A thought-provoking history of Jewish radical movements sounded as an appeal for modern political liberation.
To the barricades.
There was a time, wrote the novelist Grace Paley, when “to be Jewish was to be socialist.” As this book argues, “Jews and their interests were an integral part of the radical tradition and vice versa.” Gluckstein and Stone, authors and activists, contend that the heart of Jewish activism came from the oppressions of Western capitalism. By placing monetary value on labor, goods, and services, capitalism stifled communal life and, in the process, privileged individual achievement. The story of the Jews is, thus, a story of achievement in the face of—or in the service of—capitalist oppression. A unique strain of radical politics grew out of urban Jewry’s identification with a laboring class. Such class identity shaped socialist and anarchist movements of the late-19th and 20th centuries. But the authors maintain that it also informs a contemporary social conscience—a shared belonging with all groups oppressed by neoliberal valuation. Today, they write, a people are not so much a group of human beings as they are impediments to resource extraction. The social engineering of the kibbutz movement, for these authors, represents a blend of leftist communal resistance and land settlement. The book, then, polemicizes leftist tendencies in modern Judaism to make a case for a distinctively anti-Zionist position. Even though Zionism emerged at the nexus of socialist secularism and revanchist politics, it has become, in the view of the authors, the instrument of “a hierarchy of oppression.” They write, “The radical Jewish tradition…shows the explosive power of a movement combining resistance with oppression and exploitation.” The book is a call to arms for people “who engage in the struggle to transform the world” into a place of righteous equality.
A thought-provoking history of Jewish radical movements sounded as an appeal for modern political liberation.Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9781836741756
Page Count: 386
Publisher: Verso
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
An eye-opening and thought-provoking read.
Antisemitism is alive and well and worth talking about.
Fersko, senior rabbi at the Village Temple in Manhattan and vice president of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, argues that Americans of all backgrounds must discuss antisemitism. The author notes that many people view antisemitism as a problem of the past, an issue that is rare and isolated in 21st-century America. She demonstrates convincingly that this mindset is misinformed and that antisemitism is on the rise. Early on Fersko provides a lengthy explanation of antisemitism as “the longest-held, farthest-reaching conspiracy theory in the world.” She explains that antisemitism is a belief in a variety of lies and stereotypes about Jews and Judaism, which manifests in everything from seemingly innocuous remarks to outright physical violence. Fersko points to seven points of dialogue that Jews and non-Jews need to address in order to help battle antisemitism, including race, Christianity, microaggressions, the Holocaust, and Israel. Throughout, she urges readers to educate themselves about the past and to learn to recognize the prejudices about Jews that many Americans inherit unknowingly. Though Fersko addresses such obvious sources of antisemitism as right-wing and racially based extremist groups, she makes it clear throughout the book that the American left is also a major source of antisemitism today. In some cases, this is seen in virulent anti-Israel stances, where left-wing activists portray Jews as racists and oppressors. In other cases, American liberals simply perpetrate tropes and stereotypes about their Jewish friends and neighbors, often through microaggressions, misplaced humor, miseducation about the Holocaust, etc. Though there are certainly points for debate, the text serves as a meaningful starting point for dialogue. If nothing else, she provides the important reminder that the age-old specter of antisemitism is not extinct; in many ways, it’s stronger and more dangerous than at any time since the Holocaust.
An eye-opening and thought-provoking read.Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781541601949
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Seal Press
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.
Two bestselling authors engage in an enlightening back-and-forth about Jewishness and antisemitism.
Acho, author of Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, and Tishby, author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth, discuss many of the searing issues for Jews today, delving into whether Jewishness is a religion, culture, ethnicity, or community—or all of the above. As Tishby points out, unlike in Christianity, one can be comfortably atheist and still be considered a Jew. She defines Judaism as a “big tent” religion with four main elements: religion, peoplehood, nationhood, and the idea of tikkun olam (“repairing the world through our actions”). She addresses candidly the hurtful stereotypes about Jews (that they are rich and powerful) that Acho grew up with in Dallas and how Jews internalize these antisemitic judgments. Moreover, Tishby notes, “it is literally impossible to be Jewish and not have any connection with Israel, and I’m not talking about borders or a dot on the map. Judaism…is an indigenous religion.” Acho wonders if one can legitimately criticize “Jewish people and their ideologies” without being antisemitic, and Tishby offers ways to check whether one’s criticism of Jews or Zionism is antisemitic or factually straightforward. The authors also touch on the deteriorating relationship between Black and Jewish Americans, despite their historically close alliance during the civil rights era. “As long as Jewish people get to benefit from appearing white while Black people have to suffer for being Black, there will always be resentment,” notes Acho. “Because the same thing that grants you all access—your skin color—is what grants us pain and punishment in perpetuity.” Finally, the authors underscore the importance of being mutual allies, and they conclude with helpful indexes on vernacular terms and customs.
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781668057858
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon Element
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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