Julia Neuberger, ”Antisemitism: What It Is, What It Isn’t, Why It Matters” (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2019)

Anti-Semitic incidents, ranging from vandalism through murder, are on the rise in Great Britain, and across Europe and North America.

Julia Neuberger - Senior Rabbi at West London Synagogue, a member of the House of Lords, chair of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, and trustee of Full Fact, an organization dedicated to getting proper information and fair evidence before the public – writes for the contemporary reader who wants clarification of the way this insidious prejudice has reappeared in many parts of today’s society. She explains that anti-Semitism is not only a threat to Jews, but also to other minorities and to the society as whole, as it promotes paranoid conspiracy theories and irrationality.

Beginning with a history of anti-Semitism, from ancient times, through early Christianity, through the Middle Ages and on to Nazi ideology, Antisemitism: What It Is, What It Isn’t, Why It Matters (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2019) also explores the boundary between legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and anti-Semitic Israel -bashing.

Neuberger describes in detail the many manifestations of anti-Semitism in Britain, particularly, but by no means exclusively, as it has developed in the British Labor Party under Jeremy Corbin.

Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, and Middle East commentator for the nationally syndicated TV program, The Armstrong Williams Show. Write her at r.garfinkel@yahoo.com or tweet @embracingwisdom.

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