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Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition Reprint Edition
by David Nirenberg (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (239)
4.3 on Goodreads
448 ratings
==
Contents
Cover
Welcome Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Introduction:
Thinking about Judaism, or the Judaism of Thought
Chapter 1:
The Ancient World: Egypt, Exodus, Empire
Chapter 2:
Early Christianity: The Road to Emmaus, The Road to Damascus
Chapter 3:
The Early Church: Making Sense of the World in Jewish Terms
Chapter 4:
"To Every Prophet an Adversary": Jewish Enmity in Islam
Chapter 5:
"The Revenge of the Savior": Jews and Power in Medieval Europe
Chapter 6:
The Extinction of Spain's Jews and the Birth of Its Inquisition
Chapter 7:
Reformation and Its Consequences
Chapter 8:
"Which Is the Merchant Here, and Which the Jew?": Acting Jewish in Shakespeare's England
Chapter 9:
"Israel" at the Foundations of Christian Politics: 1545-1677
Chapter 10:
Enlightenment Revolts against Judaism: 1670-1789
Chapter 11:
The Revolutionary Perfection of the World: 1789-?
Chapter 12:
Philosophical Struggles with Judaism, from Kant to Heine
Chapter 13:
Modernity Thinks with Judaism
Epilogue:
Drowning Intellectuals
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
About this Book
==
“Exhilarating . . . a scholarly tour de force. The story Nirenberg has to tell is not over.”―Adam Kirsch, TabletThis incisive history upends the complacency that confines anti-Judaism to the ideological extremes in the Western tradition. With deep learning and elegance, David Nirenberg shows how foundational anti-Judaism is to the history of the West.
Questions of how we are Jewish and, more critically, how and why we are not have been churning within the Western imagination throughout its history. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans; Christians and Muslims of every period; even the secularists of modernity have used Judaism in constructing their visions of the world. The thrust of this tradition construes Judaism as an opposition, a danger often from within, to be criticized, attacked, and eliminated. The intersections of these ideas with the world of power―the Roman destruction of the Second Temple, the Spanish Inquisition, the German Holocaust―are well known. The ways of thought underlying these tragedies can be found at the very foundation of Western history. 8 pages of illustrations
==
“Exhilarating . . . a scholarly tour de force. The story Nirenberg has to tell is not over.”―Adam Kirsch, TabletThis incisive history upends the complacency that confines anti-Judaism to the ideological extremes in the Western tradition. With deep learning and elegance, David Nirenberg shows how foundational anti-Judaism is to the history of the West.
Questions of how we are Jewish and, more critically, how and why we are not have been churning within the Western imagination throughout its history. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans; Christians and Muslims of every period; even the secularists of modernity have used Judaism in constructing their visions of the world. The thrust of this tradition construes Judaism as an opposition, a danger often from within, to be criticized, attacked, and eliminated. The intersections of these ideas with the world of power―the Roman destruction of the Second Temple, the Spanish Inquisition, the German Holocaust―are well known. The ways of thought underlying these tragedies can be found at the very foundation of Western history. 8 pages of illustrations
==
Review
"Learned and disquieting. . . . Anti-Judaism identifies a persistent and pervasive thread in the fabric of Western thought that no future commentary . . . will be entitled to ignore."
― R. I. Moore, Nation
"Chilling. . . . Nirenberg offers his painful and important history so that we might recognize these patterns [of intolerance and violence] in hopes of not falling into them yet again."
― Michael S. Roth, Washington Post
"Brilliant, fascinating."
― Michael Walzer, New York Review of Books
"[A] magisterial work of intellectual history."
― Publishers Weekly
==
About the Author
David Nirenberg is the Deborah R. and Edgar D. Jannotta Professor of Medieval History and Social Thought at the University of Chicago, where he is also director of the Neubauer Family Collegium for Culture and Society.
Product details
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date : March 3, 2014
Edition : Reprint
Language : English
Print length : 624 pages
==
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89 customer reviews
From the United States
UBG
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2013
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What an incredible work of scholarship!
A brilliant analysis of the fear/hatred that never sleeps, that is
always old and always new. That can never stop re-inventing itself because
differentiation from the Jew and his Judaism has been essential to the self-identification
and ultimately the self-worth of so many cultures.
Hatred and fear of the Jew and his thought has been and still is fundamental to the West and to Islam.
Its most current permutation is to be found in the obsessive demonization of Israel and Zionism.
Who are these people and how did they get to be so...essential...to
the identities of so many? What a mystery.
