WHEN IN DOUBT...BLAME A JEW!: A PERSONAL AND PEOPLE'S MEMOIR OF ANTI-SEMITISM [Hardcover]

ARNOLD P. ABBOTT (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 2004

An associate editor at Jeremy Tarcher, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc., wrote this: When In Doubt--Blame A Jew! is a tremendous piece of work - intelligent, engaging, and personal." What makes this book unique is that it comprises a melange of historic fact interspersed with endemic Jewish humor. It is the author's hope that it will provide factual information to counteract myriad myths, distortions, and false perceptions about who the Jews are, and their place in the world. Starting with Mary, and why she had to be a virgin (based on the ancient Jewish custom of banishing women to the hills during their menstrual cycle); through the Blood Libel and other unfounded accusations: to Henry Ford's fatherhood of the Tin Lizzie and worldwide hate; to famous Jews, followed by famous Jew-haters. There are also light moments such as: "The Joke Is On Us," "Jewish Alphabet Soup," and "Prophecy." The book applauds the Righteous Gentiles of World War II; acknowledges the revisionists of today; and steps into the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, offering a solution. With only 14 million Jews extant today, the book ends with a question - "A World Without Jews, What Would It Be Like?"

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Arnold P. Abbott has been a rebel with many causes, all people with problems, based, for all of his life. At age nine, he read no less an American icon than Ralph Waldo Emerson, taking exception to his theme "On Self-Reliance" that the rich had no responsibility to help the poor. He replied with a poem, "Yes Ralph, These Are Your Poor," which was his first published poem, and although his poetic style has improved, he still stands by all of his thoughts expressed therein.

He spent seventeen years researching and writing "When In Doubt...Blame A Jew!" When asked to explain why it took so long to complete the work, he explained it this way. "The Jews have been blamed for every calamity that has occurred on this earth since the beginning of recorded time. They have also been targeted for total extinction by every reigning civilization that has arisen since ancient days, from the Assyrians; the Babylonians; the Greeks; the Romans; the Catholic Church; the Cossacks; to the Nazis; and now, to whatever lunatic fringe there is, waiting in the wings.There is also an ironic, albeit fact, that people who purport to hate the Jews rarely know the reason for that feeling. Take all that into consideration, and add to it thousands of years of concocted accusations circulating throughout the world, and you come to realize that every falsehood has to be confronted, answered, and corrected. This tedious task took years to complete, but along the way, it helped the author to realize how a tiny microcosm  of fourteen million Jews, surrounded by a hostile world of billions, still remains as a productive force, totally outnumbered, yet a major contributor to the intellectual storehouse of our globe." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Arnold Abbott has been describedas a realistic idealist, an eclectic iconoclast, and a rebel with manycauses.¿ Published at age 9, when he tookumbrage at Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay OnSelf Reliance, he wrote a poetic reply titled: "Yes Ralph, These Are YourPoor!"A proud liberal, he foughtfiercely in the Civil Rights movement of the 60's including going to Jackson, Mississippi to help register Negroes tovote.¿ A Pennsylvania delegate to the1964 Democratic National Convention, he gained notoriety, nationally covered,sitting with the Mississippi Freedom Delegation to protest the injustice ofbypassing them in favor of an unelected all-white group.Today, he works to better thelives of the homeless, through teaching culinary skills. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: 1st Book Library (March 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414034563
• ISBN-13: 978-1414034560
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,758,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to Put Down, May 30, 2004

By 

Kathleen Cassidy - See all my reviews

This review is from: WHEN IN DOUBT...BLAME A JEW!: A PERSONAL AND PEOPLE'S MEMOIR OF ANTI-SEMITISM (Paperback)

