The Fatal Embrace : Jews and the State

Rating:
Summary: The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State
Review: This is an eye opening book for most American Jews. As most Jews are assimilated into the political culture, enjoy reasonable prospects in the current era and have learned how to avoid the worst of anti-Semitism (consciously or otherwise), it comes as a shock to learn that it is actually a tool of politics used to subtley intimidate and manipulate us.

In thinking through comments made about NYC political life (in reference to municipal and educational politics) in the 1960s and my own experiences, I now realize how manipulated I was. It was systematic, calculated and directed...that makes it worse than if it was random, as it bespeaks an evil knowledge. It affected the employment of my wife, my in-laws and others I knew in the educational field. NYC education suffers today from the purge of Jews that occurred from that time on and we are all poorer for it.

This book is an explanation of why anti-Semitism does not get "solved", but merely goes into remission until needed again -it is a tried and true technique to influence people. That both Democrats and Republicans have used such techniques also indicates its universality and that no one party is a "friend of the Jews". This is the knowledge used by practitioners of the "politics of division". Black anti-Semites use it in their power moves within the Democratic Party. Bill Clinton used it in his defense of pardoning Marc Rich and it is used by Republicans in dealing with Middle Eastern politics as viewed here in the US to forestall the will of the Congress on a Jerusalem based embassy.

This book will annoy those who do not want to hear that message, that an age old hatred is so institutionalized that it is current state-craft.

Rating:
Summary: The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State
Review: This is an eye opening book for most American Jews. As most Jews are assimilated into the political culture, enjoy reasonable prospects in the current era and have learned how to avoid the worst of anti-Semitism (consciously or otherwise), it comes as a shock to learn that it is actually a tool of politics used to subtley intimidate and manipulate us.

In thinking through comments made about NYC political life (in reference to municipal and educational politics) in the 1960s and my own experiences, I now realize how manipulated I was. It was systematic, calculated and directed...that makes it worse than if it was random, as it bespeaks an evil knowledge. It affected the employment of my wife, my in-laws and others I knew in the educational field. NYC education suffers today from the purge of Jews that occurred from that time on and we are all poorer for it.

This book is an explanation of why anti-Semitism does not get "solved", but merely goes into remission until needed again -it is a tried and true technique to influence people. That both Democrats and Republicans have used such techniques also indicates its universality and that no one party is a "friend of the Jews". This is the knowledge used by practitioners of the "politics of division". Black anti-Semites use it in their power moves within the Democratic Party. Bill Clinton used it in his defense of pardoning Marc Rich and it is used by Republicans in dealing with Middle Eastern politics as viewed here in the US to forestall the will of the Congress on a Jerusalem based embassy.

This book will annoy those who do not want to hear that message, that an age old hatred is so institutionalized that it is current state-craft.

Rating:
Summary: A good assesment, but some points missed
Review: This valiant effort to address the question of the danger of the Jewish alliance with government fails to pick out other important points. The basic argument here is that throughout history, since 70 A.D to be exact, Jews have tried to embrace government so as to be protected by it. As the weakest and more discriminated against people in Europe Jews frequently worked in the courts of Kings. When communism and socialism wee being Born this book shows how Jews worked to establish the Soviet in Russia and fought in the Spanish civil war. In America Jews quickly embraced the more tolerant state, aiding on both sides of the civil war and occupying a seat on the supreme court for more then a century.

The question this book asks is: Has the Jewish alliance with the state proved to be a fatal tactic? Examples of the expulsion from Spain in 1492 and the Stalinist purges of Jews in Russia seem to be prime example. But the book does not address the fact that in the middle eastern countries Jews had no status and frequently existed with no alliance to the state and yet the Jews of the middle east were also suppressed, pogromed, and sometimes expelled. Jews of the middle east, despite the fact that they were not visible were still hated and they were forced to wear distinctive embarrassing clothes and were restricted from riding horses and forced to work on the Sabbath. So the conclusion should be that it really doesn't matter whether Jews embrace or shun the state, either way we will be at risk and the reality is that at least by embracing the state Jews have gotten a measure of power to help influence government so that it is harder for government sanctioned anti-Semitism to take place.

Rating:
Summary: A good assesment, but some points missed
Review: This valiant effort to address the question of the danger of the Jewish alliance with government fails to pick out other important points. The basic argument here is that throughout history, since 70 A.D to be exact, Jews have tried to embrace government so as to be protected by it. As the weakest and more discriminated against people in Europe Jews frequently worked in the courts of Kings. When communism and socialism wee being Born this book shows how Jews worked to establish the Soviet in Russia and fought in the Spanish civil war. In America Jews quickly embraced the more tolerant state, aiding on both sides of the civil war and occupying a seat on the supreme court for more then a century.

The question this book asks is: Has the Jewish alliance with the state proved to be a fatal tactic? Examples of the expulsion from Spain in 1492 and the Stalinist purges of Jews in Russia seem to be prime example. But the book does not address the fact that in the middle eastern countries Jews had no status and frequently existed with no alliance to the state and yet the Jews of the middle east were also suppressed, pogromed, and sometimes expelled. Jews of the middle east, despite the fact that they were not visible were still hated and they were forced to wear distinctive embarrassing clothes and were restricted from riding horses and forced to work on the Sabbath. So the conclusion should be that it really doesn't matter whether Jews embrace or shun the state, either way we will be at risk and the reality is that at least by embracing the state Jews have gotten a measure of power to help influence government so that it is harder for government sanctioned anti-Semitism to take place.