahak's book a spring of fresh water in an arid intellectual environment of disinformation, propaganda and outright intellectual intimidation. For me Shahak is in the same mold as Jewish Prophets of old, warning Israel against a new catastrophe.

I do not pretend to the intellectual heights of Shahak. I can only judge the accuracy of the book by comparing it to areas where I do have expertise, namely the history, as it pertains to the Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. The only portion of the book I found lacking was Shahak's knowledge of Petlura's government of Ukraine during the First World War.

When I sent Shahak a short article about Petlura from a Symposium "Ukrainian & Jews" he responded in a letter to me dated June 1, 1999, quote..."I am sorry for my mistake about the regime of Petlura. Your evidence, especially the translated documents, is very persuasive and I accept it. If possible I will change the next editions" Jewish History, Jewish religion" accordingly."...unquote.

I found Shahak's book made me understand portions of the Bible which I had difficulty understanding. It provided the cultural context for an intellectual conundrum that I had in regard to the Old Testament.

The two conundrums are the ethnic cleansing condoned by God of the Canaanites in Deuteronomy and the other was the dialogue between Jesus and the Canaanite women in Mathew 15:21-28, where he replies , quote..."I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."...unquote.

It is only after reading Shahak that I finally understood the unchristian behavior of Jesus. He after all was not a Christian but a Jewish Rabbi, well versed in the Talmud with all of the cultural taboos associated with it in those times. He came to save the Jews and the World. It was Paul (Saul), another well trained Rabbi who brought Jesus' reformed Judaism to the Pagan Mediterranean world and created Christianity.

This book is replete with insights that only and intellect of rigorous and highly developed moral understanding of History could deliver.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXCELLENT CRITIQUE BY A COURAGEOUS MAN, November 29, 2009

By 

Obi-Wan Kenobi "Obi-Wan Kenobi" (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Jewish History, Jewish Religion - New Edition: The Weight of Three Thousand Years (Get Political) (Paperback)

Shahak is a courageous man for going against the conventional wisdom and speaking out for human rights for all. His eloquent thesis in this book gives him the moral authority to speak out on racism and racial superiority, easily wresting this mantle from the likes of Eli Weasel, whose shrill weasel words of 'Never again!' only apply to Jews. Shahak has the wisdom to understand that the Iraeli state's treatment of non-Jews as 3rd class citizens undermines the legitimacy of the state, which could lead to its dissolution.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read., June 9, 2010

By 

Sarasvatia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jewish History, Jewish Religion - New Edition: The Weight of Three Thousand Years (Get Political) (Paperback)

This book will merit either 5 stars, given by people without an agenda and who care to advance human understanding of the past and its mistakes. Or an obvious 1 (for lack of a 0, by the other end of the spectrum).

Consider that this book was written by an Israeli Jew whose family had lived for generations in a Jewish ghetto in Poland. Prof. Shahak had survived the Holocaust and elected to settle in Israel where he lived out his life. Prof. Shahak, together with historian Ilan Pappe ("The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine") and prof. Shlomo Sand ("The Invention of the Jewish People") are smart, progressive, well-educated members of Israeli academia who understand that the present course of Israeli politics is untenable. These authors are the soul and conscience of humanity that separate and protect us from degenerating into the abyss of the primitive. Perhaps, extinction.

"The Black Book of Communism" makes for a hefty companion book to all of the above titles.