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A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism
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"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
"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, Professor of Jewish Studies, American Jewish University in Los Angeles
"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
"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
"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
"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
""A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism" will make a valuable contribution to our understanding of this subject." Lawrence L. Langer, "Holocaust Testimonies"
Engaging the reader with narratives, this book provides an easy-to-understand history of an important topic without overwhelming the reader with dry dates and statistics.
Major print review attention in trade publications, long lead magazines, daily national newspapers, and community newspapers (i.e. weekly Jewish and Christian newspapers in key markets).
This authoritative text equips the reader with the framework necessary to contextualize this long history of hatred.
Writing press materials including targeted pitch letters, press release, discussion questions, author bio, and important excerpts from the book.
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.
Product details
Publisher : Facing History & Ourselves National Foundation, Incorporated (9 March 2018)
Language : English
Paperback : 434 pages
Phyllis Goldstein
4.29
337 ratings60 reviews
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.
GenresHistoryNonfictionJewishReligionJudaismAntisemitismHolocaust
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432 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 2011
This edition
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432 pages, Paperback
Published
December 6, 2011 by Facing History and Ourselves
Community Reviews
4.29
Shira
Author 3 books191 followers
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March 22, 2017
This book was disturbing, of course, and eye-opening. To see the ways in which hatred persists and is used despite various tools of hatred having been debunked many times over is almost enough to pull one into despair. Yet, to see the examples of people coming together to help the world understand that it is as an individual, rather than by group stereotype, and each person must be judged (and that based on the "content of his character" rather than anything else), brings hope.
to hope, and to The Human Potential for Creating Kindness
ShiraDest,
21 March, 12017 HE
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Kaelan Ratcliffe ▪ كايِلان راتكِليف
109 reviews
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March 25, 2019
A Surprising Read
Definitely a good start and a clear introduction to an immensely broad topic. I learned more than a few nuggets of information regarding other historical events that made their way into this particular strand of history. I would advise reading this if you happen to be starting a journey into understanding Anti-semitism, hatred of Jews, or study of religion in general.
My only criticism is that I felt information surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was slightly short. I was anticipating it throughout the book, yet it was quite a brief discussion upon arrival. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the conflict requires in-depth, independent analysis across multiple essays / articles / books, so I would not advise this book as your sole source of information.
However, I would also argue that Phyllis Goldstein only talks about how Anti-Semitism has risen FROM the conflict. It is the title and subject of the book after all, and I don't believe it was his job to create in depth discussion about the conflict in general (there are other books for that). Therefore I reserve judgement until I feel more confident about the topic in question.
Before finishing this review, I would actually recommend Hannah Arednts Origins Of Totalitarianism as a topic regarding Anti Semintism in the modern world. It certainly makes a compelling subject when placed alongside this book and read together.
However, starting from biblical times, right up to the post-holocaust years, this book unloaded a frankly disturbing amount of information regarding how this particular hatred has indeed, been a 'convenient' one.
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Charles Weinblatt
Author 4 books42 followers
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December 11, 2011
A Convenient Hatred, with foreword by Sir Harold Evans, chronicles the evolution of anti-Semitism from the time of Alexander through the Holocaust and modern Israel.
This powerful treatise explores with exquisite detail the pernicious foundations of bigotry against Jews, from ancient times through the dark ages, the enlightenment and into contemporary examples. A Convenient Hatred could just as easily been called A Convenient History, as it illustrates the magnitude of anti-Jewish vitriol, loathing and detestation over the ages, leading to a unique and mendacious version of history that blames Jews for impossibly disparate and disconnected events and catastrophes.
Ms. Goldstein has produced a masterful exposition on the vulnerability of Jews throughout history, highlighting how malicious pagan and Christian leaders exploited the Jewish people. She also addresses the unending value of education within Jewish culture, a trait that has served them well for dozens of centuries. That Jews have been able to survive at all seems miraculous, considering the fact that until recently, Jews were largely forbidden from owning land and property and from most skilled occupations—including crafts and guilds—and were forced to take up the most distasteful occupation among Christians: money lending.
