according to the publisher’s his publicist’s website [and confirmed by a search on Google books.] The proud individual in question would be Gilad Atzmon, who has remarked
I’m not only a self-hating Jew, I’m a proud self-hating Jew! When you try to think of the biggest humanists ever, Spinoza Marx [sic: Marx was born and raised a Christian, albeit of Jewish descent] and Christ were basically proud self-hating Jews also. Why? Because of growing up in this kind of racist, nationalist, tribalist, chauvinist, supremacist society – and this is exactly what they stood up against.
If the book, The Wandering Who? was about Atzmon’s vocation, jazz, that wouldn’t be news, but in fact the book in question seems to be what one might call a meditation on Jewish identity–but an anti-Semitic, or, if you prefer, self-hating one. (Among other things, we learn that his hero and role model is one of modern history’s best-known Jewish anti-Semites, Otto Weininger.)
Mearsheimer’s take: “a fascinating and provocative book …. Should be widely read by Jews and non-Jews alike.” Says David Schraub: “we should recognize the tragedy of [Mearsheimer's] fall. It has been swift, shocking, and very, very ugly.”
I wrote five years ago that “many of [Mearsheimer and co-author Stephen Walt's] critics are erring in accusing the authors of anti-Semitism without supporting evidence.” That now seems hasty on my part, especially given that this isn’t Mearsheimer’s first foray into very questionable territory.
Added bonus: The Harry’s Place blog’s revelation of Mearsheimer’s endorsement of an anti-Semitic book by a self-described self-hating Jew came the same day that Glenn Greenwald wrote a post entitled The Mainstreaming of Walt and Mearsheimer, in particular expressing typical Greenwaldian sputtering outrage that some of their critics had accused them of anti-Semitism.
UPDATE: Pejman Yousefzadeh: “Either John Mearsheimer–via his endorsement of the vile and repulsive ‘ideas’ of the loathsome Gilad Atzmon–has outed himself as an anti-Semite, or he is completely ignorant of what Atzmon professes, and Mearsheimer has outed himself as a fool.”
FURTHER UPDATE: Just to be clear for those too lazy or busy to follow the links, Atzmon is not some controversial cultural or religious critic, but a plain old-fashioned kooky anti-Semite. Here is an example of his erudite commentary on the financial crisis:
I don’t think it was a credit crunch, I think it was a Zionist punch.This war in Iraq may have something to do with energy but largely it was America acting as an Israeli mission for fighting the last pockets of resistance, led tactically by Neoconservatives and the Federal Reserve.
Alan Greenspan’s job was to create a financial boom so America’s people were not concerned with the tactics used in the Middle East.
It should have worked but it didn’t work because the all-American boom was done at the expense of the most deprived Americans, and they just couldn’t pay the mortgages so it all collapsed.
It’s not only Jews that have adopted this world view either. Bush behaved Jewishly (ideologically) – he is a supremacist, he was a tribalist, but he is not a Jew as far as I’m aware.
AJK says:
As someone who finds most elements of Judaism to be loathsome indeed, I suspected this post might be an overreaction. I would recommend inspecting the link attached to the words “who has remarked” for a thorough demonstration of exactly what a vile character Mr. Atzmon is.
September 20, 2011, 9:17 pmAnonimus says:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743246209/thevolocons0d-20/
September 20, 2011, 9:30 pmJncc says:
So, is there anything in the book itself that is objectionable?
Or is the rule in your mind that if you endorse a book that you recommend everything ever said by it’s author?
September 20, 2011, 9:39 pmDavid Bernstein says:
First, I already gave you an example: “his hero and role model is one of modern history’s best-known Jewish anti-Semites, Otto Weininger.” Second, yes, it’s inherently objectionable to endorse a book about Jews by a notorious anti-Semite, because even if the anti-Semitism was cloaked in the book itself, you would know that the underlying motivation was anti-Semitic. I wouldn’t need to read the book in question to know better than to endorse a book on Jews by David Duke, Louis Farrakahn, or David Irving, unless it was an obvious mea culpa.
