A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad »

Robert S. Wistrich is professor of modern European history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and head of its Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism. Previously, he held the Jewish Chronicle Chair of Jewish Studies at University College London and was visiting professor of history at Brandeis and Harvard universities. A regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, he is the author of many books, including Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred, and scripted the PBS television series of the same name.

In this unprecedented work two decades in the making, leading historian Robert S. Wistrich examines the long and ugly history of anti-Semitism, from the first recorded pogrom in 38 BCE to its shocking and widespread resurgence in the present day. As no other book has done before it, A Lethal Obsession reveals the causes behind this shameful and persistent form of hatred and offers a sobering look at how it may shake and reshape the world in years to come.

Here are the fascinating and long-forgotten roots of the “Jewish difference”–the violence that greeted the Jewish Diaspora in first-century Alexandria. Wistrich suggests that the idea of a formless God who passed down a universal moral law to a chosen few deeply disconcerted the pagan world. The early leaders of Christianity increased their strength by painting these “superior” Jews as a cosmic and satanic evil, and by the time of the Crusades, murdering a “Christ killer” had become an act of conscience.

Moving seamlessly through centuries of war and dissidence, A Lethal Obsession powerfully portrays the creation of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the fateful anti-Semitic tract commissioned by Russia’s tsarist secret police at the end of the nineteenth century–and the prediction by Theodor Herzl, Austrian founder of political Zionism, of eventual disaster for the Jews in Europe.

The twentieth century fulfilled this dark prophecy, with the horrifying ascent of Hitler’s Third Reich. Yet, as Wistrich disturbingly suggests, the end of World War II failed to neutralize the “Judeophobic virus”: Pogroms and prejudice continued in Soviet-controlled territories and in the Arab-Muslim world that would fan flames for new decades of distrust, malice, and violence.

Here, in pointed and devastating detail, is our own world, one in which jihadi terrorists and the radical left blame Israel for all global ills. In his concluding chapters, Wistrich warns of a possible nuclear “Final Solution” at the hands of Iran, a land in which a formerly prosperous Jewish community has declined in both fortunes and freedoms.

Dazzling in scope and erudition, A Lethal Obsession is a riveting masterwork of investigative nonfiction, the definitive work on this unsettling yet essential subject. It is destined to become an indispensable source for any student of world affairs.

Library Journal

Wistrich (modern European history, Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem; The Jews of Vienna in the Age of Franz-Joseph) pulls no punches here. He opens his introduction with a discussion of the "totalitarian nightmare" of Nazism, Stalinism, and Islamism in the 20th century. His work takes readers back to the first recorded incidence of anti-Semitism and explains how the history of this phenomenon forms the roots of modern-day intolerance toward Jews. Throughout, Wistrich builds a solid argument for his theory—that, without intervention, the current anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian movement that cloaks anti-Semitic violence under a banner of human rights will lead to a nuclear, global Armageddon. Wistrich's no-nonsense tone makes his prose accessible, regardless of one's previous knowledge of Judaism or anti-Semitism, and the vast amount of information provided is well paced so as not to overwhelm the reader. VERDICT At 1200 pages, this massive work is worth every single page, and the meticulous research and breadth of time covered would satisfy both those seeking a thorough introduction to this difficult subject as well as those who already possess an understanding of the topic.—Crystal Goldman, San Jose St. Univ. Lib., CA

Introduction The Return of Anti-Semitism 3

1 From Deicide to Genocide 79

2 Between Marx and Stalin 107

3 The Soviet War Against Zion 129

4 Beat the Jews, Save Russia! 154

5 The Postcommunist Trauma 183

6 Nazi Shadows over Austria 213

7 German Guilt, Jewish Angst 236

8 Frenchmen, Arabs, and Jews 274

9 Liberte, Egalite, Antisemitisme 318

10 Britain's Old-New Judeophobes 362

11 The Red-Green Axis 399

12 Welcome to Eurabia 435

13 Bigotry at the United Nations 465

14 The Anti-Zionist Masquerade 494

15 Jews Against Zion 515

16 Shylock Meets Uncle Sam 543

17 Multiculturalism and Its Discontents 568

18 The Globalization of Anti-Semitism 600

19 Lying About the Holocaust 631

20 Hitler and the Mufti 662

21 The "Liberation" of Palestine 684

22 Hamas, Hezbollah, Holy War 731

23 Toward the Muslim Apocalypse 780

24 The Wrath of Khomeini 830

25 Ahmadinejad: The Last Jihad 879

Epilogue 929

Acknowledgments 939

Notes 943

Author's Note 1119

Index 1121