A Convenient Hatred
is a profoundly authoritative resource for educators. Its examples, stories, references, maps, pictures, and illustrations bring the history of the Jews to life in a powerful way not experienced since James Michener’s The Source, a work of fiction.
A Convenient Hatred communicates the magnitude of anti-Jewish prejudice throughout the centuries, offering well-researched examples of why so many people throughout time have found it convenient to hate Jews. A Convenient Hatred belongs globally in every high-school history classroom. With impeccable references and well-researched examples, Ms. Goldstein has created a tour de force.
The author carefully examines the origins of anti-Semitism in an age when Jews were forced from their ancestral homes and temples in ancient Israel to Europe and Asia. She methodically details the separation of Jews from Christians leading to centuries of Jewish slavery, incarceration, and extermination during the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, The Reformation, and the English Expulsion.
The rise of the Islamic empire and holy wars are also carefully explored. Centuries of intolerance produced the Diaspora, in which Jews fled to safe haven in places far and wide, but were again faced with extermination when blamed for the Black Death (plague) across Europe. This marked a period in which Jews were charged with ritual murder and blood libel; as well, the Talmud was universally attacked by Christians and Muslims. Jews were also almost universally oppressed during the Dark Ages. They sought reprieve in places as disparate as Poland and the Ottoman Empire. But for hundreds of years, Jews remained ostracized, antagonized, and isolated.
The ages of enlightenment and nationalism are also painstakingly explored. Ms. Goldstein proffers “the power of publicity” as a tool used by anti-Semites to attack and condemn Jews in a prolific manner.
The same level of discriminating detail continues in an examination of anti-Semitism during Renaissance France and Russia, continuing into the age of nationalism and World War I. Ms. Goldstein carefully describes the consistent deleterious effect of anti-Jewish propaganda in incongruent Renaissance societies with France being democratic and Russia communist.
The age of written communication via printing presses almost immediately delivered anti-Semitic books, such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, one of the most significant attacks upon Jews. She describes Hitler’s rise to power largely upon the backs of Jews, through propaganda and putsches by the proletariat against Germany’s Jewish population. The “turning point” came in 1941 with the Nazi establishment of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question.”
Finally, Ms. Goldstein adroitly illustrates anti-Semitism after the Holocaust, throughout the Cold War, and into contemporary society, which she calls, “a convenient hatred.” Here, nationalism and xenophobia collide in a perfect storm of bigotry and persecution. The result of this collision is a brainwashing of impoverished youth, the economically and socially oppressed, and the politically disadvantaged, resulting in a unified hatred of all things Jewish, especially Israel.
Ms. Goldstein calls to mind a speech by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, in which he states that we cannot judge contemporary Germans for the genocide perpetrated by their ancestors. At the same time, all Germans can be held accountable for preserving the memory of the Holocaust—for its link from past to future holds in the balance the potential for the survival of the human spirit as well as the destiny of the Jewish people.
A Convenient Hatred is a powerful, historically astute, contemporary masterpiece and a superb illustration of prejudice. It is a groundbreaking educational tool and an indispensable textbook for students of history, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. Phyllis Goldstein’s lucid and cogent examination of the history of anti-Semitism is a seminal work, lucidly explaining the magnitude of illogical hatred and its centuries-old influence against the Jews.
Charles S. Weinblatt
Author, Jacob's Courage
http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com
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Melissa
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January 21, 2012
I've always wondered where anti-Semitism came from, and this thoroughly researched book answers that question and many more. For the first few hundred years after Jesus died, Jews and Christians got along beautifully. Christians frequently went to synagogues and observed Jewish rites such as Passover, just as Jesus had. They knew they sprang from the same tradition and mostly respected each other. Animosities toward Jewish people before the Middle Ages tended to be tribal - the sort of conflict any group might experience because it was a minority. Economic disadvantages (Jews were not allowed to be tradesmen or own land in much of Europe) were discriminatory but not overtly hateful. That picture changed forever in the 1500s, when the Catholic church and a few nut jobs condoned vicious attacks and murders of Jews for a range of bizarre accusations, such as disrespecting the little crackers that stand in for Jesus' body at communion. Seriously. People have died for supposedly doing that. The book is hard to read from that point, because the treatment is so callous and the deaths so pointless -- and so relentless, right up until the Holocaust and, unfortunately, beyond.
