In Search of Anti-Semitism

This work encompasses the near-legendary essay of William F Buckley plus the plethora of responses to it and some additional pieces by Buckley in conclusion. It is a fascinating historical record from 1992 against which the trajectory of Patrick Buchanan's words and deeds may now be measured. In the long and tactfully worded essay, Buckley investigates the work of two conservatives, Buchanan and Joe Sobran, and one liberal, Gore Vidal, for signs of Antisemitism. He also looks at an incident involving the conservative student newspaper at Dartmouth College. Absorbing and edifying throughout, the essay encompasses quite a variety of other themes, from the magazine publishing industry to the world of conservative intellectuals. In his elegant prose Buckley is revealed as a perceptive and aware observer of even the most subtle expressions of attitude as well as an articulate interpreter of the intricacies of language and meaning. The verdict: Buckley, ever so gracious, detects an intense hostility towards Israel in the writing of Sobran but no evidence of Antisemitism. He correctly perceives the presence of the virus in the mind of Buchanan; it has grown ever more virulent since then as reflected in his columns on various online sites and by his own publication The American Conservative. The Dartmouth Review is absolved of all charges and shown to have been targeted in a vendetta by the college president. Gore is found guilty and sternly rebuked for his spiteful words in the leftist magazine The Nation. This incident is however the least of his transgressions; abundant evidence of malignant narcissism exists in his work, e.g. the hateful way he wrote about his mother, so his contemptible character has been exposed long ago. Part Two contains the quantitatively & qualitatively impressive response to the essay in lively letters by a variety of authors from across the political spectrum, including Norman Podhoretz, Irving Kristol, Murray Rothbard and Alan Dershowitz. Buckley replies respectfully to even the minority of exceptions amongst the vast majority of supportive letters. In Part Three Buckley replies to later contributions and shares his further thoughts on the issue. He was an unapologetic friend of all Israel in the most inclusive sense of the word but did his best to be as fair and objective as possible in these documents that chronicle the controversy. The book covers many related issues, certain of which have increased in significance along with the never-ending conflict in the Middle East. They include US foreign policy in the region, definitions and varieties of Judeophobia, Antisemitism & Anti-Judaism, this last being a supposedly less malignant theological prejudice. I reject this view based on: (a) the range of hostile attitudes - from arrogance to the condoning of and cold indifference towards Jewish suffering to murderous hatred - evident in the writings of the so-called "church fathers" like Melito of Sardis, Eusebius,

Mr. Buckley is an excellent writer and a spiritual man with a conservative point of view. In this book he takes several of his writer-colleagues to task for alleged anti-Semitic sentiments expressed in anti-Israeli discourse. In doing so, he attempts to delineate a careful distinction between being critical to another country's policies (namely Israel's) and using such legitimate criticism as a means of promoting bigoted ideas. This is an important subject burdened by a lot of emotion, and Buckley makes every effort to be fair. Yet through his careful editing, the book is drained of the passion the subject deserves. Expect your mind to be challenged but your heart unmoved by this book.