I have been on a nonfiction kick recently and the complexity of this case really stood out to me. The author captured my attention immediately and held that attention which can be difficult in books like this.

I didn't love this one but I also didn't hate this one. However I'm not sure how I feel about this one.

Tears of History is a warning that needs to be heeded. The premise in this book is that, for many years America has been a "safe place" for Jews while the rest of the world (read that as Europe and Russia, nothing is really said about Jewish persecution in the Middle East or Far East) has historically had regular cycles of pogroms and persecution.

Birnbaum begins by showing how DeToqueville wrote that there was absolutely no evidence of antisemitism when he was touring America and writing about the experience. He then picks a couple of major Jewish thinkers/historians who compared the Jewish experience in the US vs Europe both before and after the Holocaust.

Next, Birnbaum goes deeply into the Leo Frank trial and lynching and demonstrates how this has impacted the Jewish American psyche the same way the pogroms in Ukraine did in Europe. He traces the growing fears of antisemitism after the Holocaust and finally the growing number of antisemitic rhetoric and attacks finally leading to the l'Simcha Synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh and its aftermath.

While this book is an absolute must-read considering the events that have transpired in Israel and Gaza over the past month (October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and following retaliation). While Birnbaum does an excellent job researching and detailing probably every single occurrence of antisemitic rhetoric and violence from the far-right, aside from the occasional references to "both sides" there is absolute silence about the antisemitism on the left. And when I say "occasional" I really mean it. I counted two references but perhaps I might have missed one. They were both so fleeting, you really had to pay attention to notice any at all.

It was not the KKK that were celebrating in Universities across America after October 7. It wasn't "Trump's allies" that were slaughtering everyone they could find in Jewish villages including the infirm, elderly, and babies. Even prior to the Hamas/Israel conflict that has kicked off a new spate of antisemitism throughout the West, there have been numerous antisemitic occurrences by liberals that should have made it into this book. Here are just a few examples.

A 29 year old Jewish man is beaten nearly to death by a group of violent pro-Palestinian supporters.

A 55 year old Jewish woman burned among many other attacks when fireworks were launched directly at her by a pro-palestinian mob. 27 people from that mob were arrested.

At a pro Palestinian rally outside a Jewish diner in Los Angeles, two men: Xavier Pabon and Samer Jayylusi, were arrested for attacking and beating people trying to exit the restaurant.

A Jewish family was attacked by four men throwing garbage at them when returning from a Synagogue in New Jersey. The attackers were threatening to rape the young girl, kill the family, and also things like "die Jew" and "free Palestine."

This is just a small sampling of the numerous and growing number of incidents by BDS and their ilk. They are also all incidents that took place more than a year before this book was published and before some of the incidents the book reports. There is no excuse for them not being mentioned. But despite the book's lies (Kindle location 1920), it isn't the Tea Party that is denying the Holocaust and promoting Anti-semitism. It is Ilhan Omar, the Squad, and their allies that are the biggest threat to Jewish peace and security in America today.

So while this subject is timely and an important read for our day, this book is a biased slant that ignores far more than half the problem.

A timely book about how American politics view Jewish people. It leaves the reader with many questions to ask themself and it is important that we answer. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how skied can politics got to the point we are at now.

Thank you to Columbia University Press and Netgalley for acccess to this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I am not informed enough on this topic to make an informed review of the information and veracity of sources. The first section heavily focuses on the work and ideas of Salo Baron, which was rather repetitive and dry reading. However, I had never heard of Baron before and found this exploration of such a seemingly influential thinker thought-provoking. I found the pacing and delivery of information throughout the rest of the book more engaging and varied in focus. Tears of History falls on the short side at 230 pages and works as an access point to studying anti-Semitism specifically in the context of modern America. Note that this is an academic text and possesses an academic, formal, and informational tone--not a narrative storytelling style.

More books like this please! Educational, informative, compassionate, compelling… easy to read and understand. I can’t recommend this book enough

Although an academic work, Birnbaum's work is highly accessible and essential reading to everyone who wants to understand the current tide of antisemitism in the United States. Birnbaum proceeds to show us that, although more prominent during this current time, antisemitism in the US is not new. Highly recommended for all public library collections.