From ancient times to the present, antisemitism has proved to be one of the most enduring and adaptable forms of hatred. Across centuries of world-changing ideas and upheavals – from the rise of Christianity and Islam to the Enlightenment, nationalism, globalism and great leaps of technology – the Jewish people have served as a dark mirror for society's fears, anxieties and hatreds. Why does this hostility persist?In this crucial and unflinching history, acclaimed British historian Sir Simon Schama examines the forces that have enabled this old hatred to mutate and thrive, even within liberal democracies. With his characteristic clarity, erudition and curiosity, Schama looks at the antisemitic myths and imagery that recur throughout Jewish history, culminating in the latest outbreaks since the October 7 attacks and the war in Gaza.
Sir Simon Schama is a professor of art history and history at Columbia University. His award-winning books, translated into fifteen languages, include Rough Crossings, A History of Britain and The Story of the Jews. He is a cultural essayist for The New Yorker and has written and presented more than thirty documentaries.
What people are saying:
This is a masterpiece of history, morality, balance and humanity, a masterclass of humanism that deploys Simon Schama's peerless knowledge, authority and judgement: this brilliant essay is essential reading for anyone with an opinion on the Middle East, Western culture and morality, the future of our liberal democracies and the history, present and future of the Jewish people. This - probably the most important work to be published since October 7 - should be read by every politician, teacher, student.
Simon Sebag Montefiore
In this masterful and important essay Simon Schama lays bare the hatred, inconsistencies, and calumnies embedded in contemporary Jew-hatred and antizionism. This is a powerful indictment of the antisemitism and antizionism that we have seen euphorically espoused on university campuses and beyond. It is an indictment of our times.
Deborah E. Lipstadt
'We can't help ourselves, us historians,' Simon Schama writes. What they can't help is trying to find out what really happened, instead of being content with myths and slogans. In this urgent and sobering essay, one of the greatest living historians applies that rigorous standard to the experience of Jews and Israelis since October 7, showing how the "oldest hatred" has become, once again, the most fashionable.
Adam Kirsch
In this short volume, Sir Simon Schama has looked at Jew-hatred with his usual rigour and fierce intellect. But this time, his own pain and distress shine out, which makes the reader pause, and consider what they personally can do. Bravo! May this get wide circulation, and determined action in its wake.
Baroness Julia Neuberger
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