September 20, 2011, 9:46 pmDave N. says:
I agree. A very vile human being, indeed.
(And I’m not even Jewish.)
September 20, 2011, 9:49 pmMichael Sykora says:
Perhaps the world will be fortunate and Atzmon will follow in
September 20, 2011, 10:22 pmWeininger’s ultimate footsteps.
q says:
Try clicking on the links. I find Professor Bernstein to be a little too sensitive on these matters, but he nailed it on this one.
September 20, 2011, 10:30 pmDebrah says:
I certainly agree with Greenwald when he says “….those who voice prohibited truths are always more hated than those who spout obvious lies.”
This is most certainly the case when in the throes of heated debate with members of various protected groups.
That one should be committed to stone.
Greenwald’s only problem is that he’s a bit confused with regard to the identities of the “truth-tellers”.
Good drama, though.
September 20, 2011, 10:50 pmAndrew J. Lazarus says:
I clicked. Bernstein is having a stopped-clock moment; Atzmon is a sicko.
September 20, 2011, 11:27 pmDebrah says:
A survey of Palestinian attitudes toward the extermination of Jews shows that the vast majority of them are for it.
How does one ignore such open hatred?
Hitler kept his plans for the Final Solution on the down-low because he sensed that the average German was too civilized to support such evil.
Muslim leaders shout their hatred and desire for the genocide of Jews from the public square.
They do this because they know they are so enthusiastically supported by the Palestinians and other Muslims.
Now just who is “racist, nationalist, tribalist, chauvinist, and supremacist”?
September 20, 2011, 11:59 pmJncc says:
I see.
September 21, 2011, 12:19 amJohn P says:
“According to the publisher’s website?” Can we get confirmation from Mearsheimer that he actually said this? Some website is quoting him. Maybe he actually said that. Can Prof. Bernstein be bothered to contact Mr. Mearsheimer before dragging his name through the mud?
September 21, 2011, 1:25 amWalenty Lisek says:
This man is a narcissist. Everything he says and does should be suspect as either self-aggrandizement or ego defense. His line about being a “self-hating Jew” is just another way for him to say “everybody look at me!”
Looks like it worked, which is too bad.
September 21, 2011, 1:35 amDilan Esper says:
As someone with decidedly different views on Israel and the Palestinians than Prof. Bernstein, I have nonetheless never been a fan of the “Israel lobby” arguments. To me they sound like classic anti-Semitism, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, conspiracy theory BS.
So it doesn’t surprise me that one of the authors of that book is descending into more overt anti-Semitism.
These people only to serve to discredit legitimate criticism of Israel.
September 21, 2011, 1:56 amDavid G. Epstein says:
Aside from his denouncing “anti-Semitism,” I would be interested in hearing from David Bernstein what aspects of organized Judaism he thinks are so wonderful, because after considerable study, I can’t think of any. I’m for intermarriage, apostasy, and assimilation.
September 21, 2011, 1:58 amDavid Bernstein says:
Yes, of course the appropriate response to a post about a blatant anti-Semite is to engage in a debate about “organized Judaism.” That will be the last comment of this nature I’ll allow on this thread, this isn’t Stormfront.
September 21, 2011, 7:01 amrbj says:
Let’s see, Jews are allegedly in control of the world, yet they’ve had pogroms after pogroms inflicted upon them, been demonized and dealt with genocide. And they finally get a homeland — about the only part of the Middle East not sitting on oil — that is surrounded by hostile neighbors.
September 21, 2011, 9:17 ammtm says:
Gideon Atzmon raises a broader issue in his book that I would like to see addressed: Is there any point in an individual embracing a of larger group identity? And is an individual ever obligated to do so?
Is a Jew who walks away from his Jewish identity and the Jewish community a bad person? What about an African-American? An Irishman? A German?
September 21, 2011, 10:18 amM. says:
I don’t think one can let Atzmon’s outright anti-Semitism slide in the name of having your nice highbrow faculty discussion.
