Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

I found this book to be very informative and thought-provoking. Arnold's choice of title implies that the subject matter will be devoted entirely to how Jews are blamed for everything; this is not the case. Interestingly enough, Arnold has dedicated an entire chapter to Jewish humor that he draws upon in entitling his book and another on the accomplishments of Jews in history. Other chapters discuss more serious matters, i.e., the crucifixion of Jesus, the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism. Even other chapters give insight into the Jewish perspective.

I believe that Mr. Abbott did due diligence in his fact collecting and touched on positives as well as negatives without proclaiming every non-Jew an anti-Semite. I would have to say he does practice what he is preaching. Overall, this is not a difficult book to read and is tremendously insightful.

This is a first-rate book if for no other reason than it was written from the heart by someone who has obviously struggled with this issue all his life. There was no other reason for Mr. Abbott to take time out of his busy life to sit down and give us his inside thoughts on so many different facets of Judaism and how Jews interact and are viewed by the outside world. I enjoyed the dry humor and the way that the chapters ran one to another, and the anecdotal stories and insights made me feel as if he were telling me his story directly and intimately.

Being raised a Roman Catholic, like his wife, Maureen, I was able to appreciate both sides of the coin so to speak when I read about some of the difficulties he had with an interfaith relationship. I work as a church musician myself but also work as an employee of a Jewish temple and so I went into reading this book with my own preconceived notions as to how difficult it is to not fear or blame those of other faiths due to ignorance or prejudice. I must admit that as a kid it was easy to joke about Jews and even today it's easy to get behind a car with a bad driver or get into a run-in at the marketplace and assume the source of your present predicament is Jewish based. Mr. Abbott makes some very good points about that and other misconceptions.

The chapters dealing with "Immaculate Conception" and "A World Without Jews" made me pause and ponder questions that I had not thought of in quite that way before, and, of course, the scoundrels, liars, thieves, and lost opportunies to be honorable gave me much to reflect upon. I had assumed before I read the book that Mr. Abbott would write about the struggle from the Middle Ages on into Hitler's Germany, but I must admit that there was more material that was unfamiliar to me than otherwise. I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels that it is easy to be a Jew, or who is willing to read about uncomfortable events in the story of the Jewish people, or just want to be set straight in the "Did You Know" or the "Famous Jews" section of the book.

Arnold Abbott is a living Legend. He is impressive with all he has done, his philanthropy & the knowledge he has. My friend recommended the book. The title catches everyone by surprise. I wasn't sure what to think at first but the book was very good. It enlightened me to anti-Semitism & made me aware of issues I never considered as a non-Jew. Stories that get slanted over the years were clarified. The book has facts, humor, corrections of myths and history. It has a list of famous Jews, Jewish jokes, some poems. This book is highly recommended to anyone searching for knowledge no matter what religious background.

As a person raised a Catholic, I enjoyed reading what to me was a book of revelations. I was absolutely amazed to learn that there are only 14 million Jews left in the whole world, since I grew up hearing that the Jews owned all the newspapers, all the banks, control all the media, and exclude Christians from every business. My church taught me that Judaism is a pagan religion, and that they killed Jesus. I never knew many Jews, growing up in College Park, Atlanta, Georgia, and only came to really know some Jews when I visited South Florida for the first time.
I did some research on the book's author Arnold Abbott, and found out that he, a Jew, 13 years ago had started a feeding program to care for Broward's County 10,000 homeless persons. If that wasn't enough, he also started a Culinary Training Program to teach the homeless a profession, and in one year has returned 60 homeless to society as productive tax-paying independent individuals. Lately, I have met several other Jews who were all loving, giving people, and I am often reminded of the little poem at the start of the book "How odd of God to choose the Jew, but odder still are those who love the Jewish God and hate the Jew." In short, I have learned a lot, a lot about Jewish pain, tolerance, and love. I have given "When In Doubt...Blame A Jew!" a much-deserved 5-star rating. It should be mandatory reading for people who were raised on Catholic dogma and mythology, as I was. Sean Curlee, Atlanta, Georgia

I was given this book as a gift, and was cynical about reading it. I just finished chapter 2 which packs a punch! I am a former "Messianic Jew" or "completed Jew", and was also involved with "Jews for Jesus". I found it fascinating and wonderful that my questions and conundrums were identified and answered. I can't wait to finish "When In Doubt..." to see what else Mr. Abbott has to say on these delicate, unmentionable subjects. More later...

This is an important book that should be required reading in every high school in America. The truth does not always come in nice, neat and tidy packages all wrapped up with pretty pink bows. That anti-Semitism exists in the world even to this very day is foretold in the bible. The author does an extremely competent job of not only educating us that this is so; but, he also weaves into the fabric of this very readable tome his own thought provoking first hand experiences. Unfortunately, evil exists in this world, and Abbott is not afraid to confront it head on. The graphically disturbing images will certainly evoke deep feelings. One nice thing about reading this book is that if you choose to do so, you can skip over the parts that may be 'challenging' for you and come back to them at a later time when you're more in the mood. There are some lighter chapters to enjoy as well. All in all, the author does a superb job in exploring a challenging subject. While not dry and overly intellectual (I only had to reach for the dictionary a few times), this well written work is by no means devoid of serious scholarship. Everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike, will find something that resonates with them.

An excellent title for a very readable book. I put aside other books I was reading because the title intrigued me and I was wondering how one could write a book solely on "blaming a Jew." Well I certainly found out and would recommend this book to anyone, Jew or Christian or someone of any faith who has an open mind, who wonders why Jews are blamed and have been blamed, for one thing or another, for centuries. And if you think this is an exaggeration, just read this remarkable book and you will be convinced.

Mr. Abbott has done an excellent job of research. He has his facts and figures on line. You always know his source and can easily check any fact you may doubt. I was convinced that what he said was true because you could not only check out every statement but additionally you could feel his hurt, his compassion and his desperate need to let others know the facts, historically and personally, that every Jew knows so often from personal experience and pain.

I personally was brought up in a Jewish home but not a religious one. I have, or course, through the years heard many of the stories such as the denial of the Jewish refugees from Europe by the United States during World War II; the names of famous Jew Haters; the myth that the Jews Killed Christ. Yes, scattered through my life I have heard the history, the names of brilliant Jews who have contributed so much to mankind"s knowledge, but now, in this outstanding book I have found all the facts laid out coherently, extremely well organized, so one can get a clear picture. It is a wonderful reference book but it also makes great reading. It answer so many questions one may ask. and in addition there is wonderful humor; it is never dry or sarcastic.

I cannot recommend "Blame a Jew" too highly. You will not only learn a lot but you will enjoy every moment of the learning process.