Title: Living History: On the Front Lines for Israel and the Jews 2003-2015
Publisher: Gefen Publishing
By Dr. Phyllis Chesler
“From 2003 through the early months of 2015, I wrote more than 200,000 words about anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism,” writes Dr. Phyllis Chesler in the introduction of her recently released book, Living History: On the Front Lines for Israel and the Jews 2003-2015.
This admission will come as no surprise to anyone even tangentially familiar with the voluminous number of essays and articles Chesler has churned out over the past 13 years. An astute political analyst and exhaustive researcher, she offers readers a thorough examination of the geopolitical issues affecting Israel and the Jewish people.
In this anthology-style compendium, Chesler confronts the seemingly eternal scourge of global anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism, the pernicious nature of radical Islam, the proliferation of visceral Jew hatred and incessant Israel bashing on university campuses, the nefarious agenda of multicultural relativism, and the role of the left-liberal media in creating animus toward Israel
Chesler debunks the big lies about Israel and Jews in a brutally honest manner, crafting cogent arguments with her trademark depth and aplomb.
Dr. Chesler explains that the war against the Jewish nation is predicated on a corruption of the truth. Fueled by unsavory alliances between leftist/progressives and radical jihadists of all stripes, anti-Zionism (which, Chesler says, is tantamount to anti-Semitism) is no longer considered an odious worldview but rather is seen as a reflection of stern moral rectitude.
Chesler speaks directly to her erstwhile colleagues in the feminist movement who ostracized her for blowing the lid off the gnawing undercurrent of anti-Israel sentiment in their ranks.
“Since 1972,” she writes, “I have been explaining to…feminists that we should not hold the only Jewish state to a higher or different standard than we hold all other nations states; when we do, it is called racism, Jew-hatred, or anti-Semitism.”
Western academics also are subjected to Chesler’s withering analysis, particularly those who have become increasingly “Stalinized and Palestinianized.” Universities ranging from obscure to world class, she writes, “have disinvited Israeli scholars, fired Israeli academics, rejected university applications from Israeli students, [and] refused to stage exhibits by Israeli artists or sell textbooks to Israeli universities…”
Dr. Chesler’s writing style exudes passion, optimism, and melancholy combined with the blunt force of realism. What is especially remarkable is the prescience of her analysis. For example, in a 2008 essay critiquing then-presidential contender Barack Obama, she writes: “He is a United Nations-style anti-American and postmodern multicultural relativist, and that means Obama may refuse to call barbarism by its rightful name if that barbarism is practiced by Muslims.”
Most troubling to Chesler is the rapid increase in attacks on Jews and synagogues in Europe and the continuing spread of Islamist fundamentalism. This too she saw coming years ago, writing in 2004 that “Today, the danger to Jews is far graver and more complex than it ever was before, including the 1930s.”
Chesler exhorts us to lift our heads out of the sand. Continued denial by Western liberals that Islamic jihadism poses a very real threat to Western civilization, and that Israel and the Jews are in existential peril, will, she warns, lead us into a Dark Age.
This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to make sense of a world gone mad. Despite the dismal news swirling around us, the keen clarity of vision Chesler imparts will abide with us for years to come.