Rating: 
Summary: Informative, original idea. Forgiveably biased presentation.
Review: (Having read this and "The Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism", I say, read this, skip 9?'s.)A good book for beginning students of Jew-hatred. Though it reads as a somewhat less than academic survey of antisemitism throughout history, it is possible for a conscientious reader to appreciate the arguments presented. Teluskin explores pagan, Christian, Muslim, Fascist and Leftist antisemitism, giving the reader a nice balance between a pure history lesson and the author's thesis. Teluskin's thesis is that Judaism itself is responsible for Jew hatred throughout history. This contrasts with the various explanations that I have heard in the past...Jews were hated in medieval europe because they were money lenders...Hitler hated the Jews because he was crazy, and the Nazis used antisemitism to gain political advantage...etc Teluskin argues that each group/society that promoted and practiced Jew hatred was motivated by its own personal hatred of Judaism. Some examples: The Romans hated the Jews because allegiance to God and objective morality questioned the legitimacy of the secular government. Christian antisemitism was ineveitable, as Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism, and Judaism's continued existence cast a shadow of illegitimacy upon the new religion. By refusing to acknowledge Jesus Christ as The Messiah, Jews implicitly denied the validity of Christianity. Islamic antisemitism mirrors Christian antisemitism in cause, and to a lesser degree, in practice. Leftists placed the good of man above all, accordingly, Jews' insistance on the Supremacy of God's moral law above man threatened to deligitimize Leftist doctrine. Nationalist-Fascist antisemitism had its base in Christian antisemitism and was the familiar result of Jews allegiance to God, rather than to the state. As I noted earlier, this book is not very academic in tone or (in my opinion) in substance, but it still serves as an effective introduction to this subject.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, original idea. Forgiveably biased presentation.
Review: (Having read this and "The Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism", I say, read this, skip 9?'s.) A good book for beginning students of Jew-hatred. Though it reads as a somewhat less than academic survey of antisemitism throughout history, it is possible for a conscientious reader to appreciate the arguments presented. Teluskin explores pagan, Christian, Muslim, Fascist and Leftist antisemitism, giving the reader a nice balance between a pure history lesson and the author's thesis. Teluskin's thesis is that Judaism itself is responsible for Jew hatred throughout history. This contrasts with the various explanations that I have heard in the past...Jews were hated in medieval europe because they were money lenders...Hitler hated the Jews because he was crazy, and the Nazis used antisemitism to gain political advantage...etc Teluskin argues that each group/society that promoted and practiced Jew hatred was motivated by its own personal hatred of Judaism. Some examples: The Romans hated the Jews because allegiance to God and objective morality questioned the legitimacy of the secular government. Christian antisemitism was ineveitable, as Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism, and Judaism's continued existence cast a shadow of illegitimacy upon the new religion. By refusing to acknowledge Jesus Christ as The Messiah, Jews implicitly denied the validity of Christianity. Islamic antisemitism mirrors Christian antisemitism in cause, and to a lesser degree, in practice. Leftists placed the good of man above all, accordingly, Jews' insistance on the Supremacy of God's moral law above man threatened to deligitimize Leftist doctrine. Nationalist-Fascist antisemitism had its base in Christian antisemitism and was the familiar result of Jews allegiance to God, rather than to the state. As I noted earlier, this book is not very academic in tone or (in my opinion) in substance, but it still serves as an effective introduction to this subject.
Rating:
Summary: Prager and Telushkin DO Provide Answers
Review: -
First, the term "anti-Semitism" is in my opinion an inappropriate term for describing the viewpoint of people who do not see eye to eye with the PHILOSOPHY of Judaism. According to dictionaries and encyclopedias, the term Semite is applied to both Jews and Arabs. The Semitic languages comprise a number of ancient and modern languages of SW Asia and Africa. A Semitic is one who speaks one or more of those languages. However, the term "Anti-Semite" is INDEED misapplied when used to describe Arab Muslims and Arab Christians who are opposed to the Jewish persuasion, and South Florida (USA) Arab leaders have continuously pointed out this fact to Jewish leaders. The philosophy of Judaism is codified in The Torah (the written law) which comprises the first five books of the Old Testament and the Talmud (the documented "oral" law). Any student of philosopy who has actually read and analyzed The Torah can readily discern that The Torah is indeed a doctrine of Jewish supremacy. It is vehemently anti-Gentile in every way. For instance, Leviticus 25:43-46 very clearly authorizes the Israelite/Jew to enslave the men, women and children of the other nations, and to rule over their own people with "less rigor." Judaism is thus CLEARLY represented by The Torah, the Jewish Holy Book, as a master-slave philosophy. Authors Prager and Telushkin do recognize the "higher quality of Jewish life" as a "cause of anti-Semitism." They also explain that the "higher quality of life" is objectively verifiable
(pages 46-58). They stress that Jews have the highest per capita income of any ethnic group in the USA. They point out that Jewish law, as transcribed in the tzedaka laws, mandates that Jews enable one another to avoid poverty through a sytem of Jewish welfare (for Jews only) that helps Jews to establish themselves in the world as business proprietors and professionals. Prager and Telushkin are to be commended for their forthrightness in providing the reader, whether Jewish or Gentile, with this very relevant information. I might quote the words of Israel Shahak, a holocaust survivor: "Anti-Semitism and Jewish chauvinism (a/k/a Anti-Gentilism) can ONLY be fought SIMULTANEOUSLY."
Rating: 
Summary: The Book Clouds the Real Issues
Review: .
