A startling and profound exploration of how Jewish history is exploited to comfort the living. Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture—and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly antisemitic attacks—Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: she was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones. In these essays, Horn reflects on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the blockbuster traveling exhibition Auschwitz, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, and the little-known life of the "righteous Gentile" Varian Fry. Throughout, she challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination …
A startling and profound exploration of how Jewish history is exploited to comfort the living. Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture—and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly antisemitic attacks—Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: she was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones. In these essays, Horn reflects on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the blockbuster traveling exhibition Auschwitz, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, and the little-known life of the "righteous Gentile" Varian Fry. Throughout, she challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination with Jewish deaths, and so little respect for Jewish lives unfolding in the present. Horn draws upon her travels, her research, and also her own family life—trying to explain Shakespeare’s Shylock to a curious ten-year-old, her anger when swastikas are drawn on desks in her children’s school, the profound perspective offered by traditional religious practice and study—to assert the vitality, complexity, and depth of Jewish life against an antisemitism that, far from being disarmed by the mantra of "Never forget," is on the rise. As Horn explores the (not so) shocking attacks on the American Jewish community in recent years, she reveals the subtler dehumanization built into the public piety that surrounds the Jewish past—making the radical argument that the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity.
A harrowing but important book examining the modern relation of how most modern non-jews knowledge of judaism comes from our deaths, not our living culture and the way that lack of knowledge fuels antisemitism. I had to sit down and just listen while listening to via audiobook, it was so gripping I couldn't do much of anything else whilst listening.
I appreciated the authors discussions on modern, ancient, and relatively recent antisemitism as well. I honestly question how much the people who rail against the authors seemingly pro-Zionist leanings actually read the same book as I did, as it profoundly demonstrated exactly why Zionism is a necessary ideology to modern jewish survival.
This is a relatively short, insightful look at antisemitism in which the author makes the case that the seeming reverence that people pay to the victims of deadly bigotry is itself an insult.
I was reminded of two supporting experiences: I was in Cologne a few years ago and a tour guide made a big deal about how there was an archeological dig exposing the Roman-era Jewish part of the city. I did not say, "So the people here humiliated, robbed, and killed most of the Jews in town and now you're excited that you've found where their ancestors lived 1500 years ago?"
I've been to a couple of places in the American West where American Indians perform sacred dances for tourists and then are given a dollar or two to have their pictures taken with these people. While Indians are living on a reservation with a life expectancy of …
This is a relatively short, insightful look at antisemitism in which the author makes the case that the seeming reverence that people pay to the victims of deadly bigotry is itself an insult.
I was reminded of two supporting experiences: I was in Cologne a few years ago and a tour guide made a big deal about how there was an archeological dig exposing the Roman-era Jewish part of the city. I did not say, "So the people here humiliated, robbed, and killed most of the Jews in town and now you're excited that you've found where their ancestors lived 1500 years ago?"
I've been to a couple of places in the American West where American Indians perform sacred dances for tourists and then are given a dollar or two to have their pictures taken with these people. While Indians are living on a reservation with a life expectancy of 45 years, we can honor their culture but when they lived where we live now our ancestors had a different response.
[I just thought of another one. A gentile colleague of mine was telling me how beautiful Prague was and how much she enjoyed visiting the old Jewish cemetery there. I'll leave a blank here for you to put in the obvious response:_____.]
It's insightful, and and DOES raise the question, "[why do] people love dead Jews?" I have seen a few reviews of this book – actually, one review posted in two places, Goodreads and Audible, and it comes to the conclusion that "the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity." I, however, sum it up with a different quote from the book: "Dead Jews are only worth discussing if they are part of something bigger." A great part of the richness of Judaism is pointed out by that statement, and the current and past trends to anti-Semitism and the fact that the religion and our people ARE remembered and recognized in our dead. Our book club is planning to read this book as our choice in September, and I am looking forward to it and look forward to discussing it, both with the …
It's insightful, and and DOES raise the question, "[why do] people love dead Jews?" I have seen a few reviews of this book – actually, one review posted in two places, Goodreads and Audible, and it comes to the conclusion that "the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity." I, however, sum it up with a different quote from the book: "Dead Jews are only worth discussing if they are part of something bigger." A great part of the richness of Judaism is pointed out by that statement, and the current and past trends to anti-Semitism and the fact that the religion and our people ARE remembered and recognized in our dead. Our book club is planning to read this book as our choice in September, and I am looking forward to it and look forward to discussing it, both with the people in the book club and, perhaps, our Rabbi and Cantor, as well as the woman who responded to me (I won't state her name here, because she is not specifically asked me to or granted permission) when i suggested the book upon reading about it. The view of the world and anti-Semitism and how it remembers any and all Jewish people is both telling and thought-provoking.
Von jüdischen Friedhöfen, die zu Denkmälern gemacht werden, obwohl keine Juden in ihnen liegen, von der Fetischisierung des Mordes an Anne Frank, von jiddischer Literatur, die wütend ist und nicht harmonisch endet, von einer Religion, die seit der Zerstörung des Tempels in Jerusalem als 'virtual reality' stattfindet - dieses Buch ist wunderschön, überraschend und wirft wichtige Fragen auf.