"For all the chants, this paroxysm of rage is, at its psychological core, not about Palestine, Israel or even the Jews. The hatred is about the haters: a failure of selfrecognition; a displacement of the obligation to make amends." —Simon Schama
Since ancient times, antisemitism has proved to be one of the most enduring and adaptable forms of hatred. Today it is thriving again.
In this crucial and unflinching essay, acclaimed British historian Sir Simon Schama examines the forces that are enabling this old hatred to re-emerge as the Jewish people and their state serve as the dark mirror for a contemporary set of fears, anxieties, fantasies and fixations. He looks at the lies and distortions that have flourished since the October 7 attacks and the war in Gaza, and at the latest variant of the archetypal depiction of Jews as a wicked and conspiratorial cabal. Schama's searing, impassioned diagnosis is an urgent wake-up call.
"A masterpiece of history: morality, balance and humanity ... essential reading for anyone with an opinion on the Middle East, Western culture and morality ... probably the most important work to be published since October 7." —Simon Sebag Montefiore
"'All we ask,' writes Simon Schama, is that those who chant against Israel take the trouble to read a little history. This is the 'little history' it is essential they take the trouble to read: thrilling, enlightening, touching ... a bracing voice of calm sanity in an increasingly enraged world." —Howard Jacobson
"A masterful and important indictment of our times." —Deborah E. Lipstadt