September 21, 2011, 10:50 amCan't find a good name says:
The author’s name has been misidentified. He is Gilad Atzmon, not Gideon Atzmon. (The quote from Pejman has his name right, which called my attention to the discrepancy.)
September 21, 2011, 11:27 amCan't find a good name says:
Also, I suspect that the term “self-hating Jew” is often a misnomer. (Although for Otto Weininger, it may have been accurate.) Most of the so-called self-hating Jews have great regard for themselves. It’s other Jews that they don’t like. (Edited to add: After writing this comment, I noticed that David Schraub made a similar point in the linked post.)
September 21, 2011, 11:36 amDavid Bernstein says:
Agreed, but in this case it’s a self-identification.
September 21, 2011, 11:38 amYankev says:
The Protocols address this very fact, along with the bad press that Jews get — the Elders not only permit these events to happen, but actually orchestrate them to distract the innocent (i.e. non-Jews) from the secret Zionist cabal and its power. Ditto Israel’s lack of oil — when you secretly control the world’s wealth, whats a little oil more or less?
September 21, 2011, 12:45 pmAJK says:
My initial reaction ran along roughly these lines. Unlike you, I decided to read the links before posting.
September 21, 2011, 1:16 pmneurodoc says:
Is that a bit of screwed up grammer or is AJK really announcing himself as an antisemite and no one has taken note of it or seen the need to comment?
September 21, 2011, 3:03 pmneurodoc says:
Pejman Yousefzadeh says, “Either John Mearsheimer–via his endorsement of the vile and repulsive ‘ideas’ of the loathsome Gilad Atzmon–has outed himself as an anti-Semite, or he is completely ignorant of what Atzmon professes, and Mearsheimer has outed himself as a fool.” If one answers with the disjunctive “a or b” when the answer is “a and b,” ought they get half-credit or no credit at all?
September 21, 2011, 3:06 pmloki13 says:
It’s a rare occurrence, so I’m stopping in to agree with DB.
Vile stuff, and Mearsheimer’s endorsement is odious. Thanks for calling attention to it.
September 21, 2011, 4:29 pmEric Muller says:
When David G. Epstein condemns “organized Judaism,” he proves, at a bare minimum, that he has never been at a board meeting at my temple.
September 21, 2011, 6:08 pmyankev says:
You had to actually follow the links? It wasn’t enough that this charmer claimed that Jews manipulated the economic situation in order to distract Americans from the Jew-Neocon alliance’s war in Iraq? What does it take to meet your and jncc’s criteria, a toothbrush mustache and a swastika armband?
September 21, 2011, 6:09 pmMDT says:
Eric Muller wins the thread.
September 21, 2011, 7:15 pmH Latto says:
Mearsheimer and Walt wrote in the article that became The Israel Lobby that the lobby has a “stranglehold” on American foreign policy. Influence? Of course. A “stranglehold” suggests something very different. And in The Israel Lobby itself, they wrote that the American media, “left to its own devices,” would not pour forth a steady stream of pro-Israel propaganda. In that case, according to M & W, the US media publishes their articles at the direction of some other, mysterious “devices,” rather than of their own free will.
Isn’t this enough?
September 21, 2011, 8:27 pmleo marvin says:
I’d expect “someone who finds most elements of Judaism to be loathsome” to set a pretty high bar, wouldn’t you? That Atzmon clears AJK’s bar, with or without the assistance of the additional links, is saying something.
September 21, 2011, 8:54 pmwhit says:
wow. learn something new every day.
marx was a humanist?
i read somewhere that attila the hun was an anger management counselor too
September 21, 2011, 9:32 pmBuck Turgidson says:
If we are going to be historically accurate, Hitler’s Final Solution was not what you think of when you use these words. His initial plan was to commandeer the German Navy to ship all European Jews (or, at least, the German ones, for starters) to Madagascar, then wall them off from the rest of the world. It was only after his henchmen convinced him of the impracticality of this “solution” was he persuaded that extermination was a solid Plan B. What the Nazis were hiding–and I do mean “Nazis” not “Hitler” was the gruesome physical details of the Final Solution. The ultimate nature of it was not particularly hidden, although it was not advertised either. In a small way, you can compare it to the Bush White House prohibition of photographing military coffins arriving from Iraq. Obviously, neither the scale nor the ideology are in any way similar, but the propaganda idea is the same–keep the visual manifestations of death from the public.
