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Antisemitism in America: A Warning
In an urgent and personal new book, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sheds light on the Jewish American experience and sounds the alarm about the troubling resurgence of antisemitism.
When it comes to the history of the Jewish people, there is a national and global crisis of misunderstanding. This lack of knowledge feeds demons of ignorance, hatred, and violence. ANTISEMITISM IN A WARNING is an urgent work of nonfiction that illuminates the Jewish experience and the prejudices both hidden and overt that have led to the chronic persecution of the Jewish people.
By placing antisemitism in its proper historical context, and drawing from Senator Schumer's own life, the book informs Americans' understanding of the causes of the recent swell of antisemitic rhetoric and violence in our country. In very personal terms, it will engage with debates over the purpose and meaning of Israel, and help draw a line between legitimate criticism of its government and when criticism of Israel as a Jewish homeland verges into antisemitism. This book is a warning, informed by the lessons of history, about what can happen when the “world's oldest hatred” is allowed to rise, unchecked.
When it comes to the history of the Jewish people, there is a national and global crisis of misunderstanding. This lack of knowledge feeds demons of ignorance, hatred, and violence. ANTISEMITISM IN A WARNING is an urgent work of nonfiction that illuminates the Jewish experience and the prejudices both hidden and overt that have led to the chronic persecution of the Jewish people.
By placing antisemitism in its proper historical context, and drawing from Senator Schumer's own life, the book informs Americans' understanding of the causes of the recent swell of antisemitic rhetoric and violence in our country. In very personal terms, it will engage with debates over the purpose and meaning of Israel, and help draw a line between legitimate criticism of its government and when criticism of Israel as a Jewish homeland verges into antisemitism. This book is a warning, informed by the lessons of history, about what can happen when the “world's oldest hatred” is allowed to rise, unchecked.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published March 18, 2025
About the author
Chuck Schumer
3 books15 followersCharles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior U.S. Senator from the State of New York, serving since 1999. A liberal Democrat, in 2005, he became chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In November 2006, he was elected to the new post of Vice Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In this position, he is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the Senate, behind President pro tempore Robert Byrd, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin.
In January 2007, he published a book called Positively American, outlining strategies with which Democrats could court middle-class voters.
In January 2007, he published a book called Positively American, outlining strategies with which Democrats could court middle-class voters.
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June 29, 2025
Antisemitism in America: A Whining
New York Senator Charles "Chuck" Schumer is one of the most regrettable people to emerge into public life in decades. Fittingly, he is one of the dismayingly large number of powerful establishment elites who bizarrely think the "rising tide of antisemitism" is more important than the rising death toll of Palestinian civilians who are murdered with flamboyant impunity by Israel using weapons and munitions funded by the beasts of burden known as American taxpayers.
In this inverted formulation, the barbaric massacres of the Palestinian Arab refugees crammed in Gaza that has shocked the consciences of civilized people the world over take a distant backseat to the real victims here: Esther in Brooklyn who saw unkind comments about Jews on the internet, or perhaps Abe who had to endure the inconvenience of "feeling uncomfortable" because he saw a heated anti-Israel protest on his way to class at his elite college campus.
Zionists will, of course, breathlessly respond to this (as Schumer does in the book) with the usual victim-blaming blabber about "Hamas using the people of Gaza as human shields." Bull. Israel has never, in her entire history, shown any compunction about killing civilians indiscriminately, which defeats the entire purpose of using human shields. Did you know the IDF's military headquarters are located in the middle of civilian areas in Tel Aviv? According to Israel and her overseas partisans' own standards, this makes everyone in Israel's largest city "human shields."
Speaking of which, there is no Hamas in the West Bank - yet that hasn't stopped the alarming increase in the number of anti-Gentile pogroms there, carried out by the IDF occupying army and illegal Israeli settler fanatics - oftentimes in cahoots with each other.
Plenty Saw This Coming!