The title caught me off guard until I noticed the clarifying subtitle(a personal & peoples memoir of anti-Semitism).I couldn't recommend the book more highly.The first chapter really tugged at my heart.I did not expect a 'somber subject' to open with a beautiful love story based on the author's love & devotion to his wife.What grabbed my immediate attention was the fact that a Christian & Jew had successfully married, loved & operated in such harmony among their differences as if they had none.I thought this very interesting, based on the author's personal knowledge & experience with anti-Semitism.Their obvious respect & understanding of the truths about each other's religious backgrounds was very refreshing. As a Christian,(born with a Jewish heart - a deep love, respect & admiration for the Jewish people) I could not understand why Jewish people would feel so endangered at the opening of "The Passion of Christ" portraying a deeply loved Savior who was Himself a Jew. Most of my friends are Jewish & I know the Jewish people to be (from my experience) the most tolerant of other's differing beliefs.But even some of my Messianic Jewish friends were upset.I could not understand until I read this book(explaination of the Blood Libel).I also liked the author's enlightenment on the history of how a lie grows until it becomes falsely a belief(very scary). But the book also adds humor, famous people & the author's ever open spirit in his quest for truths to hold your attention without making your experience a sad one. I was impressed with the fact that even though the author had his experiences & his knowledge, he never let it kill off his desire to live out his beliefs to the hilt.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Seeds of Hate", June 4, 2004

By 

joyce curtis (hollywood, florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: WHEN IN DOUBT...BLAME A JEW!: A PERSONAL AND PEOPLE'S MEMOIR OF ANTI-SEMITISM (Hardcover)

Mr. Abbott's erudite presentation of his subject provides interesting and thought provoking reading. His passion, emanating from a Jew's first hand experience is transmitted in a scholarly, yet personal view, to the pages of this extraordinary book."The Blood Libel" and "Short History of Anti-Semitism" chapters explain, in simple and clear detail how the Jews were made scapegoats. Interestingly, the latter chapter, dealing with hate-mongering, was written on 9/15/01, just four days after American Jews and Christians were the victims of just such hate.
I highly recommend this book to those of all persuasions; until we understand how the seeds of hate are sowed and the growth then encouraged, we cannot begin to stop its spread.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When in doubt ... Blame a Jew, July 31, 2004

By 

J. Appel "Jack Appel" (South Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WHEN IN DOUBT...BLAME A JEW!: A PERSONAL AND PEOPLE'S MEMOIR OF ANTI-SEMITISM (Hardcover)

WHEN IN DOUBT... BLAME A JEW!

It takes tremendous courage to try to explain anti-Semitism to a world immersed in hate, ignorance, and superstition. Arnold Abbott did just that in a book that should be in every thinking person's library.

All my thoughts are confirmed in this book, such as the fact that there is not a Jewish race and that Anti-Semitism still is with us today in this great country of ours. We share with the African-Americans all the pain of their slavery and prejudice. We probably will always have country clubs in every city that do not admit Blacks and Jewish people. One in particular that has policies against Jews as members or even as a guest of a member is the Everglades Club in Palm Beach. Is it not unbelievable to most Americans that this kind of baseless hatred persists into the 21st century?

One thing that I did not know was that the Japanese leaders in 1941 were all Jewish. Based on the premise of the Jew-haters that the Jews were responsible for our entry in World War II., it is only logical to come to this conclusion.

The chapter on Jewish humor is a needed break in the book from all the pain depicted. I would like to add my favorite Jewish humor example. Jake comes home to find his best friend in bed with his wife. He calls him out of the bedroom and says "Sam I have to. But you?"

The list of 100 most influential Jews is interesting, but leaves out many who deserve to be honored in this way. My nomination would be Barnet Rasofsky. Barnet wanted to be a Talmudic scholar, but not all our dreams are possible. Because of a family tragedy, he was forced to live on the edge of crime and turned to boxing as a means of escaping poverty and to help his family out of poverty. He succeeded in becoming a World lightweight and welterweight champion and if that was not enough, he became a U S Marine and volunteered for combat. He was sent to Guadalcanal in the Pacific where his heroism was rewarded with a Silver Star and Purple Heart having withstood fierce enemy attacks and carrying a wounded soldier on his back even though he weighed twice Barnet's weight. We all know Barnet as Barney Ross.

In conclusion of this review the story of the concentration camps as not being true is the most ignorant statement that any hater can make. I, an Army veteran, having served in World War II from Normandy to Germany, was at Buchenwald the day after it was liberated and what I saw and smelled can never be forgotten.

Thank you, Arnold Abbott for a wonderful book.