As A Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame and Try to Erase Us, A Defiant Memoir of Heritage, Identity and Antisemitism-Sarah Hurwitz-author and narrator
After the horrendous attack on the Jews of Israel, on October 7th, 2023, Susan Hurwitz found that she needed to examine her own Jewish background and beliefs. She needed to understand why she had had such a visceral reaction to the indiscriminate, wanton murder and torture of Jews in a place she had not had an actual relationship with, to an attack that was carried out by Hamas and the people of Gaza, a people whose plight she had sympathized with in the past. She wanted to understand why people that she believed were her friends did not support her thoughts on this subject. Yet, these were the very people she believed would stand by her. So, she set about to learn why Jews were so consistently reviled. She embarked on an intense study of the history of Judaism, going as far back as Pontius Pilate. She studied the Jews and their lives wherever they existed. She studied the Rabbinic Texts, the Torah, the Talmud, the Mishnah and more. She read about Jewish law.
She had been aware of antisemitic rhetoric like Jews are Christ killers which is in the Gospel of Matthew. She knew about the Spanish Inquisition and The Holocaust, etc. Now, she wanted to know why these things were part of our collective Jewish history. What was it about the Jews that caused such animosity, that aroused such hostility?
When she learned about her own Judaic history, she set out to fight for her people armed with knowledge. She wanted to educate others and to refute the lies and the myths that she had learned were told about them. Eventually, she weaponized herself to do the job. She began to travel and lecture in schools on the very subject she had once known so little about. She traveled to different places like West Point, College campuses like Berkeley, and to High Schools. She engaged in conversation with anyone willing to talk and listen. She finally understood that we must talk and listen to each other, to everyone willing, and we must not insist that we are always right, no matter what, because there are people out there willing to listen to new ideas, if given the opportunity to have a discussion. Conversation is necessary if we were ever going to be able to teach our history to others and change their views about Jewish people.
This idea is laudable, but unfortunately, I know for a fact that in the current political climate, while that is good advice, the people on her side of the political aisle are not often willing to engage in any conversation that does not echo their own left-wing ideas. In this book, although rarely, at times she could not stop herself from inserting her progressive ideas into the narrative. She believes that it is right for Jews to mobilize to promote the danger of climate change, to support LGBTQ+ rights, to advocate for redistribution, etc., but to me, those causes paled in the face of what Jews were actually facing today, and perhaps would divide us further. There are people marching and chanting to eliminate Jews from the river to the sea, so I thought we would be better served if we challenged the protesters instead. Still, her book does expose many of the lies and myths perpetuated about the Jews, like the blood libel and the book, “The Protocols of Zion”, like explaining what the Nakba really represents. The Nakba does not refer to an ethnic cleansing of Arabs. It did not occur in a vacuum. It was the result of an unprovoked Arab invasion into Israel, an invasion meant to end Israel’s existence not the Arab’s. The Arabs attacked, hoping to destroy Israel, but they failed and the Israelis won that war. The Arabs have not forgiven them for winning.
In the book she reveals that historically, Jews have never stolen any land from the Arabs, but rather, when the Zionist movement began, they purchased it. Later on, however, after the wars that the Arabs started, their land mass was increased by other means, largely by winning in battle. She admits that on rare occasions there have been atrocities committed by some Jewish factions in the early history of the Jewish fight for an identity and a country and in the present. However, far more atrocities seem to have been committed against the Jews, which is why they are so often forced to retaliate. They are illogically condemned for defending themselves in the United Nations and in the press, but what choice do Jews have but to fight to the death. They have no other place to go if they fail to protect their homeland and themselves.
The book she has written is eye-opening as it succinctly traces the history of the Jewish people, explaining why it is necessary for Jews to educate themselves, and more importantly others, about what Judaism really represents. They need to dispel the falsehoods generally believed about them. She does, nevertheless, also believe that regardless of what Israel has recently suffered, they must end the Gaza war. There has been too much death and destruction. I feel differently because I believe that if they quit and do not finish the job of eliminating their enemy, they will be forced to do it again down the road and will continue to suffer unprovoked attacks from an enemy the world somehow supports, an enemy that will live to fight another day. These fanatics also interpret their religion as demanding that they rid the world of infidels. This enemy has never wanted knowledge. They have only wanted the land of Israel for themselves.