First, the term "Anti-Semitic" is inappropriate. Jewish law, according to authors Prager and Telushkin, mandates that Jews treat others Jews more favorably than they treat Gentiles. As a result of Jewish law, according to Prager and Telushkin, Jews have the highest per capita income of any ethnic group in the USA. Judaism thus reeks of both facism and racism. Interestingly, The Zionist Jewish State of Israel is a nation that reinforces RACIAL SEGREGATION, a documented fact which Prager and Telushkin fail to reveal to their readers. Yet the Jewish State of Israel it is funded by more than $3 billion annually in military and economic aid from the U.S. government, paid for by non-Jewish taxpayers. Yet the US government mandates and reinforces RACIAL INTEGRATION for its own citizens. Some of the most outspoken opponents of Judaism are Jews themselves, who deplore the racist-fascist underpinnings of Judaism and resent being cursed and disenfranchised by their own Jewish fathers for making a democratic choice to reject the philosophy of Judaism on the grounds that the philosophy/religion is a racist philosophy. Authors Prager and Telushkin fall short of revealing the true picture.
Rating: 
Summary: Making sense of the insensible.
Review: A non-Jewish professional colleague of mine asked me the question posed in the title, "Why the Jews?" I postulated the same erroneous cliche's of being an easily scapegoated minority, being education-centric, being affluent, being money-lenders, being different, etc. All answers with which I was disastisfied as incorrect, incomplete, or untrue. Rabbi Telishkin and Mr. Prager's book concisely, clearly and skillfully analyzes the root causes of antisemitism (ethical monotheism, moral law, peoplehood) and debunks all the easy or contrived answers. A great book, and a must read for all.
Rating:
Summary: Making sense of the insensible.
Review: A non-Jewish professional colleague of mine asked me the question posed in the title, "Why the Jews?" I postulated the same erroneous cliche's of being an easily scapegoated minority, being education-centric, being affluent, being money-lenders, being different, etc. All answers with which I was disastisfied as incorrect, incomplete, or untrue. Rabbi Telishkin and Mr. Prager's book concisely, clearly and skillfully analyzes the root causes of antisemitism (ethical monotheism, moral law, peoplehood) and debunks all the easy or contrived answers. A great book, and a must read for all.
Rating:
Summary: a truly revolutionary conclusion
Review: After totally and unequivocally obliterating the age-old excuses for anti-semitism, Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin put forth what they see as the real cause behind hatred against the Jews --in the process reaching a conclusion that this reader found totally brilliant and completely unexpected. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who, deep down inside, never truly accepted worn-out excuses for anti-semitism (i.e. financial exploitation, Jewish Conspiracy, control of Media, etc.)--particularly when, as a Jew him/herself, never being able to benefit from any of these supposed "Jewish traits": not to mention even knowing where to find them. Simply put: This book served as a real revelation to me and undoubtedly will to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Judaism as a cause of hatred - right or wrong?
Review: AntiSemitism is without doubt one of the most abhorent aspects of the Twentieth Century. Any serious study of the subject must consider the implications of how the stance it takes may be considered. To approach the subject as simply an opposition to a theology, no matter how many caveats are provided, is simply wrong. Prager and Telushkin do so, claiming that the longevity and virulence of anti-Semitism stems from objections to Judaism rather than to Jews. Could it not be argued that anti-Semitism continued merely because it had always been there, it was a convient and readily understood, above all often useful, prejudice against a group readily identifiable and often vulnerable. Perhaps one needs a mono-causal argument to concentate the mind on the complexities of the issue.
Rating:
Summary: Few if any logical or empircal flaws in the book.
Review: As (a non-jewish) expert on christian anti-Judaism (which was a necessary though not sufficient condition for the Endloesung of the Jewish Questions, as the Nazis put it), I have used the book often for college courses I teach. It is a popularization of a difficult topic, but fundamentally sound. If readers want something more substantial, try "Christian Antisemitism" by William Nicholls. The reader-critic from Dallas babbles about anti-gentilism and is on the verge of anti-Judaism himself. The reviewer who is worried about monocausal arguments and explanations might reflect upon the fact that a monocausal explanation for event x (such as Goldhagen brilliantly gave in his book) is not per se invalid for being monocausal; e.g. Christian/German ant-Judaism (as in Luther's writings of 1543) was a necessary condition for/cause of the Nazi genocidal, obsessive focus on Jews. Want proof? See the book mentioned above or see the official statement by the Lutheran churches of America condeming Luther's own anti-Judaism, which helped lay the groundwork for the 'holocaust'. Dr. Earley
Rating:
Summary: Eye-opener
Review: As I followed the Arab-Israel conflict I got more and more confused about how people that didn't know anything about the subject, of all walks of life, became more and more prejudiced against Israel in my country with the help, of course, of the media. Since I knew a little about Israel's history and how it had been the target of many neighboring countries since its very beginning, I decided to do a little research to understand what was happening. Part of the research is this book, which really opened my eyes to a very sad picture. Easy to read, the authors use very simple logic and examples (full of quotes) to disprove common myths about anti-Semitism. It shows how Jews have been killed because they were poor or rich, because they were communists or because they were capitalists. In the end, because they were Jews. It gave a me a first idea of what Judaism is. The book was written at the time of the Soviet Union and shows what was happening then. I intend to read more from the same authors because their style isn't aggressive and is coherent with what they preach, in my opinion. It is a warning to those who think that what happens in the Middle East is a Jew problem.
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