Jews Don’t Count

David Baddiel lays out in clear terms and fascinating storytelling the way in which living Jews are left out of activism, antisemitism ignored when it’s inconvenient. I say “living” because this book should be read along with Dara Horn’s People Love Dead Jews. If you’re reading this review and internally rolling your eyes in even the tiniest way, Baddiel’s book should be your next read.

So well written, it gave so much food for thought. It left me feeling privileged, not any easy thing for any book to do to a working class, left wing Scot. Thank you David Badiel for making me take a serious look at my own ignorance.

David Baddiel’s powerful book “Jews don’t count.” argues that many people who would describe themselves as progressive anti racists pay significantly less attention to what has been historically one of the worst and most murderous forms of racism than to almost all others.Baddiel makes a convincing argument that on all sides of the political spectrum there is an extraordinary capacity even of people who are generally strongly and genuinely opposed to racism to fail to consider Jewish people, or to forget about, fail to notice, or downplay racism against Jews in a way that they would never do about almost any other form of racism.In some ways it is more alarming that this blind spot applies not just to downright Anti-Semites but to people who had no intention of being racist. Individuals who will instantly apologise and make an effort to adjust their behavior if anyone calls them on it – which strongly suggests that nobody ever has.He quotes the Guardian’s Hadley Freeman: “Would addressing bigotry against any other minority be seen by the self-described anti-racist left as an unfortunate distraction, or is it just Anti-Semitism?”Baddiel is a football fan and writes about the experiences he and his brother had of racism on the terraces. Not all that long ago racist chanting and abuse was completely endemic throughout football. The problem hasn’t been completely stamped out but enormous efforts to reduce it have been made.Except, he argues, for Anti-Semitic abuse. I do not claim to know a lot about football, and I do not know first hand how widespread is Baddiel’s experience that officials and fans tolerate abusive comments against Jews which they would never tolerate against any other minority, But I know enough to take David Baddiel’s points seriously, because I do know there is at least some truth in what he writes about the club which a member of my immediate family supports – Spurs (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.)Spurs is based in a part of North London which has a significant Jewish population and has come to be seen by rival fans as a “Jewish” club, even though it isn’t. That includes some people referring to the club and it’s supporters by a word beginning with “Y” which is an insulting name for Jewish people – and which I am not going to write here, any more than I would write the equivalent insulting word for a black person beginning with “N.”Baddiel argues that there has been more tolerance of this – and indeed failure on the part of people who would not deliberately support any kind of racism to spot the problem – than there would be for other forms of racism. It may be an education issue; it may be that, because the word does not provoke the level of response that most other such words do; not everyone even knows that it is a racial slur.The club itself is sufficiently bothered by this that quite recently – to be precise, in December 2020 which is between the date Baddiel submitted the last parts of the book to his publishers and the date it was published – Spurs adopted the IHRA definition of Anti-Semitism to reinforce its commitment that “The Club has a zero tolerance approach to anti-Semitism as well as any other form of discrimination.”It is quite extraordinary that prejudice against the race who were the main victims of the worst act of genocide in history should be the very same prejudice that many people apparently forget to consider when talking about racism. Yet this book makes a strong case that this is exactly what happens.The title of David Baddiel’s book was perfectly illustrated by a barrage of tweets the very weekend I was writing this review from Labour MPs and activists about their new Scottish leader.The day before I posted this Anas Sarwar was elected as the new leader of the Scottish Labour party.Perfectly OK for Labour supporters or anyone else to welcome his election. But extraordinary, and just plain wrong, for Labour MPs and activists from the party’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner down to describe him as”the first ever ethnic minority leader of a political party anywhere in the UK.”Nonsense.The first ever ethnic minority leader of a political party anywhere in the UK took office a hundred and fifty three years before when Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister and leader of his party.Some people argued that he doesn’t count as a Jew or as a member of an ethnic minority because he converted to the Church of England. That is silly. Disraeli didn’t stop being the target of Anti-Semitism, didn’t stop being proud of his Jewish heritage and didn’t stop describing himself and being described by others as a Jew when he joined the Anglican church.Once he was on the receiving end of an insult in the House of Commons from the leader of the Irish nationalists which included mention of his Jewish ancestry, and he replied”Yes, I am a Jew,”and added that his ancestors “were priests in the temple of Solomon.”I can think of at least three other people from ethnic minorities who became leaders of UK political parties. The second leader of a political party from an Ethnic minority was Herbert Samuel, ninety years ago. A third was Michael Howard.Anas Sarwar isn’t even the first national leader of the Labour party for the UK or one of the four nations who was a member of an ethnic minority – Ed Miliband beat him to that distinction in 2010.Disraeli, Samuel, Howard, Miliband, all ignored by Angela Rayner and others. Now what do the four leaders these people were leaving out today have in common?You guessed it: they were all Jewish. It’s as if the people tweeting this weekend were using the title of David Baddiel’s book: “Jews don’t count” as an axiom where being a member of an ethnic minority is concerned.Perhaps the saddest part of the book is the very last page. He refers to the fact that as a young person growing up, Baddiel greatly enjoyed the “Citizen Smith” comedy TV show about a young would-be revolutionary, “Wolfie Smith” played by Robert Lindsay. Wolfie Smith was, for him, a hero.The day after the Equalities and human rights commission – an official body set up and operating under laws which the last Labour government itself had put onto the statue book, published a damning report into the failure of the Labour party to deal with Anti-Semitism, Robert Lindsey tweeted in defence of the party leader on whose watch that failure had occurred.Baddiel concludes his book as follows:”So obviously I know that was an actor playing a part. I know that was fifty years ago. But still, on realising that for Wolfie Smith, Jews don’t count, a tiny part of me died.”