I'm not even saying I condone whatever instances of unpleasantness some diaspora Jews may have faced since October 7, 2023, even if I disagree with their significance. Schumer's examples in the book seem to be mostly in the realm of petty vandalism, from what I recall. But I can at least say I understand them. And as a matter of fact, so did many farsighted Zionists nearly a century ago! Regarding the aftermath of the 1937 Peel Commission report which first tentatively explored the possibility of dividing Palestine and an accompanying population transfer, Jewish historian Rafael Medoff writes in Zionism and the Arabs: An American Jewish Dilemma, 1898-1948:
In other words, they knew full well that the Zionist scheme to inflict a monstrous injustice upon the Arabs of Palestine was an extraordinarily dangerous gambit that could very much be expected to bring adverse reactions upon the world's Jews in the lands in which they reside as a minority.
Hypocritical Hippo 🦛
Elsewhere, Schumer notes with insolent satisfaction that:
Nice try, Senator, but if white/Christian peoples in America, Canada, and Australia are "settler colonialists" because their ancestors displaced a population of pre-literate natives (who mostly died from unpreventable disease), then so too are Israelis for their original sin of premeditated ethnic cleansing and founding and maintaining their state via sheer terrorism. If only non-Jewish countries are expected to forfeit their right to a homogeneous nation to atone for this sin, that is clear and unacceptable hypocrisy.
MultiCULTuralism
Schumer writes of his concern that antisemitism "poses a challenge to the American project. Like other forms of racism and bigotry, it threatens our two-and-a-half-century experiment in a multiethnic, multicultural democracy." This is completely ahistorical nonsense. The Founding Fathers most assuredly did not envision a hitherto unprecedented car wreck of a "nation" where the only thing the inhabitants have left in common is the geographic territory they inhabit. Don't believe me? Just read the words of John Jay in Federalist #2: Electric Boogaloo:
Moreover, the Naturalization Act of 1790, the first law establishing rules for American citizenship, limited naturalization to "free white persons" of "good character". All subsequent immigration legislation until 1965 reaffirmed the same principle. No authentically American mode of thought could have ever considered today's miserable hodgepodge as something desirable to aspire to. Senator Schumer is free to disagree about this issue. But he has no right to anachronistically retroject into the American past what in reality is a very recent innovation.
I bring all this up because, curiously, Schumer also decries the ominous change since 9/11/2001 in the general disposition of Americans from sunny, optimistic, and big-hearted, to one that is "more angrier, more divided, less tethered together", including an exploding epidemic of loneliness:
I agree completely that this society-wide alienation is a horrible thing. But this is a causal result of the "diversity" policies that Schumer and his ilk ceaselessly push, taking it for granted that this destructive social engineering is imperative. Who could have ever guessed that increased racial diversity would lead to society being divided along racial lines?!
And What About Israel?
Certainly there is no reason to believe committed Zionists like Schumer are being sincere when they shed crocodile tears in service of divisive multiculturalism in America and everywhere else Jews are a numerically small minority. They certainly don't believe in it for Israel , which they demand the world recognize as "the Jewish state", i.e. legitimize the historically cosmopolitan nature of the Holy Land being obliterated and replaced with a Jewish majority ruthlessly maintained eternally by any sleazy means it deems necessary (just ignore the uncomfortable truth that this precarious demographic edge was only achieved by terrorizing hundreds of thousands of the existing population into fleeing for their lives, simply stealing all that they left behind, and then continuously maintained by tyrannical subjugation ever since).
The disturbing reality is that when it comes to the sensitive subject of racial demography, Schumer and others like him privately follow the thinking of that crafty scoundrel David Ben-Gurion, who told members of his political party a week after the 11/29/1947 United Nations vote on Resolution 181 which suggested a partition of Palestine but left the proposed Jewish territory saddled with a large and unwanted Palestinian Arab population who certainly had no intention of leaving the homeland they'd inhabited for centuries:
A white/Christian publicly talking this way in America about the need to maintain absolute demographic dominance as a precondition of maintaining the nation's sovereign character would not only elicit furious howls of indignant protest from the present author, but would probably ignite World War III. At bare minimum, it would land the individual or group on a "hatemonger" list by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith ("Brotherhood of the Circumcised") inquisitors to be subjected to targeted harassment and lawfare.