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David
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May 17, 2019
A compilation of world history’s atrocities against the Jewish people, this book does an outstanding job at incorporating names, places and timelines to the events that occur. Judaism has been under attack for millennia, and no matter where the Jewish people reside, they have often found themselves at odds with both authorities and the populace. This book does a great job at exposing the superstitions and rumors that surrounded the Jewish communities throughout history and unmasking the hate that surrounded them for over 4000 years. Certainly a book I’ll remember forever.
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Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly
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May 2, 2020
I was having lunch in a restaurant with a friend when he suddenly blurted out a completely wayward remark about the Jews whom he described as a vile people and gave the example of how Jews supposedly treat their servants: they’d allegedly feed them like dogs, dropping food on the floor so they could eat them there.
I really had no idea where this came from. I am sure it was not from any first-hand experience. I knew he had lived all his life in the Philippines and here there isn’t any significant Jewish congregations unlike, say, the Chinese, Koreans or even Indians. He may have picked it up somewhere, although truly shocking was how he could have easily believed such an obviously tall tale and equate it with an entire race or creed.
Personally, I had always been perplexed about antisemitism. I find it to be an emotion, theory or idea which is completely devoid of logic or sense. I therefore lost no time devouring this book, hoping to find answers, an aha moment, but all its 400 plus pages still failed me.
One new thing I learned, however, is that what the Nazis did to the European Jews—deportation, economic/political persecution, ghettoing, forcing them to wear distinctive badges (the yellow star), pogroms/massacres/mass executions—were all NOTHING NEW. These things have been done to them FOR CENTURIES already, the old experiences no less horrific.
But is there, at least, a semblance of an acceptable explanation? Well, like many great evils in this world, the story of antisemitism began with religion. Many early Christians had this antagonism towards Jews, labelling them as Christ’s killers. The Jews, on the other hand, looked down upon Christians as deluded worshippers of a false messiah.
A great contributor to what evolved into a prevalent antisemitic sentiment among societies is the fact that Jews, wherever they go, always tend to preserve their identity, culture and practices. The consequence is that they’ve enveloped themselves with a distinctive aura of exclusivity, strangeness and esotericism. Which bred suspicion. In many instances across the past centuries Jews, as a group of people, have been accused of ritual murders, of poisoning wells, of causing epidemics and plotting to take over governments. And the rest of the populace found these accusations easy to believe, with so strong a belief that they won’t feel even a slight pang of guilt committing those atrocities to these sons and daughters of the Old Testament.
The economic and the political also played roles in the persecutions. The old societies’ antagonism against the Jews resulted to laws prohibiting them from owning land or engaging in agriculture so that faced without any prospect of earning a living from this traditional mode of earning one’s keep, the Jews were forced to resort to trade and business, principally that of money lending. They would become so adept with these that even royalties and entire governments would end up owing them large sums of money. Money lenders, then as now, were also pictured as soulless and avaricious, profiting from the misery of others. On a not too few occasions these had provided impetus for their deportations and even outright murders, ostensibly for some crimes, but in reality to erase debts by eliminating the creditors. Again this found an echo during the Nazi regime where the Nazis would confiscate/steal the properties of the Jews they’ve expelled or murdered.
All these, however, I found to be just history—not an explanation.
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AC
1,831 reviews
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October 29, 2018
Really just a 9th grade level ‘primer’. Disappointing
fascism
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Sara
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May 20, 2024
There is a lot of information packed into this book. I was looking for context as to why this specific kind of hate continues to be a problem after thousands of years. I felt this is especially relevant given what is happening lately across college campuses.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about the history of this ancient hatred.