Jews Don’t Count is a highly informative and extremely well reasoned explanation as to why antisemitism is often ignored or somehow considered a lesser form of racism. David Baddiel considers how opinions, ideas and stereotypes that are hateful and harmful to Jewish people and that would be instantly denounced if they were levelled against any other minority group, continue to be propagated and disseminated.If, like me, you’ve been baffled by the ongoing accusations of antisemitism in the Labour party, this goes a long way to helping you understand it. Progressive people who abhor racism, sexism and any other -ism you care to mention often have a blind spot when it comes to the maltreatment of people with Jewish heritage. You don’t have to go very far back in time to see the very worst of what can happen when this kind of bigotry is allowed to go unchecked. But likewise, you can also go quite a long way back and see that this particular persecution has a long history. And maybe this is why this specific flavour of racism is so endemic.It’s a short read that is vital and educational and opened my ignorant eyes to something I totally didn’t understand.

As I was socially adopted into a certain mishpocha of my friends Jewish family, I actually knew about a variety of these issues, but the author has a great way of bringing the things to light in a well spoken concise manner. Some things though, were still new to me, or highlighted issues I’ve seen results of, but not the big picture of, more fully.A definite must read for all, but definitely the well meaning left.

This book needed to be writtenAnd no one could have done it better than Mr Baddiel.He has voiced so many of my own feelings, as a Jewish person of similar age (but different football team: Arsenal) growing up in London, having to put up with lefties hiding their antisemitism by using the I word instead of JBut I doubt those people will read it.I don’t care.I’m so glad I read itGave me a confidence and comfort that I’m not alone in my angera MUST -READ

I loved this book. I wasn’t expecting to, but this book made a strong case over the course of about 150 pages for the current and continued persecution of, and dismissiveness of, the Jews. The amount of examples he gave for how frequently and consistently the Jewish people specifically are victim blamed, attacked, left out of lists of persecuted groups, and ignored when advocating for themselves was staggering. I feel like it’s the kind of book that wouldn’t be at all surprising for a Jewish person to read because it would be their lived experience but it very much was an amazing book for someone like me, a non-Jew to read because I got a sense of what their experience is like.

Of great importance now, and its relevance for the last two millennia can’t be overstated enough.For the interest of transparency, I’m not a Jew.And if you find the word Jew uncomfortable, please read this book.

David Baddiel is a great writer, and in this commentary he makes no allusions of it being an in-depth academic study of antisemitism. He writes engagingly about the fact and reality of antisemitism being overlooked and very much present in today’s society and culture. Some of the Amazon reviews’ extreme and heated criticisms are perhaps quite ironic, why are people so angry expecting this to be an academic essay?

This is such a comprehensive and easily digestible study of how anti-semitism is often discarded or unseen, or placed as a non issue in the seemingly “progressive” political sphere.I found it completely fascinating and eye opening, one thing I will think about every day as the new troubles in Gaza are happening and the anti-zionism inevitably veers into anti-semitism is to “look for the ancient trope”, when the conversation moves away from the Israeli government and towards “the Jews” and how to see it when they try to hide it. As well as the courage to increasingly step in and confront it.

