Anti-Semitism and Its Metaphysical Origins

336 Pages·2015·1.67 MB·English

by  David Patterson

Anti-Semitism and Its Metaphysical Origins
ThisbookarticulatesadeeperunderstandingofthephenomenonofJew
hatredasametaphysicalaspectofthehumansoul.Proceedingfromthe
Jewish thinking that the anti-Semites oppose, David Patterson argues
that anti-Semitism arises from the most ancient of temptations, the
temptationtobeasGod,andthustofleefromanabsoluteaccountabil-
itytoandfortheotherhumanbeing.
DavidPattersonholdstheHillelFeinbergChairinHolocaustStudiesat
the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Texas
atDallas.AwinneroftheNationalJewishBookAwardandtheKoret
Jewish Book Award, he has published more than thirty books
and 150 articles and book chapters. His most recent books include
GenocideinJewishThought(Cambridge,2012),AGenealogyofEvil:
Anti-Semitism from Nazism to Islamic Jihad (Cambridge, 2010), Emil
L. Fackenheim: A Jewish Philosopher’s Response to the Holocaust
(2008),OpenWounds:TheCrisisofJewishThoughtintheAftermath
ofAuschwitz(2006),WrestlingwiththeAngel(2006),AlongtheEdge
ofAnnihilation(1999),andSunTurnedtoDarkness(1998).Heisthe
editor and translator of The Complete Black Book of Russian Jewry
(2002) and the coeditor (with Alan L. Berger) of the Encyclopedia of
HolocaustLiterature(2002).
BOOKS BY DAVID PATTERSON
GenocideinJewishThought
AGenealogyofEvil:Anti-SemitismfromNazismtoIslamicJihad
SoundingtheDepthsoftheSoul
Jewish-ChristianDialogue(withAlanL.Berger)
EmilL.Fackenheim:AJewishPhilosopher’sResponsetothe
Holocaust
OvercomingAlienation
OpenWounds:TheCrisisofJewishThoughtintheAftermathof
Auschwitz
WrestlingwiththeAngel
HebrewLanguageandJewishThought
AlongtheEdgeofAnnihilation
SunTurnedtoDarkness
TheGreatestJewishStoriesEverTold
WhenLearnedMenMurder
PilgrimageofaProselyte
Exile
TheShriekofSilence
InDialogueandDilemmawithElieWiesel
LiteratureandSpirit
TheAffirmingFlame
FaithandPhilosophy
Anti-Semitism and Its Metaphysical
Origins
DAVID PATTERSON
UniversityofTexasatDallas
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Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Patterson,David,1948–
Anti-semitismanditsmetaphysicalorigins/DavidPatterson.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-04074-8(Hardback)–ISBN978-1-107-64495-3
(Paperback) 1. Antisemitism. 2. Antisemitism–History. I. Title.
DS145.P3682015 305.89204–dc23
2014032225
isbn978-1-107-04074-8Hardback
isbn978-1-107-64495-3Paperback
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For Zsuzsanna and Pista Ozsváth

Contents
Preface pageix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Anti-Semitism as Deicide 1
1 Preliminary Explanations 26
2 The Arrogation of God: Christian Theological Anti-Semitism 55
3 Islamic Jihadism: Religious Fanatic Anti-Semitism 80
4 The Eliminationof God: Philosophical Anti-Semitism
inModern Thought 107
5 NationalSocialist Anti-Semitism 135
6 Antihistorical Anti-Semitism: Holocaust Denial 165
7 Anti-Zionist Anti-Semitism 194
8 Jewish Jew Hatred 222
9 Soundingthe Depths ofthe Anti-Semitic Soul:
Arthur Miller’sFocus 251
ConcludingReflection: The MessianicSide of the Soul ofAdam 277
Bibliography 289
Index 313
vii