When I was a boy in Berlin in the early years of the Nazi regime, some five or ten years before the Holocaust, a young rabbi broke the conventions of rabbinical discourse and managed to bring solace and spiritual strength to the Jews of the city. He created a sensation. Jews who would never enter a synagogue otherwise made their way to hear him. This rabbi's name was Joachim Prinz and in due course he became a leader of American Jewry. But in those early 1930's, he held the rapt attention of his people, speaking approximately as follows:
"Everywhere you read and hear that you are ugly and hateful. Right now, look at the person next to you: is he hateful ? Is he ugly ? "
And suddenly Rabbi Prinz's listeners, cowed as they had been by the incessant propaganda of the haters, could see the truth: no, the Nazis were not right. They could see the irrationality of all that hatred. They could see, and they knew that they should have seen all the time, that it was not they who were the guilty ones.
This book by Anthony Julius performs something of the same function for us today that Rabbi Prinz performed for the Jews in the 1930's. All around us the "enlightened" tell us of the perfidy of the Jews. who are nowadays called Zionists. If only Israel (read, the Jews) behaved better, all would be well. In the meantime, it is important to punish the "Zionists." Boycott them ! Divest from Israeli investments ! Sanction them !
On the notion of boycott, as on many other issues, Julius is particularly revealing, showing the ancient, irrational hatreds that move people to call for boycotts of Israel, the only country so singled out.
There are scores and maybe hundreds of books on the modern anti-Semitism. I am familiar with many of them. But Julius has historical material (mostly from England) and thoughtful analyses that break absolutely new ground. The book will not and cannot change the mind of anyone who is infected with anti-Semitism, but it will greatly inform the rest of us. And yes, it will confirm that which in theory needs no confirmation: there is no reason, no excuse, nothing whatever acceptable in the anti-Semitic hatreds of our day.
Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England Hardcover – 25 February 2010
by
Anthony Julius
(Author)
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Trials of the Diaspora is a ground-breaking book that offers the first ever comprehensive history of anti-Semitism in England. Anthony Julius identifies four distinct versions of English anti-Semitism, which he then proceeds to investigate in detail. The first is the anti-Semitism of medieval England, a radical prejudice of defamation, expropriation, and murder, which culminated in 1290, the year of Edward I's expulsion of the Jews from England, after which there were no Jews left to torment. The second major strand is literary anti-Semitism: an anti-Semitic account of Jews continuously present in the discourse of English literature, from the anonymous medieval ballad "Sir Hugh, or the Jew's Daughter" through Shakespeare to T. S. Eliot and beyond. Thirdly, Julius addresses modern anti-Semitism, a quotidian anti-Semitism of insult and partial exclusion, pervasive but contained, experienced by Jews from their "readmission" to England in the mid-17th century through to the late 20th century. The final chapters then deal with contemporary anti-Semitism, a new configuration of anti-Zionisms, emerging in the late 1960s and the 1970s, which treats Zionism and the State of Israel as illegitimate Jewish enterprises. It is this final perspective which, in Julius's opinion, now constitutes the greatest threat to Anglo-Jewish security and morale. This book, the first history of its kind, is sure to provoke much comment and debate, and comes as a timely reminder that English culture has been in no way immune to anti-Semitism - and in certain ways is still not to this day.
