Jo Glanville’s tough, brilliant little book pins down antisemitism in its fluorescent modern form, but with its bizarre, repetitious history ... In a series of beautifully written (and perfectly translated) essays, Glanville has assembled different national accounts of antisemitism. This binding device illuminates the memory of childhoods formed by piecing together the baffling and terrible fates of families ... One thing missing from the book is a hard-nosed political scientist looking at electoral politics in the UK ... How can we deal with all of this? Well, recognising problems that stare you in the face is one place to start. This collection, full of vivid intelligence and wit, is more than the sum of its parts – it tells stories that we need to think about right now.
... provides essential reading for anyone concerned with social justice ... They provide forceful historic arguments for the deep roots of antisemitism and show how the ancient hatred manifests itself in different forms on both the left and the right ... These pages are grim reading. But the clarity of the arguments, along with the bringing together of international sources, provides an important structural understanding of why antisemitism is so deeply ingrained and so difficult to uproot. Just as Black scholars are now studying the ways that racism underlay the very beginnings of American society, this book provides insight into how antisemitism was baked into European culture and brought to America. Consider this book a blueprint for a Jewish 1619 Project. Let’s hope it’s as widely read.
... one would be hard-pressed to find such a succinct and yet fulsome discussion on the state of antisemitism today as is found in this collection authored by historians, journalists and activists involved in documenting and counteracting deeply ingrained historical and political hatred of Jewish people. Even the vocabulary of these essays is something of a primer on trending ideas such as philosemitism and Holocaust manipulation. Furthermore, these writers are not reluctant to disparage the tin-eared rhetoric of President Trump, nor to challenge Israel itself for acting in ways towards Palestinians that eerily mimic Nazi Germany’s official intolerance. But what these essays ultimately demonstrate is unwavering evidence that the white-hot maelstrom of antisemitic hatred remains alive and well ... A bold yet troubling treasure.
