The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State (Hardcover)by Benjamin Ginsberg (Author) "Since the 1960s, Jews have come to wield considerable influence in American economic, cultural, intellectual, and political life..." Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers Weekly Ginsberg's inquiry into the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States is sensitive, unflinching and lucid. He predicts that the "unthinkable" could happen--a political alliance of radical populists and respected conservatives who make vigorous use of virulent anti-Semitic themes to attack liberal Democrats. A Johns Hopkins political science professor, Ginsberg bases this conclusion on a broad analysis of Jews' shifting relationship to state power, from the Civil War through the New Deal to the collapse of the Jewish/Republican alliance as the Bush administration downgraded the importance of the state of Israel in U.S. foreign policy. The opening chapter shows how Jews have played key roles throughout history in building liberal, absolutist, monarchist and socialist regimes, offering their services and skills in exchange for protection and opportunity--a sometimes "fatal embrace" that, in Ginsberg's analysis, often provokes organized anti-Semitism.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
According to Ginsberg (political science, Johns Hopkins), the state has been both a protector and betrayer of the Jews in modern times. Ginsberg claims that Jews have traditionally measured their progress in American society by the degree to which they have been heeded and accepted by the governing powers. The Jews have achieved their greatest success under liberal administrations. But with the questioning of liberalism, the political influence of the Jews has waned, and currents of anti-Semitism seem to be surfacing more frequently. All in all, Ginsberg's book is a troubling one. Some will find his arguments a little shaky, and even Jewish readers will disagree on the degree of danger. Libraries with strong current affairs sections will want to add this book.
- Paul Kaplan, Dakota Cty. Lib., Eagan, Minn.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. Product Details
- Hardcover: 293 pages
- Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (November 1, 1993)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0226296652
- ISBN-13: 978-0226296654
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
|
Books 