New York Senator Charles "Chuck" Schumer is one of the most regrettable people to emerge into public life in decades. Fittingly, he is one of the dismayingly large number of powerful establishment elites who bizarrely think the "rising tide of antisemitism" is more important than the rising death toll of Palestinian civilians who are murdered with flamboyant impunity by Israel using weapons and munitions funded by the beasts of burden known as American taxpayers.
In this inverted formulation, the barbaric massacres of the Palestinian Arab refugees crammed in Gaza that has shocked the consciences of civilized people the world over take a distant backseat to the real victims here: Esther in Brooklyn who saw unkind comments about Jews on the internet, or perhaps Abe who had to endure the inconvenience of "feeling uncomfortable" because he saw a heated anti-Israel protest on his way to class at his elite college campus.
Zionists will, of course, breathlessly respond to this (as Schumer does in the book) with the usual victim-blaming blabber about "Hamas using the people of Gaza as human shields." Bull. Israel has never, in her entire history, shown any compunction about killing civilians indiscriminately, which defeats the entire purpose of using human shields. Did you know the IDF's military headquarters are located in the middle of civilian areas in Tel Aviv? According to Israel and her overseas partisans' own standards, this makes everyone in Israel's largest city "human shields."
Speaking of which, there is no Hamas in the West Bank - yet that hasn't stopped the alarming increase in the number of anti-Gentile pogroms there, carried out by the IDF occupying army and illegal Israeli settler fanatics - oftentimes in cahoots with each other.
Plenty Saw This Coming!
I'm not even saying I condone whatever instances of unpleasantness some diaspora Jews may have faced since October 7, 2023, even if I disagree with their significance. Schumer's examples in the book seem to be mostly in the realm of petty vandalism, from what I recall. But I can at least say I understand them. And as a matter of fact, so did many farsighted Zionists nearly a century ago! Regarding the aftermath of the 1937 Peel Commission report which first tentatively explored the possibility of dividing Palestine and an accompanying population transfer, Jewish historian Rafael Medoff writes in Zionism and the Arabs: An American Jewish Dilemma, 1898-1948:
Stephen Wise and Hadassah president Tamar de Sola Pool warned that the forcible transfer of the Arabs would have repercussions on Diaspora Jewry (it was "a menace to Jewish life in the Galuth ... a boomerang we are hurling into the heart of our people" because it would "lead to an ending of the safeguarding of minorities everywhere"[34], and U.S. Labor Zionist leader Hayim Greenberg asserted that there was "no moral and political possibility to force [the Arabs] to leave the Jewish territory." But their colleague, Reform rabbi Barnett Brickner, who served as spokesman for the majority of the ZOA delegation at the World Zionist Congress that August, contended that resettling "large portions of Arab fellaheen" would be "practical and humane." Others straddled the fence. Jews were historically "tender to safeguard the rights of minorities," yet "the first major step of the Jewish state is to oust a minority," Robert Szold complained to a Hadassah convention; yet in the same breath, Szold indicated that he would not object if the Arab transfer were carried out by the British.
[34] Ironically, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, with whom Wise was at odds, made the same point, declaring that he "never dreamed of asking the Arabs who live in a Jewish country to emigrate." It would be "a most dangerous precedent, extremely harmful to the Jewish interests in the Diaspora," he said, arguing that it might be used to justify the expulsion of Diaspora Jewish communities.
In other words, they knew full well that the Zionist scheme to inflict a monstrous injustice upon the Arabs of Palestine was an extraordinarily dangerous gambit that could very much be expected to bring adverse reactions upon the world's Jews in the lands in which they reside as a minority.
Hypocritical Hippo 🦛
Elsewhere, Schumer notes with insolent satisfaction that:
This new era of historical re-examination on the left has forced us Americans to grapple with uncomfortable truths in our own history, from the treatment of Native Americans to Japanese-American internment camps to the original sin of slavery and the long shadow of racial prejudice against our Black citizens. Very rightly so. But it also led to a few excesses. . . because some Jewish people have done exceedingly well in America, because Israel has grown only more powerful over the last several decades, it could appear that Jews . . . —to quote the language of some—are the "oppressors."