Hurwitz is on the left side of the political spectrum, and some of her ideas in the book reflect her background. She worked as a speechwriter for both the Obamas and is a staunch member of a political party that has become increasingly antisemitic, if one considers many of its elected Congressmen and Congresswomen. I believe that in the same way that the left believes in a living Constitution, this author may also believe in a living Bible. As she writes, she informs the reader that she abhors the far-right and the far-left, and she infers that she hates the leaders and policies of anyone on the far-right, including the policies coming from our current President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Yet, in her research as she looked back over how the Jewish people have been treated for the past 2000 years and as she learned about the atrocities committed against them, she laid waste to the myths and lies about Judaism, Jews and Israel, and admits that she realizes that dialogue must exist for knowledge to be shared. I am not sure if she realizes that her abhorrence of the opposition stifles the very conversation and sharing of necessary knowledge she hopes to inspire in others.
In spite of all of this, her book is really well sourced with research, footnotes and quotes from scholars and religious experts on Judaism and its history, and it outlines and offers the knowledge we all need. In all honesty, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It made me proud to be Jewish. I never found that her politics really interfered that much with her message, a message I agreed with. Jews have always stressed the value of education, and it seems we have lapsed in that area. We took our eye off that ball and neglected to educate our own on their Jewish history and values. We have not instilled a love for Israel or Judaism. We must rectify this.
I did question some of the author’s conclusions, advice and suggestions, because at times they seemed to contradict her very own analysis. For instance, although she supports the Jews and their religious beliefs, and she understands they have been unjustly attacked and recognizes the need for Israel to fight to maintain the rights of the Jewish people to live in peace in order to survive, she still abhors, ridicules and condemns the actions they have been forced to take to survive, like the intense fighting and the harsh leadership. She believes that much of it has been excessive, and while it has, I believe it has been necessary for success. So, there were a few times when it was hard for me to square her circle that voiced the idea that the reaction of the United States to 9/11 and of Israel to 10/7, went too far, especially when she openly admits that she hates what they have done and dislikes their leadership, the very view of the Democrats very progressive left-wing, a wing that does not support Israel, though it proclaims to support Jews. That, I believe is an antisemitic trope that needs to be silenced. I believe that she also thinks the behavior of both enemy and victim were distinctions without a difference, at times, but I judge the attacker far more harshly. I do not feel that the retaliation was anything but justified. The number of deaths, the torture and the amount of destruction caused by Osama Bin Laden and Hamas were mind-boggling and required a violent and massive response to signal that if it happens again, worse might even follow. Even so, attacks still occur. Overall, in spite of her political views, her narrative seemed even-handed unless she was attempting to create a false equivalence between the actions of the far-left and the far-right regarding antisemitism and their approach to it. The current research seems to indicate that the far left has increased their hateful activity exponentially.
The book clearly defines the Jewish experience in the past and in the diaspora. Hurwitz has created a concise narrative that is easy to read. She believes that the knowledge of our true story can enlighten uninformed Jews and help to expel the hate from many of those who protest against our very existence and our very country. This includes the very secular Jews who seem to be marching with those who support annihilating us and Israel. Beyond defining our right to exist, it justifies that right, and it provides the tool of knowledge to help change minds and reactions. First, the Jewish people must return to their roots, to some degree. They must learn about their own heritage and history so that they can teach it to others. They must live it so that others will see it is beneficial to everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike, so that they can see that the Jews are not their enemies. The myths and the lies will be peeled away like an onion skin so that the truth will be known.
The rules that the Jews live by support love and life, family and community. Are we not all entitled to that environment? In conclusion, while I understand how someone who is not immersed in the religion might question their devotion to it, or to the land of Israel, for me, basically a non-observant Jew, that question has never arisen. I have always been proud to be a Jew and have never hidden it. I never will. I understand my history and the laws that govern my life. I hope to live in peace with compassion for others. I hope to help others do the same.