Nirenberg has done some very hard thinking here. Well done !!!
I really dig this book!
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at
5.0 out of 5 stars It's helpful to see how the three diverge rather than to be simply caught up in how their similar which is to a great extent wha
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2014
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Very scholarly, gives the background for the anti-Jewish attitude through the centuries. Prepares us now to tackle the issue of the conflict over the ideas. The careful documentation and notes is exceedingly helpful for further study and consideration and discussion
By the way he ranges widely making use of various sources including Shakespeare, it helps them thinking how the subject is involved in all of our civilizations struggles which are related to the three major religious systems of belief. It's helpful to see how the three diverge rather than to be simply caught up in how their similar which is to a great extent what is frequently offered, and what people would like to believe rather than what the reality is Nierenberg carefully presents its and with great documentation.
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Eric Gross
4.0 out of 5 stars The Tragic Continuity of Ideas and a People Trapped by those ideas.
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2017
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First things first, this book is not easy reading. Nirenberg writes in the tradition of literary criticism firmly embedded in an approach that is thoroughly academic. Reading book is work. It demands a great deal of attention and intelligence from the reader. Clearly Niremberg understands that he is writing an "important" tome on a very serious subject. So if you get through the deep complexity of his approach, you will be rich rewarded. This book is a narrative of how ideas about Jews have sustained a very long and agonizing history of anti-judaism. The author painstakingly seeks to connect these ideas to the actual "real" events of history and I believe that he does this in a way that is profoundly compelling. The ideas that he explores continue to affect my own lived experience as a Jew and as someone perceived as a Jew. For me, this is a profoundly tragic history and understanding it from my own perspective is singularly sad and even a little frightening. He describes a people trapped by ideas that single them out as not deserving freedom or even life itself and if this isn't a viewpoint filled with tragedy and horror, then I don't what is!
35 people found this helpful
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Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars Got exactly what i wanted.
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2025
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I ordered. Received quickly what i ordered. The book is in excellent condition, like new, and I a very pleased.
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Cheryl Rives
5.0 out of 5 stars COMPLEX, COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE LONG HISTORY OF HATRED OF JUDAISM FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO PRESENT DAY
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2013
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FASCINATING, HEART-BREAKING HISTORY OF LONG AND DEEP-ROOTED HATRED OF JUDAISM. DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW ALL OF AUTHOR'S COMPLEX IDEAS, AS WELL AS, THE HISTORICAL EVENTS. AUTHOR'S WRITING STYLE COULD BE SIMPLIFIED FOR AVERAGE READER. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE FEED BACK FROM OTHERS WHO HAVE READ THIS BOOK, AND I WOULD ALSO LOVE TO HAVE A STUDY GUIDE, Q & A, DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR EACH CHAPTER, ETC. THERE IS JUST SO MUCH INFORMATION TO ABSORB. THIS BOOK COULD BE MODIFIED INTO A TEXTBOOK FOR ANTI-JUDAISM, AND IT COULD BE TAUGHT AS AN ON-LINE COURSE.
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Bill Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Words
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2019
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For everyone seeking to understand Judaism in the modern world, this book is a must read. Whether the reference is to real Jews or virtual Jews, Jews and Judaism continue to be referred to in a negative context. From the ancient Egyptians, to the Greeks, Christianity, Islam, Enlightenment, Reformation and Modernity, there is a continuous anti-Jewish thread. Nuremberg documents that thread with an extensive list of references. The notes in themselves are important reading. Will any Western philosophy be able to express its ideals without reference to the Jews?
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Thomas Artin
5.0 out of 5 stars A Deep and Comprehensive Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2014
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In distinguishing "anti-Judaism" from "anti-Semitism," Nirenberg offers an entirely new and comprehensive understanding of the relations between Jews and the larger communities of which they have been (and not been) a part. The book synthesizes the many varieties of hostility both to Jews as human beings and to the ethos of Judaism. Though stylistically, the book is not always easy reading, it is nonetheless essential reading.
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armin brott
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and depressing but very valuable
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2022
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This book is a super deep dive into the 3000-year history of antisemitism and the many way that dozens of cultures have created a world in which everything that's wrong can be blamed on Jews, Judaism, or Israel. I learned a huge amount but was left with a feeling of anger and hopelessness, that there's nothing anyone can do to change things.
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David Roemer
1.0 out of 5 stars The Cause of the Holocaust
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2014
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I will comment on five quotes from this book that might cause someone to lose their faith in Jesus.