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Nancy Bielski
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April 27, 2015
A good overview and introduction. I think this was clearly meant for someone who does not have an extremely deep understanding of history or even religion. I think that there were some implied conclusions rather than stated ones. If you have a strong understanding of history and religion, this won't be any new information. I did like how it was more of a surgery than a super detailed account of history, thus I never lost interested or felt bogged down by the undertaking. I'd like to have had more about the origins of Judaism in order to understand how/why it is a minority religion, thus establishing it as something to "fear." Why did it never take off the way other religions did? Is fear of the other really the only reason for anti-semitism? Again, these things were implied rather, but no firm conclusion, was really laid out.
non-fiction
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Lynn
3,265 reviews61 followers
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September 11, 2017
An Important Book on Antisemitism
This is a very thorough book on the history of antisemitism. It documents how long it has existed and the toll it has caused those who are Jewish. I was surprised how clear and concise it is and somewhat clear headed about its causes. It also highlights how Jews have struggled to exist and their desire to thrive has been. Today antisemitism raises its head when people need a scapegoat or struggle with the existence of Judaism. I think in the U.S. right now our government is full of white nationalists and rallies have been filled with people chanting antisemitic views. It's a time to clamp down on racial and ethnic hatred .
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Carol Van Goethem
5.0 out of 5 stars It was recommended by a Rabbi
Reviewed in Canada on 31 July 2016
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This book is so enlightening, it is hard to put down. It was recommended by a Rabbi.
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Moses
5.0 out of 5 stars POWERFUL!!!
Reviewed in the United States on 8 February 2012
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Every once in a while a book comes along that is so interesting and grabs your attention so forcefully, it compels the reader to want to read it cover to cover. "A Convenient Hatred" is such a book. I purchased it on Jan 23rd and just finished reading it and I have to admit, this book takes information that has existed separately for years and has compiled it under one roof. I also could not understand how Jews were so marginalized throughout history and after reading this book, I now have a better understanding of the history and relationship between the Jewish religion and those who attack it. I also see in these pages an indictment against those Christians who have perpetuated the myths surrounding this old and devout religion.
Even though Judaism is the forerunner of Christianity and Islam, and even though these two religions have drawn on Judaism's religious thought and background in establishing their own religions, its major detractors and perpetrators of mindless persecutions have come from these two faiths. Christianity has much to answer for in its development of the lies and falsehoods surrounding Judaism down through the centuries. This can be traced back to the early development of the Church, where Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians competed for control and power. The myth that Jews were responsible for the "death of God" developed in the 300 C.E. period while the claim that the Jews were a "race" instead of just a religion gained strength in Spain of the 1400-1500 time frame. These are just two examples of mindless hate developed by priests and church authorities to justify their using the Jews as scapegoats to explain away their own inadequacies. The book also looks at the insidious pamphlet, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and traces that history back to the Russian Czar's secret police, who wrote these lies to justify their pogroms against the Jews. Unfortunately, there are those who today still believe in what this trash tries to establish.
I also never fully understood why so many Jews lived in Eastern Europe and Russia at the time of the Second World War until the book pointed out that they were the refugees from the other European countries who expelled all their Jews in prior years and had no place to go except for Eastern Europe. Even though there were some Jews in Western Europe, most were in the East. This made it easier for Hitler and the Nazi Party to carry out its "Final Solution" during WWII.
Another fact that I was glad to see investigated in this book was the role the Grand Mufti of Egypt, along with the Islamic countries of the Middle East and the Balkans, played in supporting the Nazi regime during the war. Many people are unaware of this insidious role on the part of Muslims. The Grand Mufti organized a division of Muslim warriors and turned them over to the Nazi SS, who outfitted them for the sole purpose of following the Eastern armies into Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and eradicating the Jews, which they did with savage fury. This role was grossly overlooked by the Allied powers at that time and still is not explored fully to this day due to the Muslim fighters being sent home without any punishment after the war, the main reason being the power of oil production to the West after the War. Several Islamic nations still support the goals and desires of the Nazi Party and are working to institute their own "Final Solution".
