Woke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews (Unabridged)
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Woke Antisemitism is a firsthand account from a top Jewish leader about how woke ideology shuts down discourse, corrupts Jewish values, and spawns a virulent new strain of antisemitism.
In May 2021, amid another conflict with Iran-backed Hamas, Israel took a beating in both the mainstream press and social media. Notwithstanding the rocket fire aimed at its citizens, the Jewish state was portrayed as the oppressor and the Hamas government in Gaza as the oppressed.
While Israel has always been subject to excessive scrutiny, this time was different. What had changed in the ideological environment? A veteran leader of Jewish advocacy organizations and a self-described liberal who has broken with the far left over the adoption of woke ideology, David L. Bernstein traces the growth of woke ideology in his life and career from a remote academic study to an international post-colonialist movement, then a faddish campus ideology, morphing into corporate diversity programs to a dominant ideology in mainstream institutions, including many Jewish organizations. Bernstein shows how core ideological tenets—such as privilege, equity, whiteness, and the oppressor/oppressed binary—can be and are weaponized against Jews.
What’s more, surveys tell us that Americans are self-censoring at record rates. Jewish institutions, long known for their robust deliberative processes and open discourse, have not been spared. Many have uncharacteristically dodged controversial issues and have simply fallen in line. He warns that, unabated, the ideology will disenfranchise the American Jewish community and sap Jewish pride. He puts forward a strategy for restoring liberal values and countering political extremism and antisemitism, focusing on rebuilding the political center strategy.
Customer Reviews
Good Explanation
The end of 2023 into mid-2024, and seemingly beyond, shaped up to be a confronting 8 months; it’s probably going to continue. The locus being antisemitism from the political left. It is suppose to be the inclusive left, the accepting left but I have felt abandoned by the very people that stood up against injustices here at home. “Woke Antisemitism” is a good explanation of how it got here over the last few decades. I wish I’d known. I strongly recommend this book, along with others, to help get a grasp on the irrational antisemitism coming from the political left, here and abroad.