I’m a teacher. I attended a training session on unconscious bias recently. The trainer insisted that ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION MUST BE CHALLENGED. A participant later commented that Jewish people are racist, they don’t like black people…the trainer did not challenge. That’s why I recommended this book…thank you David.

This is a brilliantly written and well-argued response to the anti-semitic dog whistles (and sirens) of our times. Although Baddiel writes through a British lens, his arguments will ring true to American Jews and to non-Jews interested in how the New Antisemitism of the progressive left is fomenting in the ranks of those who claim a commitment to Social Justice while believing that the Jewish community is somehow fair game for special abuse. It’s a relatively short read but profound, disturbing and a useful guide for Jews navigating a treacherous landscape of demonization and double-standards.

I had no idea that antisemitism was seen as a lower class of racism. I, maybe naively believed that all racism is bad, as it is projected against a minority. To me Jews are a minority and their feelings about antisemitism, political or personal, should be as valid as a Muslim’s or a person of colour, different sexual orientation, et al.This book has been an eye opener for me and I would recommend it to everyone. Jew and non-Jew alike.

I’m a big fan of this book. Really well done, and so so important. Wish everyone would read it, bought it for everyone in my family. Buy it and read it!

I wrote a review but Amazon rejected it. I didn’t see where it violated their guidelines or would be offensive to the Amazon Community but it had too much truth to be accepted.

Intelligemment écrit, pertinent et important.

Thank you for writing such an accessible book about something I’m sorry to say I knew too little about. I feel much more informed now so that I can actually have an opinion should I be asked for it. There are some elements I’m still unclear on (Israel, Zionism and some of the Twitter spats are confusing) but I’m happy to say that I stand with David on everything he says.

This is a good read and a must read. Mr Baddiel is always entertaining and he manages to remain so here while he talks us through some unpalatable facts about our attitudes to racism and anti Jewish racism in particular. It made me feel a little uncomfortable and to question my own thoughts when reading some of the comments of people I would usually admire who, I’m astonished to find, didn’t know better. Is society forgetting the lessons of the fairly recent past or so anxious to show some pro minority credentials that it risks overlooking and giving offence and hurt to others.

Well written and interesting content

I find this book honest, informative and it makes the points very clear. I definitely want to read every single book that the author has written and will write: David Baddiel is a joy to read!

Absorbing and well-written. The argument is that omission of talking about or even mentioning prejudice against Jews, can be either unintentional or intentional; but nevertheless it takes a heavy toll on Jews living in the UK. The cultural downplaying of antisemitism runs deep and wide and most commentators don’t seem to realise what they’re doing. If they are pulled up on it, they often just double down and deflect the criticism back on the complainer.

I do not agree with everything David wrote but I have experienced similar silence in response to antisemitism and this book put into words perfectly how I feel. We should keep the conversation going about levels of prejudice, hate and racism. This book is important.

This is a really well written exploration of the casual racism that Jews are on the receiving end of daily. David Baddiel puts across his argument in a clear and well written little book. One I shall pass on to others, in particular those I know who don’t see the problem. I’m glad I bought the hardback as the book itself as a physical object is very elegant and well designed (I’m a book artist/binder so these things are important to me).

I found this an interesting read, and perhaps (sadly) a good commentary on the nonsense that typically follows a Baddiel tweet, where he is expected by some to answer for Israel.On that note, some of the 1* reviews seem far too organised and consistent to be anything other than a concerted campaign from Momentum members who are still dismissing Corbyn’s ‘blind spot’ (p117).Yes the book is heavily focussed on modern media, particularly Twitter. But, that’s where politics is played out these days, unless you get your news from the comments section of the Express.

I really thoughtful, well written, and entertaining analysis on why (you guessed it) Jews Don’t Count.I highly recommend anyone with questions about anti-semitism in the modern age to take a look at this.It’s a very quick read, more like a very long newspaper article than an actual book, in format as well as length.

This is a book which I wish didn’t need to be written but one look on social media will show you that it is needed.David writes in detail about the rise of anti-semitism in recent years and the many ways in which it is overlooked. His main focus is on those that would consider themselves progressive thinkers who frequently stand up against racism but repeatedly overlook anti-semitism. David argues that anti-semitism is considered a lesser form of racism, he argues that there is a hierarchy of racism and anti-semitism is at the bottom. He examines the concepts of privilege and whiteness in relation to Jews and gives this as an argument for why Jews often get overlooked by the progressive left.I think this would be an insightful read for anyone, David writes with clarity and at times humour and makes this an educational book which I think many people would benefit from reading. It is a concise, powerful and well written book.

