March 15, 2024
A survey of the origins and history of antisemitism and how only a vigorous response from the community can stop it. Finkelstein (1941-2024), a two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Awards, begins with the New Testament: "Embedded in its messages of love and compassion is a clear contempt for Jews and Judaism." The author then concentrates on Jewish settlement in early America and resistance to it, e.g., by New Amsterdam governor Peter Stuyvesant, who called Jews a "deceitful race." Nevertheless, the Jewish community grew, and many prominent Jews supported the American Revolution, including Haym Solomon, who helped finance it. In response to Jewish nervousness about equal treatment in the new republic, George Washington assured them in a 1790 letter that "all possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship." Finkelstein shows how Jews fervently believed in America's promise of equality and opportunity, despite efforts to restrict them. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln swiftly countermanded Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's outrageous Order No. 11 expelling all Jews from his military district, which covered parts of three states. In the decades to come, the swelling of Jewish immigration would create a powerful new voting bloc. The 1915 lynching of Leo Frank and the fomenting of anti-Jewish feelings by Henry Ford were counterbalanced by the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and the appointment of Louis Brandeis to the Supreme Court. The author also examines the important relationship between Jews and African Americans during the civil rights struggle. The rise of Israel has been both a boon in public perception of Jews and, in recent years, a negative, as Zionism has been equated with racism. After the 2018 Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh and other antisemitic violence, Finkelstein emphasizes the importance of education. A brief, even-toned overview of American antisemitism, suitable for all readers.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
February 12, 2024
Two-time National Jewish Book Award winner Finkelstein (The Shelter), who died this year, sets forth a sweeping survey of American antisemitism. Tracing its roots to European attitudes imported well before the country’s founding, Finkelstein cites New Amsterdam governor Peter Stuyvesant’s 1654 efforts to push out Jews, whom he labeled a “deceitful race”; Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant’s 1862 attempt (foiled by President Lincoln) to remove Jews from parts of the South for fear they were hindering the Union war effort through cotton smuggling; and the lynching of “Yankee Jew” Leo Frank in 1915 Atlanta. Taking note of shifting manifestations of antisemitism across U.S. history, Finkelstein analyzes how American Jews’ precarious political position during the Holocaust limited their efforts to help German Jews, and discusses how Israel’s founding in 1948 catalyzed a complex relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Finkelstein draws on exhaustive research for an account that’s comprehensive, accessible, and nuanced, though his suggestions for combating antisemitism lean toward the expected (readers are advised to “engage allies” and hold elected officials accountable for actions that run counter to Jewish interests). Still, it’s a valuable complement to Diana Fersko’s We Need to Talk About Antisemitism.