Quote No. 1. "Christians resorted ever more systematically to a logic that treated the relative "Jewishness" of a teaching as the best test of its truth or falsity. "Jews" multiplied as negative types in Christian writing, and the living Jew (as opposed to the prophets of the past) became in the Christian theological imagination the enemy of the Christian." (location 1562)
The author is implying that Christianity caused anti-Semitism. The following quote from the The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain by Benzion Netanyahu says that anti-Semitism caused Christianity:
"Christian theology did not create or initiate the hatred of the Jews that saturates its teachings--it was, on the contrary, created and shaped by it. The instinct of hatred was simply hardened into a doctrine that constituted the foundation of the new religious edifice." (page 22)
Quote No. 2. "Despite Augustine's retrospective enthusiasms, these philosophical ideas are not obviously compatible with Judaism or Christianity." (location 1626)
The "philosophical ideas" referred to are a metaphysical idea and a theological idea. The metaphysical idea is that God is an infinite and immutable being and therefore would have no motive for creating the universe of finite beings. This is indeed a mystery because the only thing that could motivate God to do anything is self-love. Finite beings exist because God loved Himself as giving. But God could just as well love Himself without giving. Hence, the existence of finite beings is a mystery. To his credit, the author uses the word obviously to modify compatible.
The theological idea is that God would not inspire Western prophets and Eastern mystics to say our purpose is life is to serve Him in this world in order to be with Him in the world to come. There are two kinds of knowledge: faith and reason. In reason, we know something is true because we can see the truth of it. In faith, we know something is true because God is telling us. Faith is both a decision and a gift from God. Christians are summoning people to believe in God and are giving their reasons. But it is not a demand. It is wrong to criticize the judgment of someone who does not have the gift of faith.
Quote No. 3. "If Jesus suffered as a man, could he also be a god?" (location 1635)
We can comprehend what Jesus suffered, but we can't define or explicate what human suffering is. A human being is an indefinability that becomes conscious of its own existence. Humans are embodied spirits. One can expresses this in metaphysical terms by saying the human soul is spiritual. Since other human beings exist, humans are finite beings and a composition of two metaphysical principles: essence and existence. An infinite being is a pure act of existence without a limiting essence. The infinite being is called God in the Western religions.
I understand the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation as being subordinate to the doctrine of the Trinity. When human beings communicate with one another the communication is imperfect. This can't be true of an infinite being. God communicates with us in three different ways: by creating us and keeping us in existence (the Father), by answering our prayers (the Holy Spirit), by giving us Jesus (the Son).
Quote No. 4. "The synagogue 'began to be burnt by the judgment of God.' Behind this judgment stood the entire church. The bishop and his monks were but the instruments of God's justice, their violence a proclamation of his sovereignty, for insofar as the synagogue represented an exceptional space outside the law of Christ, its existence diminished that sovereignty." (location 2023)
The quotation is from Saint Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, who was criticizing Emperor Theodosius for defending the legal rights of Jewish people in the Mesopotamian city of Callinicum in 388 AD. On page 316, there is a reference to the excommunication of Theodosius by Saint Ambrose, but this was for the massacre at Thessalonica in 390, another Macedonian city.
Theodosius ordered the massacre in a fit of anger when a riot over a false arrest caused the death of an officer in the Roman army. Theodosius's Gothic troops surrounded an amphitheater, filled because of a circus, and killed a predetermined number of the hapless spectators. In addition to the hooligans rounded up and executed by the local authorities after the riot, seven thousand were killed in the amphitheater, it was said. After performing public penance for eight months, Theodosius humbly went to Ambrose for the sacrament of Holy Communion.
To summarize, the Catholic Church caused the Emperor to repent by threatening eternal damnation and used force and violence to suppress Judaism. The author refers to "God's justice," but there is no other kind of justice. The alternative to believing in God's justice is thinking that human beings have rights because they are human beings. An example of someone who thinks this is Nick Machiavelli who was the first to justify immoral acts for "reasons of state." It is quotes like this that gave the devil the nickname "Old Nick":
"From this it may be concluded that men should either be caressed or exterminated, because they can avenge light injuries, but not severe ones. The damage done to a man should be such that there is no fear of vengeance." (Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince and Other Writings (Barnes & Noble Classics) by Allan H. Gilbert, New York: Hendricks House, 1964, p.99)
Quote No. 5. "In short, I do not believe that the history of thought I have attempted to sketch in these pages determined why Germany moved from anti-Semitism to genocide....But I do believe the Holocaust was inconceivable and unexplainable without that deep history of thought." (location 7893)
Referring to the horrors of the French Revolution, the author asks in italics, "Could the triumph of reason unleash even greater barbarism that what had come before?" (location 6481). The answer of course is yes, as the author knows very well. But the author does not blame the ideas that produced the French Revolution. The author thinks that the triumph of reason over faith was a good thing. My guess is that the author admires Machiavelli and Darwin, who said human beings evolved from animals, but does not admire Saint Ambrose.
