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Israelophobia

The Newest Version of the Oldest Hatred and What To Do About It

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 'This is an important and necessary book by a superb and subtle writer. There's no one more qualified to write it than Jake Wallis Simons, both as ground-breaking Middle East security correspondent and Editor of the Jewish Chronicle. It analyses the often prejudiced coverage and intense scrutiny of Israel that so often veers into obsession and outright demonisation; and traces its origins from Medieval European and Stalinist antisemitism to the present day. It discusses why this nation is judged so differently from others in a supposedly rational and progressive era. A companion in some ways to David Baddiel's Jews Don't Count, it is a book that fascinatingly analyses the dark sides of our world today -political, national, cultural and digital - and exposes uncomfortable truths' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE

'"I can't be anti-Semitic: I have nothing against Jews individually, I only hate them by the country." Such is the delusion that Jake Wallis Simons sets out to discredit in this excellent and fearless book, dismantling its mendacities with a scholarly and logical thoroughness that makes you wonder if there will ever be an Israelophobe left standing again. Buy copies to distribute to your kindergarten groups and universities, anyway, just in case. And then buy another copy for yourself. It does the heart good to see one of the greatest expressions of collective animus exposed for the sanctimonious posturing it is. Israelophobia is a book we all need' HOWARD JACOBSON

'Timely and important' TELEGRAPH

'Fascinating' SPECTATOR

In the Middle Ages, Jews were hated for their religion. In the twentieth century, they were hated because of their race. Today, Jews are hated for something else entirely, their nation-state of Israel. Antisemitism has morphed into something both ancient and modern: Israelophobia. But how did this transformation occur? And why?

Award-winning journalist Jake Wallis Simons answers these questions, clarifying the line between criticism and hatred, exploring game-changing facts and exposing dangerous discourse.

Urgent, incisive and deeply necessary, Israelophobia reveals why the Middle East's only democracy, which uniquely respects the rights of women and sexual and religious minorities, attracts such disproportionate levels of slander. Rather than defending Israel against all criticism, it argues for reasonable disagreement based on reality instead of bigotry.

Through charting the history of Israelophobia - starting in Nazi Germany, travelling via the Kremlin to Tehran and along fibre optic cables to billions of screens - and using it to understand contemporary prejudice, this timely book will restore much-needed sanity to the debate, creating the space for mutual understanding, tolerance and peace.©2023 Jake Wallis Simons Ltd Political Science Politics & Government Racism & Discrimination Social Sciences United States World Middle East Iran Thought-Provoking Discrimination Social justice Imperialism Refugee Middle Ages Judaism Africa Socialism Holocaust Human Rights Interwar Period

Critic reviews

This is an important and necessary book by a superb and subtle writer. There's no one more qualified to write it than Jake Wallis Simons, both as ground-breaking Middle East security correspondent and Editor of the Jewish Chronicle. It analyses the often prejudiced coverage and intense scrutiny of Israel that so often veers into obsession and outright demonisation; and traces its origins from Medieval European and Stalinist antisemitism to the present day. It discusses why this nation is judged so differently from others in a supposedly rational and progressive era. A companion in some ways to David Baddiel's Jews Don't Count, it is a book that fascinatingly analyses the dark sides of our world today -political, national, cultural and digital - and exposes uncomfortable truths (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
"I can't be anti-Semitic: I have nothing against Jews individually, I only hate them by the country." Such is the delusion that Jake Wallis Simons sets out to discredit in this excellent and fearless book, dismantling its mendacities with a scholarly and logical thoroughness that makes you wonder if there will ever be an Israelophobe left standing again. Buy copies to distribute to your kindergarten groups and universities, anyway, just in case. And then buy another copy for yourself. It does the heart good to see one of the greatest expressions of collective animus exposed for the sanctimonious posturing it is. Israelophobia is a book we all need (Howard Jacobson)
Timely and important . . . While Simons provides an exhaustive and damning study in the way the Left has sought to portray Israel as a pariah state, he contends that it is still possible to reverse this pernicious trend, so long as Israel's many supporters are willing to highlight the country's many virtues, not least its democratic values and respect for the rule of law, qualities that are not obviously apparent elsewhere in the Middle East
[Israelophobia] removes the final alibi that you can be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic. It also takes on complicated arguments in a straightforward way. This book is full of vim and vigour and I recommend it
Israelophobia is as important, trenchant and original as Jews Don't Count. And as necessary to read (Daniel Finkelstein)
This book is particularly timely . . . makes a convincing exposé of the convenient line that attacks on Israel can be easily separated from antisemitism
Fascinating
There never was a more timely publication than Israelophobia by Jake Wallis Simons (Rod Liddle)
All stars
Most relevant
I found the author's biase towards South Africa and in particular towards the Afrikaner, the Boer disturbing. Did the author not take the trouble to find out where the concentration camps were first used as a tool for mass extermination of an ethnic group? Britain were the last country to close a Jewish concentration camp run by Britain on Cyprus? If Israel should give in to Hamas, it will look like post-apartheid South Africa, a broken, corrupt country where none of the South African anti-apartheid activists want to live in. The book is a summary of many of the historical wrongs committed through ignorance and pure malice against a group of people who share one religion that values life, freedom and the betterment of mankind. I am glad I listened to it and read it.

Really!!

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it is probable that very few people who are not Jews or Israelis will care to read this book. The strongest part of the book for me is the antisemitic ideologies running through Hajj Amin al- Husseini, the Nazis, the founders of the Moslem Brotherhood, the Soviets through to Abbas and the present represented by Al Queida, iS, and Hamas. The author proves the connection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism and its pathology. It is sad that those who are so hostile to to Israel, and the Jews will not care to read this book. Unfortunately, the book is "preaching to the converted".

For Those who Care to know.

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This book addresses issues with life and death consequences in the real world. It shows how bad ideas can have terrible outcomes, and our current highly polarised opinions need to be based on analysis rather than prejudice

Voice of measure and reason on highly relevant topic

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Good read, a lot of information and ways to see things, I liked to read from different viewpoints to try to understand a situation

Interesting

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There’s a lot of information in this book. Understandably our man speaks with passion, and an expertise that comes from knowledge of the history of Jew-hate, and how it can be traced through to modern times, how it has changed with the creation of Israel, and yet has remained much the same. Explaining how the antisemitic propaganda of Nazism and Communism continue to poison the world view of Jews and of Israel makes alot of sense. Clearly this was written before the events of 7/10, but sadly i don’t think it would have made any significant difference to the content if it been written afterwards. I look forward to a day when this book becomes irrelevant, but at the moment, it is more relevant than ever.

Well researched, and helpful

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