Author(s): Dan Cohn-Sherbok

Current Affairs

This book argues that although anti-semitism is an evil, it has paradoxically kept Judaism alive and helped its culture flourish, and been a positive force in Jewish life. As anti-semitism has diminished, the Jewish community has lost its way in the unceasing quest for social and political acceptance. As a pariah people, divided from the gentile world through prejudice and misunderstanding, Jewry saw itself as a separate and alien community. Paradoxically, it is anti-semitism which has ensured its survival rather than threatening its existence. Now, as a result of social acceptance, the Jewish community throughout the English-speaking world is undergoing a transformation. Jews have ceased to be dedicated to the Jewish heritage and the Jewish community in chaos. No longer is Judaism a unified tradition, providing a solid foundation for the Jewish people. The book points to a series of historical examples illustrating the author's thesis - ways in which antipathy to Jews and Judaism stimulated Jewish life and thought.