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Brian A. Bergman
4.0 out of 5 stars A very good and detailed book about Christianity and Islam's struggle to ...
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2016
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A very good and detailed book about Christianity and Islam's struggle to incorporate old testament wisdom into each respective religion while still denigrating Jews. The tactic often used is to paint the picture that Jews are vulgar, debased and too concerned with secular and practical matters while Christian were spiritual. The book begins BC in Egypt and progresses up until the present era incorporating the views of famous theologians in the early parts of the books and philosophers in the later portions of the text. The book is well written but still difficult to read. However, it is worth it as each chapter is an important lesson.
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Lance Sterling
4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating ,scholarly take on the "Jew" in western intellecttual history
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2014
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A very enjoyable read. Despite how much you know amout the history of antisemitism, Nirenbergs review of the uses of the concept of the "Jew" from ancient Egypt to modern Europe will surprise you and give an entirely new perspective on the subject . It is a bit dense, particularly in the chapters on 18th and 19th century philosophical thought, but worth the effort. My only complaint is that it seems to end abruptly. I expected a final chapter on the denouement in Germany in the thirties but, as the author states, this is not a book amout the holocaust. Highly recommended.
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Michael Burke
5.0 out of 5 stars shifting age-old mind-sets
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2014
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This is a mind-changing book. Its not about anti-semitism, its about the "necessity" for intelligent societies to have a scape-goat septic tank of antipathy into which they pour ALL of their adversaries under a simple easy to remember title, in this case "Anti -judaism" is the paradigm.
Theres a French proverb " A man who wants to kill his dog accuses it, first, of having rabies".
It is not, for instance,about what a political party is, but for what our imaginations need it to represent, in order to "feel good" about our choices. Bravo Nirenberg for writing a book which just might help slow down amongst its readers the conditioned reflexes of of prejudice which surround all us.
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Stephen R. Kowarsky
5.0 out of 5 stars A Revelation
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2017
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Nirenberg makes a strong, evidence-based case by observing and explaining the abundance of anti-Judaism ideas in many key streams of western thought. How long this has existed, how deep it goes, and how shockingly dehumanizing it has long been - these discoveries await the sensitive reader and help to put the pivotal event of the Shoah in a much larger context and tradition. I think it is very important to understand these things, although I’m not sure this awareness teaches us what to do about it. Given the nature of confirmation bias, this book may not fundamentally change many minds. But it can deepen some of them, and that has its value.
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La Rochelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and profound (and very sad) study
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2014
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A must for anyone interested in this aspect of Jewish history. Explains how fantasies, limitless imagination mixed with primordial fears as well cupidity and just plain hatred kills untold millions over the course of more than two thousand years. For what purpose? Initially to instil different fantasies into the simple minds of illiterate heathens, later to control the minds of the multitudes, to stealfrom the Jews in quicky fund raising schemes, eventually to murder them and use their possessions and even make their bodies into useful things. The trajectory is described in amaing detail and depth. Scholarly and readable at the same time. Just very, very sad, that's all.
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parker
4.0 out of 5 stars Anti-Semitism
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2022
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In depth probing of antisemitism, "Antijudiasm", starting from the time of ancient Egypt and bringing us to the present. Very dense reading but well worth the effort.
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zelman freeman
5.0 out of 5 stars Getting to the root of how & why, hatred of the Jews occurred.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2013
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A great contribution to understanding the source of those who targeted the Judaic religion by using invented cognitive distortions of its traditions & writings,& which through innumerable variations of the same theme by Christian & Islamic writers, has produced a bogeyman stereotype resulting in recurrent denigration & murderous violence against Jews in addition to the invented derogatory abstract concept, called "Judaism".
Nirenberg's profound scholarship, his widespread use of preserved multilingual historical writings, & the nontendentious nature of his authorship, make this compelling reading for the educated layman & for scholars in this field. Z. Freeman
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Leonard Groopman
5.0 out of 5 stars Important book. Elegantly written. Not to be missed.