What was equally revealing was the fact that antisemitism survived the war to rear its ugly head again and again, even increasing as we continue into the "modern" age. The entire Holocaust is now being questioned and not only in the Middle East, but throughout the world. The Christian religious community has apologized for its actions in bygone centuries, but antisemitism is still alive and well in many denominations. Whenever money or support is given to the Palestinians at the expense of the nation of Israel, that is a basis of antisemitism.
In short, this book is highly recommended to all people as a means of recognizing what has gone before and the dangers of repeating these centuries-old mistakes. The writing flows extremely well and is accompanied by detailed maps that are surprisingly easy to understand. Its bibliography is quite extensive and gives the reader a comfortable feeling that the subject matter has been well researched. My only caution is, once you start this book, you will find it hard to put down.
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Alan F. Gall
5.0 out of 5 stars A very well researched history of antisemitism through the ages.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2014
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I bought this after a recent visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau as I was really interested to find out why the Jews were so persecuted by the Nazis. The book is incredibly well researched and really interesting. It has certainly filled a very large gap in my historical knowledge through a very readable medium.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good read
Reviewed in Canada on 20 July 2020
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Really enjoyed this book it was a good read
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sam wesil
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 November 2013
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Excellent book-thought provoking and ultimately quite depressing because same things happening today.
History does repeat if we dont learn tolerance.
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Al Frank
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book not only of antisemitism but world history
Reviewed in the United States on 1 January 2012
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I am almost half way through the book (~350 readable pages) and started reading this only 2 days ago. I consider myself a slow reader but this book and subject matter is very interesting and reads easily. I never understood why the world hates Jews no matter where they are, who they are, or what they do but this book explains it clearly using historical documents and eyewitness accounts. This book does a great job of showing exactly where the hatred and antisemitism started, how it evolved, how and why it was and continues to be perpetuated. If I were a member of the school board, this is a book that I would make required reading for every highschooler. Any one with an interest in either world history, history of antisemitism, and even history of Israel would appreciate having read it. Phyllis Goldstein has written one of the best history books in my opinion.
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Meadowfields
4.0 out of 5 stars I have come to my own conclusion of why Jews are so hated throughout history and it's not because of jealousy or ...
Reviewed in the United States on 6 October 2014
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A well researched history of Jewish hatred without pulling punches.
Ms Goldstein portrays the events with an objective lens that neither lauds nor condemns the unfolding history leading to our present state of increasing anti-semitism.
A lot of facts to absorb, but with many surprises of how adaptable Jews became to thwart the obstacles before them.
I have come to my own conclusion of why Jews are so hated throughout history and it's not because of jealousy or holier than thou or our different cultures, or strange rituals. I believe it's because we brought ethics and morality into a pagan world who still thinks it's a burden on our natural instincts to do mischief and not have to answer to a higher authority. We were commanded to be a light unto the nations and to be a congregation of priests. For many that's a burden too hard to bear and resent the Jews for spreading the tenents of the laws of Sinai.
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juvenus
5.0 out of 5 stars A good book, well written and an explanation for an ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2014
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A good book ,well written and an explanation for an old stigmatism.
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Morley S. Wolfe
3.0 out of 5 stars From a reasonably well-read retiree ....
Reviewed in Canada on 18 June 2013
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The title is extremely appropriate - the content explains why as it closes - however for anyone who is educated in history of this nature, it is old hat and a regurgitation of well-known fact.
I suppose it never hurts to have history of this nature placed before the public and I wish the author best of luck in its circulation.
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J Martin Jellinek
5.0 out of 5 stars Very accessible history
Reviewed in the United States on 15 April 2012
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As a student, I don't typically review books that are used as text books in my classes. However, this one stood out as not only extremely informative, but also very readable - a plus in the world of academic texts. Goldstein's goal is to document anti-Semitism and explain the history of the most persistent hatred in the world. Her writing is fluid and leads us through a unique part of history. Of course she has an agenda, but what history does not? A Convenient Hatred opened my eyes to one of the more shameful aspects of Christian history that is too often ignored. I feel better informed and more honest in my faith having read this book.
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