Nice try, Senator, but if white/Christian peoples in America, Canada, and Australia are "settler colonialists" because their ancestors displaced a population of pre-literate natives (who mostly died from unpreventable disease), then so too are Israelis for their original sin of premeditated ethnic cleansing and founding and maintaining their state via sheer terrorism. If only non-Jewish countries are expected to forfeit their right to a homogeneous nation to atone for this sin, that is clear and unacceptable hypocrisy.
MultiCULTuralism
Schumer writes of his concern that antisemitism "poses a challenge to the American project. Like other forms of racism and bigotry, it threatens our two-and-a-half-century experiment in a multiethnic, multicultural democracy." This is completely ahistorical nonsense. The Founding Fathers most assuredly did not envision a hitherto unprecedented car wreck of a "nation" where the only thing the inhabitants have left in common is the geographic territory they inhabit. Don't believe me? Just read the words of John Jay in Federalist #2: Electric Boogaloo:
Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people—a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence.
Moreover, the Naturalization Act of 1790, the first law establishing rules for American citizenship, limited naturalization to "free white persons" of "good character". All subsequent immigration legislation until 1965 reaffirmed the same principle. No authentically American mode of thought could have ever considered today's miserable hodgepodge as something desirable to aspire to. Senator Schumer is free to disagree about this issue. But he has no right to anachronistically retroject into the American past what in reality is a very recent innovation.
I bring all this up because, curiously, Schumer also decries the ominous change since 9/11/2001 in the general disposition of Americans from sunny, optimistic, and big-hearted, to one that is "more angrier, more divided, less tethered together", including an exploding epidemic of loneliness:
These days, when Americans sometimes talk about going back to the good old days or wanting to make America great again, many of them seem to be yearning for a time in America when there was less anomie; a time when we didn't feel like individual atoms bumping into one another but not connected to one another; a time when the old roots of society—family, religion, community—were much stronger.
I agree completely that this society-wide alienation is a horrible thing. But this is a causal result of the "diversity" policies that Schumer and his ilk ceaselessly push, taking it for granted that this destructive social engineering is imperative. Who could have ever guessed that increased racial diversity would lead to society being divided along racial lines?!
And What About Israel?
Certainly there is no reason to believe committed Zionists like Schumer are being sincere when they shed crocodile tears in service of divisive multiculturalism in America and everywhere else Jews are a numerically small minority. They certainly don't believe in it for Israel , which they demand the world recognize as "the Jewish state", i.e. legitimize the historically cosmopolitan nature of the Holy Land being obliterated and replaced with a Jewish majority ruthlessly maintained eternally by any sleazy means it deems necessary (just ignore the uncomfortable truth that this precarious demographic edge was only achieved by terrorizing hundreds of thousands of the existing population into fleeing for their lives, simply stealing all that they left behind, and then continuously maintained by tyrannical subjugation ever since).
The disturbing reality is that when it comes to the sensitive subject of racial demography, Schumer and others like him privately follow the thinking of that crafty scoundrel David Ben-Gurion, who told members of his political party a week after the 11/29/1947 United Nations vote on Resolution 181 which suggested a partition of Palestine but left the proposed Jewish territory saddled with a large and unwanted Palestinian Arab population who certainly had no intention of leaving the homeland they'd inhabited for centuries:
There are 40% non-Jews in the areas allocated to the Jewish state. This composition is not a solid basis for a Jewish state. And we have to face this new reality with all its severity and distinctness. Such a demographic balance questions our ability to maintain Jewish sovereignty ... Only a state with at least 80% Jews is a viable and stable state.
A white/Christian publicly talking this way in America about the need to maintain absolute demographic dominance as a precondition of maintaining the nation's sovereign character would not only elicit furious howls of indignant protest from the present author, but would probably ignite World War III. At bare minimum, it would land the individual or group on a "hatemonger" list by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith ("Brotherhood of the Circumcised") inquisitors to be subjected to targeted harassment and lawfare.
April 8, 2025
An extraordinary book about antisemitism in America. Senator Chuck Schumer recounts his own history as well as his own experiences with antisemitism as a college student and in his public life.
The book is eloquent, erudite and down to earth as he explores the history of antisemitism writ large, the history of Jews in America, the history of Israel, and the rise of antisemitism in America since October 7, 2023. I should note that I have lost some so-called “friends” who showed me their true colors in expressions of antisemitism in the aftermath of that tragedy.