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2013
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This beautifully written work of deep scholarship and erudition is a book of great importance. There are few contemporary books about which I can say it has opened up new vistas of understanding and added new dimensions of interpretation. Anti-Judaism has altered if not transformed the way I think about and read not only Jewish history, but Western history. It is a must for anyone who wishes to understand European intellectual, political, and cultural history, and in particular, to understand the roots of the catastrophes of the last century.
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Larry Coffey
4.0 out of 5 stars It is not an easy read, have to use the dictionary for several ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2017
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A thought provoking book. It is history that was never taught in school. It is not an easy read, have to use the dictionary for several words to understand some of the points. This is not a beach read, but should be read by those who like history and a different point of view. It is definitely worth reading.
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M. Schwartz
4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating but tough read: thoughtful and illuminating regarding ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015
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A fascinating but tough read: thoughtful and illuminating regarding the use of "Jew" and "Judaism" as a means of defining thought, action and/or behavior - often and usually for non-jews - often twisted, and sometimes positively but usually negatively. Nuremberg seems to have written as an academic, so pay attention to the footnotes
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EuroGal
2.0 out of 5 stars Not Written Very well
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024
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The content might be interesting but so far it's just not written very well. I thought it might be a bit more like something by Landes or McCullough but it's just very very dry and again, just poorly written.
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==
4.0 out of 5 stars Sad But True
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2014
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I did not realized how the attitudes towards the Jews was so much a part of our Christian culture and is now worming its way into the Post-Christian society.There is no easy solution.
A must read for anyone who is interested in evaluating our culture,
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Roy Friedman
4.0 out of 5 stars It's work, but worth it.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2014
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I've sorta know about a lot of the events Nirenberg has written about, but never as articulately as he presents them. It's a book I'll go back to - if only to review my underlines and scribbled notes.
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patricia del
5.0 out of 5 stars Jewish history
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2013
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I read a lot of history books and I wanted to know why the Jews were always treated so poorly as a group. This book answered many of my questions by describing time periods that are relevant to their history. I also questioned why the world allowed what happened in Europe in the 1930's and 40's to be a disgrace to humanity.
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Verlin L Judd
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2021
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Very well researched and documented. My understanding of the bias and persecution of the Jewish faith has been much enhanced.
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Haley94
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2019
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Interesting perspective on how we as people use categories to define groups (in this case Jews) in a way that allows us to discriminate or persecute based on projected ideas and ideals that have little to no basis in fact.
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HistFict
5.0 out of 5 stars The finest book on the origins of anti-semitism
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2015
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This is the finest, most thoughtful book on the origins and development of anti-semitism that I have ever read. It is a very dense read, however. If you ever wondered why this prejudice is so pervasive and persisitent, this book will answer the question for you. It is a superb piece of work.
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ava l rhodes
1.0 out of 5 stars Arrogant
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2024
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There is a very arrogant problem w the author’s title as words have power and for those who consider Judaism to be sacred, we don t want to erase it with a nonthetical construct like that; It’s the same as inviting those who disagree with its right to existence.
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Anthony Lange
4.0 out of 5 stars Hectic reading, painful, true and historically accurate
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2018
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Hectic reading, painful, true and historically accurate. If you want to know the extent and depth of Anti Jewishness, READ THIS BOOK!
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Phyllis Davidson
5.0 out of 5 stars ... Jews have been and are and probably will be hated - this book is a must read
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015
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For anyone who wants to know why Jews have been and are and probably will be hated - this book is a must read. It goes through Western Civilization detailing the constant path of hatred of the Jews.
I highly recommend it - also a great history lesson of our civilization
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Stephen Shucard
5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly treatment of a depressing subject
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2013
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I give the book my highest rating based on its thoroughness and scrupulous reliance on primary source material. Nirenberg spans the entire history and geography of enmity against notions—sometimes ingested with mother's milk, sometimes contrived for strategic advantage—of Judaism and Jews. Ironically, the book's weakest point is its distinction between anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism.
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==
세진님, 요청하신 데이비드 니런버그의 <반유대주의: 서구 전통(Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition)>에 대한 요약과 평론입니다.
<반유대주의: 서구 전통> 요약 및 평론
1. 요약: 유대교라는 사유의 도구
이 책은 단순히 유대인에 대한 물리적 박해의 역사를 나열한 연대기가 아니다. 시카고 대학교의 역사학자 데이비드 니런버그는 서구 문명이 어떻게 유대교를 <사유의 도구(Tool for thinking)>로 사용하며 자기 정체성을 형성해 왔는지를 추적한다. 저자의 핵심 논지는 서구인이 유대인과 직접 접촉했는지 여부와 상관없이, 자신들의 사상적 정체성을 확립하기 위해 부정적인 의미의 <유대교적 속성>을 상정하고 이를 극복하거나 비판하는 과정을 반복했다는 점이다.
