Revisiting the Jewish Question

I had thought that Gayatri Spivak’s touting her as the current fashion in psychoanalysis and her excellent work on Freud that pretended to stake its claim partly on this work’s current reading of Freud’s MOSES would put this among the latest in anti Zionist critique. Alas, she is a fierce abusive and butchering defender of Israel, calling Chomsky a Holocaust denier, Edward Said Chomsky’s lap dog, placing Jacqueline Rose not as a psychiatrist also coming from the French school but as a simple literary critic, claiming Said’s Freud and the Non European as simply an extension of Orientalism is just the beginning of her complicity of Zionist lies.

One of the best books on the subject I've ever seen.

Not easy reading is not something you take on the beach or vacation

Don't expect a straight history of anti-Semitism here. "Revisiting" is key, and those who know anything about Elisabeth Roudinesco shouldn't be surprised in the least that this is first and foremost an intellectual history of the phenomenon, with a heavy dose of psychoanalysis throughout (in fact, parts of this read almost as a history of psychoanalysis). She does an excellent job in prying apart various kinds of anti-Judaism (religious, Enlightenment-based) from true anti-Semitism (the two are too often confused), and shows little bias, in that extremists of all sorts, including Jews, including those Jews who are said to see anti-Semitism everywhere, even where it doesn't exist, are discussed. I would certainly not start here if I were just beginning to read about this topic, but it's definitely worth a read once you've gotten the more straight history down.

Densely-written and densely-argued (though elegantly translated by Andrew Brown), "Revisiting the Jewish Question" is not an easy or quick read. The insights are definitely worth consideration for readers with a particular interest in the subject of ancient and modern anti-Semitism and how it shapes and is shaped by today's global geo-politics, but it's definitely not the sort of thing a casual reader would be likely to leave on her bedside nightstand.The central pillar of author Elisabeth Roudinesco's analysis is the distinction between anti-Semitism (which she defines as a racial prejudice) and anti-Judaism (opposition to the Jewish religion). The bulk of anti-Jewish activity in Europe over the centuries, Roudinesco sees as anti-Judaism driven by a Christian view of the Jew as within but not a part of "Christendom." Anti-Semitism, in contrast, came to the fore in the late nineteenth century as a reflection, in part, of rising nationalisms which viewed the Jews, at least in part, as being an alien people as opposed to an errant or false religion. There's quite a lot more to her argument, of course, which is why I say this book is very densely written and densely argued. She covers a lot of history and quotes a great many philosophers. At the same time, though, there are affecting personal moments, as when she describes an incident when she was a teacher in Algeria and her school was covered in painted swastikas by students protesting the Six-Day War in 1967. The students, she discovered, knew nothing about the Holocaust, but appropriated Nazi symbolism by equating National Socialist anti-Semitism with modern opposition to the acts of the Israeli state. That was, for me, one of the more memorable parts of the book, as well as a powerful introduction to one of the key discussions of the book, the extent to which criticism of, or opposition to, Israeli policy or political Zionism in general can be considered either to be, or to be informed by, anti-Semitism.Although this book was published in 2009, with this English edition from Polity in 2013, the fact that critics of Israel's war in (or "on," as you prefer) Gaza last year often faced the charge of anti-Semitism shows how very timely this issue still is. This book may not provide lasting or widespread answers to "the Jewish question," but it gives us some useful lenses through which to formulate an analysis.

The matter of the Jewish question is sobering and heavy and relevant even today, for so many reasons. It helps us shed light on a pivotal episode of human history; it speaks in several ways to both the good and evil humanity is capable of; and it is an important entry in the ongoing saga of racial, ethnic, and cultural relations.This is a primer-level survey of historical and ideological matters that comprise the issue. There is an emphasis on the Freudian, Jungian and Marxist takes on the matter (as well as those of some other notable thinkers), which I found compelling due to their obvious influences on current understandings of how people think and interrelate. It's particularly fascinating to observe some of the limitations and biases in these influential thinkers, because they seem so obvious to us in the 21st century.As others have noted, the book IS somewhat academic, and at some points it assumes basic familiarity with the aforementioned thinkers and their ideas. In spite of this, I think those who take the time to read it will be edified by her (correct, in my view) assertion that, in spite of the myriad treatment the subject has received in the 20th century, the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has necessarily thrust the matter of anti-Semitism back into the global fore.The prose is fluid and enjoyable, which was a nice treat, given that it was originally written in French.I don't think I'd recommend this as an introduction to such a nuanced subject, as it DOES seem to be written to a certain audience (those who want their history colored with psychoanalysis), but for those with some familiarity and an interest in expanding it, this is a helpful and interesting study.

I had hoped when I selected this title from Vine that it would be a text that would be enlightening for me, but this is/ was not the case. I have struggled with trying to read this three times but it is or seems like swimming in water way over my head. I have given it 3 stars as others here have rated it higher. However you will note many have mentioned it as not an easy read. I don't know if I can make it through with a 4th try or not at some future date. I would say that this book is for an academic vs the casual reader.