This is not an easy read, but it is an important one. I read a library copy, but I may eventually buy my own copy just so that I can underline all the important passages and there are many.
An absolute recommend and must read.
The book is eloquent, erudite and down to earth as he explores the history of antisemitism writ large, the history of Jews in America, the history of Israel, and the rise of antisemitism in America since October 7, 2023. I should note that I have lost some so-called “friends” who showed me their true colors in expressions of antisemitism in the aftermath of that tragedy.
This is not an easy read, but it is an important one. I read a library copy, but I may eventually buy my own copy just so that I can underline all the important passages and there are many.
An absolute recommend and must read.
May 9, 2025
As my eyes flowed to the end of the last sentence, I felt them brimming with tears. My hands gracefully shut the book, and I screamed, "YES!" in the middle of the public library. I then ran down the street, jumping over fire hydrants and singing the Star Wars theme song.
If you have ever felt Jews are in the wrong, or guilty of any social missteps, read this book ASAP. It will change your perspective, and perhaps even save your soul.
If you have ever felt Jews are in the wrong, or guilty of any social missteps, read this book ASAP. It will change your perspective, and perhaps even save your soul.
May 3, 2025
Senator Schumer articulates feelings I've had in both the recent past, and for my entire life. I also liked the biographical elements of the book. A lot of food for thought here.
July 3, 2025
pirated this on Z library since I have a horrible habit of hate reading things. Fascinating as a sort of case study on the pathologies of these moronic self aggrandizing politicians. The weird memoir part of this is incredibly boring because Schumer is not a noteworthy person. I'll admit that i sort of skimmed everything but the "Antisemitism on the left" chapter but it's clear that this is Schumer's main point for even writing this. It is an ugly and intellectually lazy rant against the left, from a person who, for reasons beyond my understanding, feels he has some credibility and status to bother the rest of us with his pissant ramblings (even now I struggle to think of anything impressive this old man has managed to do). Dan Berger's review in the spectre has the clearest summarization of this book:
“One could list many potential criticisms of Israel’s government, its domestic policies, and its foreign relations that are not at all antisemitic,” Schumer affirms. But he never does. It seems that the only legitimate criticism of Israel is acknowledging the possibility of criticizing Israel in an inoffensive manner. To actually criticize it—particularly to demand a change to the actions, funding, or arming of Israel’s government and military—is antisemitic.
“One could list many potential criticisms of Israel’s government, its domestic policies, and its foreign relations that are not at all antisemitic,” Schumer affirms. But he never does. It seems that the only legitimate criticism of Israel is acknowledging the possibility of criticizing Israel in an inoffensive manner. To actually criticize it—particularly to demand a change to the actions, funding, or arming of Israel’s government and military—is antisemitic.
April 6, 2025
Good general overview of the experience of Jews in America as it relates to antisemitism. I enjoyed reading about Chuck’s personal experiences and am proud that he wrote this book.
May 22, 2025
If you are looking to pick up a feel-good, light-hearted book then let me introduce you to...not this book. At 252 pages, Chuck Schumer's 2025 book, Antisemitism in America, is exactly what it sounds like and it packs a punch. This nonfiction is a mixture of memoir, where he deals with antisemitism even as the first ever American Jewish Senate Leader, and a history lesson. The discussion of the rising numbers in neonazis within the world and the United States is frightening and most certainly shouldn't be ignored. We tried to ignore it in the 30s and 40s and I'm not gonna sugar coat this - did NOT end well. So whether you like Schumer as a politician or not, the message is very clear and worth the read. Stand up, be strong, fight when you have to. Don't repeat history. Please.
April 12, 2025
Schumer presents in this tightly-constructed book a measured and thorough interweaving of personal family history and broader Jewish history, with chapters focused on ancient antisemitism, European antisemitism culminating in the Holocaust, American antisemitism of the far right and far left, the historic and modern uses of technology for antisemitism, and antisemitism towards Israel.
April 10, 2025
He describes the Hamas/Gaza war in a context that is easy to grasp. It’s informative and explains the historical context and the current situation. It’s a quick read at just over 200 pages and I recommend for everyone to read it.
