Anti-Semite and Jew : An Exploration of the Etiology of Hate

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Summary: Sartre's "Anti-Semite & Jew" is a Play that is Not a Play
Review: -
Anti-Semite & Jew is a variation of a play. According to the preface, the work was hastily written and has four characters: The anti-Semite, the democrat, the inauthentic Jew, and the authentic Jew. In actuality the work is four separate stream-of-conscious monologues by Sartre himself. The "characters" do not interact.

Sartre attempts to discredit, among other things, a Gentile claim that Jewish people encourage the subordination of non-Jewish people to Jews in the work place.

The work is in my opinion FLAWED, in that Sartre fails to adequately explore and dramatize racist anti-Gentile attitudes of Jews themselves towards those who are not Jews, as well as the highly critical opinions of western Jews themselves towards Zionism, the Jewish Nation, the Jewish religion and Jewish ethnocentricity. (The piece was copyrighted in 1948, during the creation of the State of Israel).

If Sartre had presented in his work the documented evidence that exists in The Torah, the Jewish Holy Book (Leviticus 25:42-46), that Jewish law indeed authorizes Jews to OWN men, women and children from the other Nations as "PERMANENT SLAVES," then the claim by the Gentile would be better understood as a REASONABLE CONJECTURE rather than as a sign of "anti-Semitic dementia."

Among the most vehement critics of the philosophy of Judaism are Jews themselves (ex-Jews) who claim they have been chastized by their own people for attemting to assimilate and for refusing to uphold the Jewish tradition, which is based on Chosenness, a philosophy of Jewish Supremacy, which ex-Jews themselves have judged to be incompatible with democracy.

I do not recommend anyone buying this book unless he or she is enough of a scholar to carefully dissect it, to analyze it. Although Sartre was awarded a Nobel Prize for literature, which he refused to accept, his work "Anti-Semite & Jew" is in my opinion NOT an example of good writing. What it is, is an intellectually dishonest and pathetic attempt by Sartre to psychoanalyze Gentiles. His work would be much improved if it presented a more balanced indepth analysis of the Gentile as to WHY he or she feels "alienated" in the presence of the Chosen People.

One cannot understand the concept of "anti-Semitism," without first studying the history of Judaism and The Torah, which is anti-Gentile.

In my own opinion, the concept of the "Anti-Semite" is largely a product of Jewish paranoia, an ego defense mechanism for discrediting those scholars who very objectively claim Judaism itself is a form of fascism. It is perhaps more convenient for the Jew to imply that the Gentile intellectual is an undemocratic fascist madman, than to admit that Judaism itself is undemocratic and has ethnocentric/fascist underpinnings.

However, "Anti-Semite & Jew" is an invaluable NOTEBOOK, which should be in the library of any student of political science and human behavior who has a truly analytical mind.

Sartre is the author of "Existential Psychoanalysis," which was translated from French into English by Hazel Barnes. Rollo May's introduction to this Sartrean discourse is essential for understanding Sartre's concepts, and May himself pulls no punches in pointing out the flaws in Sartre's reasoning.

Interestingly, for the reader who is not aware, Sartre was a Marxist for a while. He was also a cousin of Erich Fromm (Jewish psychoanalyst and sociologist and author of "Escape From Freedom)," and of Dr. Albert Schweitzer (Lutheran and the author of "A Psychiatric Study of Jesus," which is a REPUDIATION of the attempts by other writers to destroy Christianity by portraying Jesus as a mentally disturbed paranoic, rather than as God Incarnate, the basis of the Christian faith).

As for myself, I share Sartre's philosophical attitude for exploring and attempting to analyze accepted beliefs of all kinds, and I do not think that even Sartre himself is a true believer in JudaISM. Otherwise he would not have abandoned Judaism for Marxism. It must be remembered that Karl Marx himself, who is of Jewish ancestry, totally rejected the philosophy of Judaism on the grounds that it is incompatible with true democracy.

Sartre, of course, defined himself as an existentialist, whose expressed raison detre was to free himself from the chains that imprison the mind. Interestingly, the artificial dichotomies that sociologists themselves have devised for categorizing people are stigmatizing and mind-imprisoning. A true existentialist would never call another individual "an anti-Semite."

(...),

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Philosophical/Highly Personal Reflection
Review: I'm still not sure why he wrote this book or what his main point is. Perhaps its because I don't have a clear enough understanding of Satre, his background, or his era to grasp what he's trying to say in this work. I underlined various points that I thought might reveal a conclusive theme, but still am not convinced I've comprehended his point clearly.

He talks about treatment of the Jews in different countries in various time periods. He says the Russian government considered the Jews in Russia and Poland to be unassimilable, but favored them as a means of stirring up dissention among the Polish people. As the Nazi party gained power in Germany, the first step, according to Satre, was to prohibit Jews from using the same swimming pools as everyone else.

He affirms, what to me seems to be common sense and evident on his face, i.e., "there is no French truth or German truth; there is no Negro truth or Jewish truth. There is only one Truth, and he is best who wins it." Although I'm not sure what he means by "winning it."

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Summary: Antisemitism exists even on this page
Review: If Sarte himself could read these reviews he'd see them as a case in point for his entire book. Just look at the anti semetic comments on this very page. Oh, and Arabs might be semites, but the term Anti semitism has nothing to do with them. Get it now? We don't need to get into the ambiguity of the term, everyone knows what it means. This book is excellent a must read for anyone who wants to understand the mind of the anti-semite. Amazon should be ashamed for authorizing and publishing the hate found in the other reviews.