고대와 초기 기독교: 영성 대 물질
초기 기독교는 유대교로부터 분리되기 위해 유대교를 <육에 매몰된 종교>로 규정했다. 바울을 비롯한 초기 교부들은 기독교를 영적이고 보편적인 신앙으로, 유대교를 문자주의와 율법에 얽매인 특수주의로 대비시켰다. 여기서 <유대인적>이라는 표현은 실제 유대인을 가리키기보다, 영적 진리를 보지 못하는 눈먼 상태를 지칭하는 형이상학적 범주가 되었다.
중세와 종교개혁: 내부의 적
중세 유럽에서 유대인은 기독교 공동체의 순수성을 위협하는 존재로 설정되었다. 종교개혁 시기 루터는 가톨릭 교회의 의식주의를 비판하며 이를 <유대교적>이라고 공격했다. 반대로 가톨릭 측은 루터의 성경 해석 방식을 <유대교적 문자주의>라고 비난했다. 적대적인 양 진영 모두가 상대방을 비하하기 위해 <유대교>라는 낙인을 도구화한 것이다.
계몽주의와 근대: 이성과 자본
계몽주의 시대에도 이러한 경향은 지속되었다. 볼테르 같은 사상가들은 기독교를 비판하면서도, 기독교의 뿌리인 유대교를 편협하고 미개한 근원으로 몰아세웠다. 마르크스는 유대교를 화폐 물신주의와 연결하며, 인류가 해방되기 위해서는 사회의 <유대인적 속성>(상업주의와 이기심)을 제거해야 한다고 주장했다. 나치즘의 홀로코스트는 이러한 수천 년의 사유 체계가 극단적으로 폭발한 결과였다.
2. 평론: 거울로서의 유대인, 그리고 서구의 그림자
사유 체계로서의 반유대주의에 대한 통찰
니런버그의 업적은 반유대주의를 <무지한 편견>에서 <지적인 구조>의 영역으로 끌어올린 데 있다. 그는 서구 사상이 위기에 처할 때마다 <유대교적 요소>를 외부로 투사하여 제거함으로써 내부의 결속을 다졌음을 증명한다. 이는 유대인이 실존하지 않는 곳에서도 왜 반유대주의가 강력하게 작동하는지를 설명하는 탁월한 분석이다.
서구 문명의 자기 부정
이 책을 읽다 보면 서구 문명이 사실상 <유대교가 아닌 것>을 정의함으로써 자신을 세워왔음을 깨닫게 된다. 서구는 이성, 영성, 보편성을 독점하기 위해 유대교에 물질, 문자, 특수성이라는 딱지를 붙였다. 하지만 니런버그가 지적하듯, 이러한 비판의 칼날은 결국 서구 자신을 향한다. 서구가 증오한 <유대인적 속성>은 사실 인간 본성의 일부이거나 서구 문명 자체가 내포한 모순이기 때문이다.
현대적 시사점과 한계
이 책은 현대의 정치적 올바름이나 특정 집단에 대한 혐오가 어떤 구조로 작동하는지 이해하는 데 강력한 틀을 제공한다. 특정 집단을 사유의 도구로 전락시키는 행위는 과거의 유물이 아니라 현재진행형이다. 다만, 방대한 연대기를 다루다 보니 개별 시대의 구체적인 사회경제적 맥락보다는 지성사적 흐름에 치중했다는 인상을 주기도 한다. 그러나 <서구 전통>이라는 부제에 걸맞게, 서구 사상의 기저에 흐르는 거대한 강물을 포착해 낸 점은 경이롭다.
결론
<반유대주의: 서구 전통>은 불편한 진실을 마주하게 하는 거울과 같다. 서구의 위대한 철학과 신학이 타자를 악마화하는 과정과 얼마나 밀접하게 맞닿아 있는지 폭로한다. 니런버그는 독자에게 묻는다. 우리가 무언가를 정의하고 비판할 때, 혹시 실재하지 않는 허상의 <유대인>을 만들어내어 희생양으로 삼고 있지는 않은가? 이 책은 서구 지성사에 대한 가장 날카롭고 근본적인 비판서 중 하나로 남을 것이다.
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