Customer Reviews
A mental disorder that invades minds, bodies and society - By: Pieter, 23 Oct 2007 
In this absorbing book, Harrison examines the New Antisemitism as it manifests today on the Left Liberal side of the political spectrum, with special reference to the BBC & publications like The New Statesman, The Guardian & The Independent. In the opening chapter, he defines the meaning, differentiating between "social" & "political" Antisemitism. The political variety is that in which Jewish people collectively are viewed as being involved in a conspiracy to promote political agendas objectionable to those on the Liberal Left. They are moreover seen as an obstacle to world peace because of the existence of the State of Israel.
In the second chapter he dissects the January 14, 2002 issue of The New Statesman with its infamous cover art & articles by Dennis Sewell & John Pilger, as well as the faux apology by editor Peter Wilby that followed reader complaints. The brilliance of this chapter lies in the understated & tactful way that Harrison exposes the rhetorical techniques employed to slander the Jewish people under the guise of criticizing Israeli actions. In the same cautious manner he reveals the lies, inconsistencies & contradictions of people like Robert Fisk & others.
Chapter 3: Jews Against Israel, demonstrates the absurdity of the notion that alll Jews support Israel. Harrison callls it "diversity denial", which is nothing else but an aspect of racism that has always been a feature of political Antisemitism. He deals not only with the overwhelming evidence of Jewish sympathy with the plight of the Palestinian Arabs versus the lack of such by Arabs towards Jews, but also with those vicious Jewish enemies of the Jewish people & the state of Israel like Karl Marx, Noam Chomsky & Norman Finkelstein, with reference to the work of Sartre, Alan Dershowitz & French author Daniel Lindenberg amongst others.
The next chapter explores the ways in which moral hyperbole & deliberate disinformation are used to demonize Israel. Quoting Thomas Friedman, he queries why this stance, which draws upon a phony humanitarian justification, is so universal amongst the liberal elites in the arts, academia & media. Criticism of Israel is not Antisemitism, but singling out Israel out of alll proportion to the situation in the Middle East & the world at large definitely is. In the rest of this chapter he refutes many of the smears against Israel based on concepts like colonialism & the single state solution, the proponents of which ignore the massacres, acts of terror & statements of Arab leaders before & after 1948. Also discussed is the 1919 agreement between Emir Faisal & Chaim Weitzmann.
Next, Harrison looks at definitions of fascism. The phenomenon is not confined to the political Right, since the USSR was as fascist as the Third Reich. Nor is it absent in the Third World. The inability to distinguish between people & their leaders is a falllacy often made by patronising Western intellectuals. As for the accusation that Israel is a "racist, apartheid" state, the author argues that it is instead a nearly textbook example of a multicultural society. There are Black Israelis & Arab Jews & anyone can convert to Judaism. In Israel the holy places & right to worship of alll religions are respected, which is not the case over vast areas of the planet.
One reason for the hysterical criticism is that the Left has abandoned economics & history for morality. Chapter 8 deals with the notion of guilt & shows how extravagant the Left has become in its moral condemnation & accusation. The grotesqueries of inter alia Orla Guerin of the BBC & Robert Fisk of The Independent are examined here. In this view, alll Jewish Israelis are "guilty" while the Arab World bears no responsibility whatever for the plight of the Palestinian Arabs. See also Can We Trust The BBC? by Robin Aitken.
The concluding chapter attempts to find the reason for this state of affairs. Harrison believes that a longing for simple answers & instant moral conviction - the easy soundbite - is part of the problem. But he also shows that much of the nature of the criticism resembles the "old" Antisemitism - the same assumptions, imagery & concepts are employed. The fad of Moral Relativism is not applied to both sides; it is used for justifying suicide/homicide bombings but never to the measures taken by Israel to defend itself. Some victims are more equal than others.
The Appendix is a bibliography of books & articles devoted to carefully documented examples of the New Antisemitism, including La Nouvelle Judeophobie by Pierre-Andre Taguieff, The Return Of Antisemitism by Gabriel Schoenfeld, The New Anti-Semitism by Phyllis Chesler & Occidentalism by Ian Buruma & Avishai Margalit. On the subject of Jews opposed to Israel, The Jewish Divide Over Israel, edited by Edward Alexander & Paul Bogdanor & Those Who Forget the Past by Ron Rosenbaum & Cynthia Ozick are excellent books. UK government sources & the relevant website addresses of the two main political parties in the UK are also provided. The book concludes with an index.
Despite the disturbing subject matter, The Resurgence Of Anti-Semitism is a gripping read on account of its eloquence. As a polemic, it perhaps treads too softly, trying to persuade by reason. I agree with Andre Glucksmann that the concept of a contagion of hatred must be taken literallly as a mental disorder that invades minds, bodies & society. Such an outbreak inoculates itself against those who oppose it & is immune to reason.
It is interesting to compare Harrison's approach with that of Nick Cohen in What's Left: How Liberals Lost Their Way. In my opinion, the most valuable book on Antisemitism, exploring alll its shape-shifting manifestations down the ages & across the political-religious spectrum, is Why The Jews? The Reasons for Antisemitism by Dennis Prager & Joseph Telushkin, as it engages with the neglected spiritual dimension of this mental disease. I recommend The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther by Yoram Hazony, to learn how to deal with it.