This is a brilliant book and I encourage all my non-Jewish friends to read it. My Jewish friends will not need to read it because what Baddiel writes — and he writes really well — is something they already understand.The publishers summarised it this way: this “is a book for people who consider themselves on the right side of history. People fighting the good fight against homophobia, disablism, transphobia and, particularly racism … one type of racism has been left out of this fight … [Baddiel] outlines why and how, in a time of intensely heightened awareness of minorities, Jews don’t count as a real minority; and why they should.”This is a complex argument and rather than attempt to summarise it, and get some of it wrong, I suggest that people read it. It’s a very short book, just 123 pages. It may change the way you think about Jews, anti-semitism and racism. Or not.

This insightful book is spot on in its description of how racism against Jews is routinely and systematically ignored or brushed over, in comparison to racism against all other minorities. It should make a pretty uncomfortable read for rational people who acknowledge the Holocaust and understand where antisemitism – whether deliberate or unconscious – can lead if unchecked.Bravo Mr Baddiel

Thoroughly enjoyed the book. One should do well not get caught in the attitude of indifference toward Jews. Antisemitism is racism. Does that detract from the plight of other minorities? Of course not. It’s another excuse as well as other excuses listed by Baddiel to justify this terrible indifference. There are no excuse to justify hate. Nobody’s ask to get treated differently and badly. Hate makes no distinction imho.

Does an excellent job of outlining the exclusionary practices adopted by many areas of justice work. Jews are excluded not only in the definitions employed by justice work but also from participating in justice work itself. Terribly upsetting in how relatable the commentary is. Highly recommend this book for anyone trying to be a good ally to minorities anywhere.

Like many readers I managed to finish this in one sitting and found the praise that preceded it fully deserved. A very 2021 cultural product: something like an extended Twitter thread (indeed drawing on some of exchanges David Baddiel had on that platform). While robust and justifiably combative, this essay combines personal experience, commentary on recent political events and History in a reflexive way. Impossible to forget his description of chanting football crowds, or the stomach turning extract of a poem from a once admired American writer.There’s great value in shining a light, giving voice to what has often been silenced and doing so accessibly, freed of theoretical jargon. The book doesn’t set out to be the last word on the subject and I for one would welcome a work that was at least twice as long and ventured beyond certain Left/”progressive circles” who are the main targets here and took on the middle of the road mainstream. But a conversation has been opened up and that’s a great achievement.

As antisemitism is on the rise, this book is increasingly relevant. It is short, succinct and makes some really insightful observations into the nature and characteristics of modern antisemitism. It sometimes feels like Baddiel is praising his own genius on twitter (in the way that Cicero would only ever present himself as a rhetorical victor), but I guess that’s ok!Overall, I think everyone should read this.

With example after example, Baddiel lays bare the way in which antisemitism manifests on the left. Right-wing antisemitism is way less subtle , think swastikas, Holocaust denial, and “Jews will not replace us” rhetoric. On the left, it *can* be much more insidious and can be summed up by the book’s title. Baddiel points out how rightfully upset people were when, some people started the All Lives Matter campaign in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which arose because of the clear inequities for African Americans in this country and countless examples that show how this unfortunately needs to be said. Yet on the far left, after an antisemitic attack or issue arises, people don’t hesitate to all lives matter the situation by condemning antisemitism AND all forms of racism. Like somehow they can’t only condemn antisemitism. This example really hit home as I have noticed this countless times, and this sort of all lives mattering isn’t deemed necessary when condemning other forms of hate, and it shouldn’t be for hatred against Jews either. Anyhow, there is a lot of food for thought in this book for people whose political home is on the left and who believe they are antiracist and are allies to people who face discrimination.

Baddiel has eloquently voiced the persistent ill-ease and sense of otherness felt by left-leaning Jews in the Western World.

A powerful exposition of the implicit racism embedded in too many parts of society. Makes you question your own behaviour, even if only of omission.

I don’t agree with all Baddiel’s arguments in this excellent provocative work, but I do agree with his major tenet.Baddiel and I have a few things in common. We are proud Jews, who grew up in London in the post war years although I am about 15 years his elder. I left London to live in Israel in the early seventies but I keep regular contact with my daughter and her family who live just outside London. My mother, like Baddiel’s, spent her first 11 years in Germany, six of them under Hitler’sj regime, which undoubtedly colored her and my views on the danger of being Jewish today. But I am not an atheist and am a Zionist, so here I part ways with the author.Some of the issues Baddiel deals with , such as the marginality of British Jews, I can certainly identify with, although I don’t have his sensibility to non-Jews playing Jewish roles on screen ; for example, Rachel Brosnahan’s brilliance as Mrs Maisel didn’t strike me as false.What is so good about this book is the author’s use of examples from his own life and experiences to illustrate his points, as well as his humorous style of writing, even while explaining his stand on a far from humorous subject.