- ISBN-100199297053
- ISBN-13978-0199297054
- Edition1st
- Publication date25 February 2010
- LanguageEnglish
- Print length880 pages
Product description
Review
His book 'Trials of the Diaspora' is magisterial...No Judaica library should be without it. Jeremy Rosen, Jewish Telegraph A torrent of primary-source material. Diarmaid MacCulloch, London Review of Books Julius...is nothing if not a superb rhetorician. Diarmaid MacCulloch, London Review of Books Anthony Julius' erudite and scholarly work will prove indispensable in the struggle against this form of racial prejudice. David Harounoff, Tribune Magazine A strong, sombre book on an appalling subject. Harold Bloom, New York Review of Books Julius is a truth-teller...I am grateful for his calm balance...[and his] extraordinary moral strength. Harold Bloom, New York Review of Books Luminous and comprehensive history. Scholars for Peace in the Middle East A scholarly and judicious history of Britannia's version of that most lethal form of nonsense called antisemitism. No thoughtful person who wants to have an opinion about anything Jewish...can avoid reading this book. David Cesa rni, BBC History Magazine Excellent book. Jonathan Wright, The Tablet An elegantly written, well-researched survey of England's anti-sematic urges...masterful...poignant, insightful stuff. Jonathan Wright, The Tablet A magisterial work about the history of anti-Semitism in Britain that will surely have a major impact and be widely discussed. William Rubinstein, Standpoint 'Trials of the Diaspora' reveals him to be an historian of great ability who has produced a magisterial work. William Rubenstein, Standpoint Wonderful... immensely learned... observant and shrewd. Joanathan Sumpton, Spectator An excellent autobiographical essay in which Julius recalls the distasteful reaction to his appointment as lawyer to Diana. Jonathan Beckman, New Statesman Julius writes with unrivalled authority. James Shapiro, Financial Times This is an essential history and so it's fortunate it has been written by a man with the extraordinary fluency, staggering erudition, scholarly integrity, intellectual acumen, and moral discernment of Anthony Julius. Philip Roth Part history of an irrational hatred, part forensic analysis of a sophistical lie, part literary criticism - for, as Anthony Julius shows, anti-Semitism is a species of fantastical literature, all figure of speech, misquotation and fancy - this exhilarating work nails a defamation which to humanity's discredit, persists to this hour. Indispensible. Howard Jacobson Anthony Julius has produced a brilliant and readable account of a shameful stain on the national reputation. The best dissection I've seen of Britain's oldest and least acknowledged racial prejudice. Nick Cohen Fiercely relevant history Ihsan Taylor, New York Times Trials of the Diaspora is a well-organized and well-written book ... Anthony Julius has provided important material for future debate on both the historical and the ongoing relationship of English people to the Jews. Frank Felsenstein, Jewish Quarterly Review
About the Author
Anthony Julius is Deputy Chairman of the commercial law firm Mishcon de Reya, specializing in litigation law. He is also Chairman of the London Consortium, a Visiting Professor at Birkbeck College, University of London, and Vice-President of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. The author of several books, including T. S. Eliot: anti-Semitism and Literary Form, he is engaged in various political, legal, anti-anti-Semitic activities.
Product details
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 880 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0199297053
- ISBN-13 : 978-0199297054
- Customer reviews:
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Richard F. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Relevant Today
Reviewed in the United States on 14 June 2010Verified Purchase
An excellent, scholarly account of an increasingly relevant phenomenon. As the Holocaust fades from generational memory and as the Left exploits Islamism as a battering ram against which to assail its own historical enemies--bourgeois culture and its economic system--leftist elites in England find themselves embracing the latest iteration of Mosley's disease. It is all restated now; the scientific racism of Britons before WWII has been replaced by rabid anti-Zionism, disguised as criticism of the Israeli State--but it differs from legitimate criticism in that it is obsessive, and in the spirit of the Eternal Jew Haters, places the Jew (and now his state) at the center of the world. Thus, for some Arabs and many Britons, Israel has become the primary tumor, spewing cancer throughout the world.
"We cannot escape history," Abraham Lincoln once observed, and it's clear that the English cannot escape theirs.
This book needs to be read.
"We cannot escape history," Abraham Lincoln once observed, and it's clear that the English cannot escape theirs.
This book needs to be read.
28 people found this helpful
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I'm Doing
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good for its purpose
Reviewed in the United States on 26 August 2010Verified Purchase
1st of all I have not read anywhere past 50 pages of this book and will probably only use it as a reference on a Jewish understanding on anti-Jewishness (I eschew the term anti-semitism as it means a great deal more ethnic groups than the Jews). Thus far the book is written balanced and I expect it to become more interesting further in, not that I am rushing to re3ad it.
