A Convenient Hatred: the History of Antisemitism

by Facing History and Ourselves

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780981954387
Publisher:	Facing History & Ourselves National Foundation, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/09/2018
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	434
Sales rank:	284,235
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

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. 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.

Table of Contents

foreword Sir Harold Evans iii

To Victims of Prejudice Leonard Stern xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Beginnings (586 bce-135 ce) 7

People on the Move

Antisemitism in Elephantine?

Antisemitism in Alexandria?

Wars with Rome

Antisemitism in the Roman Empire?

Chapter 2 Separation: Synagogue and Church, Jew and Christian (29-414 ce) 23

Jesus and His Follcnvers

A Owing Separation

The Fourth Century: A Turning Point

Jewish Christians and judaizmg Christians.

Chapter 3 Conquests and Consequences (395-750 ce) 39

Waring Empires

Oases in the Desert

The Prophet Muhammad

Jewish Tribes in Medina

Building an islamic Empire

Chapter 4 Holy Wars and Antisemitism (700s-1300) 55

"Us" and "Them" in Northern Europe

A Call to Arms

A New Kind of War

Crimes and Punishment

The Consequences of 1096

Chapter 5 The Power of a Lie (1144-1300) 75

Charges of Ritual Murder

Tragedy in Blois

The Death of "Little Hugh"

Blood and the Blood Libel

Jews and judaism Redefined

Attacks on the Talmud

Chapter 6 Refugees from Intolerance (1347-1492) 93

The Black Death

"The Money Was Indeed the Thing..." -Spain: An Exception?

Riots and Conversions

Expulsion from Spain

Jews without a Home

Chapter 7 In Search of Toleration (1500-1635) 113

New Outlooks

The Battle of the Pamphlets

A Religious Revolution

Luther and the Jews

In Search of Compromises

Taking Sides

Speaking Out

Catholic Responses

The Fight against Heresy

Paul IV and the Jews

Other Reforms and Reformers

Chapter 8 Safe Havens?: Poland and the Ottoman Empire (1200s-1666) 137

Toward Toleration in Poland

Responses to Toleration

Jewish Self Defense

Catastrophe in the East

Jews in the Ottoman Empire

In the Interest of the Empire

Protecting Jews

A False Messiah

Chapter 9 The Age of Enlightenment and the Reaction 1600s-l 848) 157

Mendelssohn and the Enlightenment

Germany: In Search of "Useful Jews"

Toleration in Austria

England's Jews: Hidden in Plain Sight

The French Revolution and the Jews

Reactions and Doubts

German Nationalism and German Jews

Chapter 10 Antisemitism in an Age of Nationalism (1840-1878) 183

Murder in Damascus?

The Power of Publicity

Mission to the Middle East

Outcomes and Legacies

The Limits of Publicity's Power

In Defense of Jews

Old Myths in Modern Dress

Chapter 11 Antisemitism in France and Russia: "The Snake... Crept out of the Marshes" (1880-1905) 207

France: Antisemitism in a Democracy

The Dreyfus Case: More Than a Trial

Russia: "Beyond the Pale"

"Living on Top of a Volcano"

Courage at Home, Outrage Abroad

Disapproval at Home

New Pogroms and New Responses

Chapter 12 Lies, Stereotypes, and Antisemitism in an Age of War and Revolution (1914-I920s) 233

Questions of Loyalty in Wartime

The Power of Old Myths in a Modern World

Revolutions and Civil Wars

The Protocols and the White Army

Protecting Minorities

The Protocols Reach the West and Beyond

The Protocols in the United States

The Doors Close

Chapter 13 In the Face of Genocide (1918-1945) 259

"Backstabbing" in a Defeated Germany

Hitler's Rise to Power

Dismantling Democracy

The Search for Refuge

The Night of the Pogrom

A Racial War within a World War

194 J: A Turning Point

The Acceleration of the "Final Solution"

Resistance and Rescue

World Responses

At War's End

Chapter 14 Antisemitism after the Holocaust (1945-1979) 289

"Is It... Antisemitic?" The Allies and Jewish Refugees

No Place to Go

Poland after the Holocaust

Antisemitism: An InternationalJEmergency

Antisemitism and Nationalism

The Palestinian Dilemma

Arab Nationalism and a Jewish State

Chapter 15 Antisemitism and the Cold War (1945-2000) 313

Changing Attitudes

In Search of "Traitors"

Confronting the Past

Breaking the Silence-Egyptian Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism

Politics and War in the Arab World

Consequences Abroad-Confrontation at the United Nations

The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Chapter 16 Antisemitism Today: A Convenient Hatred 339

When "the Impossible Became Possible"

A Terrorist Attack and an Aggressive Lie

"Ritual Murder" in the Twenty-First Century

"Infection"

Nationalism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism

Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial

Memory and Education

Selected Bibliography 363

Acknowledgments 375

Credits 377

Index 381

What People are Saying About This

Lawrence L. Langer

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)

Carl Bernstein

With no agenda except enlightenment, A Convenient Hatred allows us to finally comprehend the awful history of antisemitism. It deserves the widest possible reading—by young, old, Jew and non-Jew. (Carl Bernstein, journalist and author)

Michael Berenbaum

"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)

Kwame Anthony Appiah

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

Omer Bartov

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)

Editorial Reviews

After a thoughtful foreword by Sir Harold Evans, staff writer and researcher Goldstein (Holocaust and Human Behavior) follows a chronological trajectory, opening each chapter with a detailed snapshot of the time period under discussion, and often including a map to help locate readers unfamiliar with the terrain and shifting national boundaries. She begins with the first recorded incidence of antisemitism in 586 BCE, when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, and tracks its development across the ages, ending with a chapter on "Antisemitism Today," in which she warns that it is "still a force in the world." Thoroughly researched and meticulous in its treatment of a bleak topic, Goldstein's study does not rest on a recitation of the atrocities of WWII; rather, hers is a work that seeks to dismantle a complex prejudice in order to more swiftly do away with it. As president of Human Rights First Elisa Massimino points out, "The branding of Jews as scapegoats for ancient and modern ills remains a powerful underlying factor" in its continuation. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Facing History and Ourselves is a well-known organization that, according to its own literature, "fosters democracy and combats anti-Semitism, racism, and other hatreds through education." The organization has had great success working with students to confront the issues in their own lives by looking at them through the broader perspective of history. This particular volume is an excellent history of a long hatred. Readers need not be Jewish to appreciate the particular virulence shown toward an oppressed minority through history. Goldstein (senior writer, Facing History and Ourselves) tells the stories of some of the courageous individuals who have made a stand, e.g., Emile Zola, and discusses how various historical figures have officially considered Jews. For example, Napoléon instituted reforms that benefited Jews. The book could be read in conjunction with the documentary The Longest Hatred: A Revealing History of Anti-Semitism. The illustrations, woodcuts, photos, and maps ably assist the text. VERDICT Not aiming to be comprehensive, Goldstein uses representative examples in a lively, conversational way that will speak particularly to advanced high school students and stimulate discussion among them. That said, there is not much new material for informed adult readers.—Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL

Library Journal