Great (and not at all overlong) essay from the great writer/comedian/satirist/musician David Baddiel. One of the most important reads for our time.

An excellent book – and forget that it’s written by David Baddiel whom you will have heard of, it’s brilliant in its own right.It is thoroughly thought-provoking and moving and funny and tragic. It made me (as an Anglo-Saxon, white, middle-aged male who doesn’t think he’s anti-Semitic) feel guilty that I may have had an unconscious bias in not seeing the everyday racism towards Jews – I hope I haven’t, but this book does an excellent job of pointing out the inequity of the Jewish lot, and the so-in-your-face-you-can’t-see-it paradox of Jews being seen as all-powerful masters of the financial dark-state, yet also the lowest, filthiest, scabbiest of vermin. And having read this on the back of Ian Dunt’s great book “How to be a liberal”, the historical playbook of this deception is now fully lain bare.It’s a fairly short book but could have easily been more – and I want more.

An essential read

Well write and vital questions and answers, I hope to have second book from this in the future.

So much of this book, in fact the majority of it, provoked a reassessment of so much of what I had overlooked in life. I am not a Jew and as such I am not qualified to comment on the lived experience of Jews. But as with all forms of racism, it shouldn’t prevent me from seeking to better understand how they are affected and what I can do to ensure I am not perpetuating further discrimination against them, just as I have sought to do in relation to anyone who falls within the BAME community. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It may change your life. In some ways, I think it will mine.

David Baddiel makes a thoroughly convincing argument that modern, progressive identity politics – or, at least, many practitioners of it – has failed to treat anti-Semitism on an equal footing with other racisms. More than this, he proves successfully that anti-Semitism should be treated on an equal footing with other racisms. If anyone finds themselves objecting to this idea, scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find the same disturbing justifications like ‘because Jews are privileged’ or ‘because Jews are rich’. Not only are these prejudices demonstrably false, but they tap into the same logic that has seen Jewish people – including Baddiel’s grandparents, who owned a brick factory in East Prussia – stripped of their wealth and forced to flee from their homes at various points in history. In other words, wealth is never, has never been, a protection against racism, and to suggest that wealth (and, as I say, the connection between Jewish people and wealth is a false trope) is a mitigating factor in racism is, well, racist.Baddiel is uncannily good at anticipating the reader’s challenges, too: if you find yourself wondering whether Jews are indeed a ‘race’, he makes the point that he, like many other Jewish people, is atheist, and that the actual practice (or absence of practice) of the Jewish faith generally makes little difference to whether Jews suffer anti-Semitism or not. And that’s not even mentioning the unique tradition of anti-Semitism based on the supposed physical features of Jewish people.The journalist Stephen Bush noted a flaw in the argument: namely, that Baddiel’s language is couched in the very identity politics that he is criticising. Bush believed the book might have been more effective if it had tackled identity politics and its privilege-based understanding of prejudice head-on. This is a fair point but, by Baddiel’s own admission, the book is not a critique of identity politics as a whole. Baddiel is merely showing that Jews have in particular been failed by identity politics, even by the very standards of its champions. Bush is right to suggest, though, that this failure may speak to deeper issues within identity politics. Maybe this will be the subject of a book in future.I cannot recommend this book enough. The writing is tight, the pace exhilarating. Baddiel’s tone is both journalistic and subtle, informal and eloquent. You can get through it in a single sitting if you have the time. My only hope is that those at whom this book is aimed end up reading it. I would, therefore, additionally recommend the book to those who are instinctively put off by its central premise.

I’d heard many references to this book during 2021 but was still fascinated and horrified in equal measure by David Baddiel’s analysis of how a strand of racism is tolerated within society.It keeps the reader engaged from start to finish and provides insights not readily available until studied.A great contribution to understanding our complex society.

Whenever I hear a Negative Remark About Jewish People I always say this. If you do not like Jewish People then stop praying to Jesus who was a Jewish Rabbi (figure that out) and stop listening to Christmas Songs as most of the best and most popular ones were written by Jews.

Great Book