2 people found this helpful
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R. A. Lloyd-Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars
England's dirty linen exposed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2010Verified Purchase
An enormously wide-ranging work with some 800 pages of text and extensive footnotes. After a long introduction which includes a completely irrelevant but spot-on analysis of the lawyer Anthony Julius' most famous client, Princess Diana, the book is divided into three parts. Part 1 describes Medieval English anti-Semitism which set many precedents subsequently employed by the nazis, notably that of state authorities endorsing, and in the case of the Church, encouraging, popular prejudice and illegal violence against Jews. After several bestial incidents, this culminated in the official expulsion, by royal proclamation, of all Jews from England in 1290. Part 2 describes literary anti-Semitism, the most important examples of which come from two of the greatest English writers, Shakespeare and Dickens. Shylock and Fagin are particularly sinister because they immortalise the crude Jewish stereotype, a bearded, money-grubbing, skull-capped schemer who wants to exploit Christian blood and children. The third part of the book shows how the English tradition of negativity towards Jews continues to this day in the form of anti-Israeli activity, an extremely worrying development. Thus the Medieval 'blood libel' which grotesquely suggested that Jews murdered Christian children to make matzos for Passover has a direct connection with middle class, supposedly educated, British people today disrupting a Jerusalem String Quartet performance because they don't like what the Israeli Air Force is doing in Gaza.
Although Julius had made a study of English literary anti-Semitism as a student at University, it is in describing this that his theme becomes weakest. He is mistaken, for example, in saying that Chaucer's (blood libel) Prioress' Tale is followed by an 'Arthurian tale told by the Wife of Bath'. (It is actually followed in the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer's own (comically boring) Tale of Sir Thopas). No doubt there are other errors in the detail, though that does not in any way diminish the importance of his broad argument. The problem is that so broad is that argument that he almost breathlessly gets carried away with it at times, making so many connections that he, and by extension the reader, can get a bit lost. Yet it remains a very important, highly readable book which should be read by everyone who is an enemy of ignorance and racism. This book is timely and definitely needed to be written and published; Anthony Julius has done a great service towards promoting civilized reasoning and attacking knee-jerk reaction in Britain today. It is to be hoped that it might also make some impact on those who, in their blind hatred of Israel, go around self-righteously doing the work of organisations like Hezbollah and Hamas which, quite apart from the crudest racism against everything Jewish, promote random rocket attacks on civilians, suicide bombing, the oppression of women and the execution of homosexuals. These people are at a dinner party or in a theatre near you. They are unlikely ever to read it, but Anthony Julius' book provides much useful material that can at least be used in arguing against such fools.
Although Julius had made a study of English literary anti-Semitism as a student at University, it is in describing this that his theme becomes weakest. He is mistaken, for example, in saying that Chaucer's (blood libel) Prioress' Tale is followed by an 'Arthurian tale told by the Wife of Bath'. (It is actually followed in the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer's own (comically boring) Tale of Sir Thopas). No doubt there are other errors in the detail, though that does not in any way diminish the importance of his broad argument. The problem is that so broad is that argument that he almost breathlessly gets carried away with it at times, making so many connections that he, and by extension the reader, can get a bit lost. Yet it remains a very important, highly readable book which should be read by everyone who is an enemy of ignorance and racism. This book is timely and definitely needed to be written and published; Anthony Julius has done a great service towards promoting civilized reasoning and attacking knee-jerk reaction in Britain today. It is to be hoped that it might also make some impact on those who, in their blind hatred of Israel, go around self-righteously doing the work of organisations like Hezbollah and Hamas which, quite apart from the crudest racism against everything Jewish, promote random rocket attacks on civilians, suicide bombing, the oppression of women and the execution of homosexuals. These people are at a dinner party or in a theatre near you. They are unlikely ever to read it, but Anthony Julius' book provides much useful material that can at least be used in arguing against such fools.
39 people found this helpful
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