September 21, 2011, 11:31 pmDebrah says:
For the purpose of this discussion, my only objective was to highlight the fact that the Palestinian/Muslim leaders do openly advertise — with great fervor — their intentions. And those intentions are met with great support and enthusiasm.
In my view a “Final Solution” isn’t mitigated in any way by drawing a distinction between gas chambers and being sent to a Madagascar dungeon.
I find this comparison grotesque and repulsive.
And not “in a small way”.
September 22, 2011, 10:16 amyankev says:
Just because Buck compares a justifiable attempt to keep up public morale in war time during a lawfully fought and well-intended war (though some question whether it was well advised or well executed), and the deliberate and announced extermination of an entire people? Yeah, I’d say grotesque and repulsive is about right.
September 22, 2011, 12:29 pmDaily Pundit » Self Hating Jews says:
[...] The Volokh Conspiracy » John Mearsheimer Endorses Book by a “Proud Self-Hating Jew” Mearsheimer’s take: “a fascinating and provocative book …. Should be widely read by Jews and non-Jews alike.” Says David Schraub: “we should recognize the tragedy of [Mearsheimer’s] fall. It has been swift, shocking, and very, very ugly.” [...]
September 22, 2011, 4:48 pmTJ says:
Is it OK to promote the writings of those who sing praises for terrorists such as Avraham Stern, David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Moshe Dayan, and Ariel Sharon ?
September 22, 2011, 10:43 pmH Latto says:
Sure. Fighting in a war of self defense is different than fighting in a war of aggression. It’s not complicated.
September 23, 2011, 10:47 amneurodoc says:
Don’t you think, though, that Eric Muller owed a hat tip to Will Rodgers? (And he was reacting to an unabashed antisemite here from Stormfront, seconded by another unabashed antisemite. Best to say nothing to such turds.)
September 23, 2011, 12:27 pmYankev says:
Not to be confused with Israel-bashing antiesmites.
September 23, 2011, 1:29 pmSleepless in Silverlake says:
Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Atzmon says, “is a humanist, and so is Hugo Chavez.”
September 23, 2011, 5:05 pmzuch says:
Context:
I don’t think he hates himself. I think he is profoundly critical of Jewish culture and society (and says elsewhere what some of the reasons are for this, in his mind). Which, of course, is obvious and blatant anti-Semitism.
While a fair bit of the stuff he says is a bit overboard by my standards, not everything he says is foolish (and wasn’t this kind of what Mearsheimer said in the review?) There is something to be said for the fact that one of the most supposedly Christian countries on the face of the planet pretty much, is so hot on the death penalty, “shock and awe”, and the “need[] to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business” theory. As we see in this example of how Christians behave, we might also consider that whatever might be the bright stars in Judaic culture, there are perhaps some things in the current implementation that leave a little to be desired … and we might reflect that religions are instruments of humans — with all their foibles — and that religions as practised are not always as these religions are preached (albeit I’ve personally never seen any compelling attraction for the latter, either).
Cheers,
September 26, 2011, 12:55 amzuch says:
IC. Your culture/ethnic clan have a right not to be disliked. Anyone that has any reason to complain must be anti-Semitic. What a “GOOJF” card that is. Call someone an “anti-Semite” [see at link et seq.] and you’re through. It’s like a new Godwin’s Law. It can be used to stop any and all discussions dead in their tracks.
Cheers,
September 26, 2011, 1:13 pmThe Uncanny John Mearsheimer says:
[...] John Mearsheimer Endorses Book by a “Proud Self-Hating Jew” (volokh.com) [...]
September 28, 2011, 10:24 am