Read
February 13, 2026Senator Chuck Schumer talks about the history of antisemitism in Europe and America, discusses his fear and sense of malaise that these events could reoccur, and pleads for the prevention of the onset of antisemitism bubbling again. He discusses some parts of his childhood, when signs like 'Only Gentiles' and 'No dogs or Jews' were regular sightings in some shops, Jews were forbidden entry or employ in some shops, Jews he knew changed their surnames to assimilate, his father and grandfather got beaten and bullied for their identity, law firms and hospitals refused admission to Jews leading them to start their own places like Mt. Sinai Medical Hospital, or esteemed places would put quotas on the number of Jews admitted (places like Harvard or law firms). Jews on the ship St. Louis were also not permitted to off-board in Florida, so some of them died during the Holocaust. Senator Schumer in the book then discusses some modern events that alarm him: the arson and mass shootings in American synagogues, the intimidation of young people who wear vestments like the yarmulke or star in public, and the indifference or celebration of the deaths or sufferings of Jews on Oct. 7th as 'justified resistance'. On social media, Sen. Schumer says, his posts almost always draw responses attacking Jews and him particularly as the source of capitalism or globalism or mass immigration. He notes that antisemitism flares up during times of social fragmentation and socioeconomic unrest, when those who are different in society are held in suspicion as a fifth column betraying the nation or the source of the nation's problems. He notes that these flares are exacerbated when new mediums of communication are available, such as radio for the Nazis under Goebbels or, in the current situation, social media platforms where anonymous bigots of all stripes can air their views or find their fellows. Sen. Schumer also cites examples of extremes, on the right-- conspiracy theories of world order and NeoNazi rallies-- and the left-- harassing Jewish students on campus despite no explicit allegiance or connection to Israel.
April 8, 2025
Trying to balance books for fun with some books that help me learn. Goal is to continue to include some nonfiction reads. Our world is so complicated. Understanding past events help me understand current situations. Picked this up in an attempt to learn more about the history of antisemitism, outside of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
Provided insight into the Jewish faith, historical events over centuries and the development of Israel.
The explanation provided about how Antisemitism can spell future trouble, how it can threaten AMerican national security and terrorism was frightening. This book provided some context. Beyond the simple fact that being a decent human means treating people fairly and not discriminating based on race, religion, gender, etc; this explained how turning on one group of citizens can snowball into hatred and bigotry for other groups.
While I found the writing to feel a bit like reading a text book, a bit dry. Overall this was informative and provided some of the information I was looking for.
Provided insight into the Jewish faith, historical events over centuries and the development of Israel.
The explanation provided about how Antisemitism can spell future trouble, how it can threaten AMerican national security and terrorism was frightening. This book provided some context. Beyond the simple fact that being a decent human means treating people fairly and not discriminating based on race, religion, gender, etc; this explained how turning on one group of citizens can snowball into hatred and bigotry for other groups.
While I found the writing to feel a bit like reading a text book, a bit dry. Overall this was informative and provided some of the information I was looking for.
September 6, 2025
I thought this was a really well-written and insightful book. I actually didn’t know much about Chuck Schumer before reading it (or even whether he was a Republican or Democrat), but I learned a lot from his story. He shares his experiences growing up, going to school, and his time in politics in a way that felt very personal and engaging.
What stood out most to me were the parts where he connected history to current issues. He writes about the rise in antisemitism today, especially in light of October 7th, and makes the point that many people chanting slogans like “from the river to the sea” may not even fully understand what they’re saying. I think that’s true, and it made me stop and think.
I’ve noticed some people giving this book one-star reviews, which to me feels more like bias than an honest reflection of the writing. In fact, I think it says more about the reviewer than it does about the book itself. This is his lived experience, and I appreciated the opportunity to learn from it.
What stood out most to me were the parts where he connected history to current issues. He writes about the rise in antisemitism today, especially in light of October 7th, and makes the point that many people chanting slogans like “from the river to the sea” may not even fully understand what they’re saying. I think that’s true, and it made me stop and think.
I’ve noticed some people giving this book one-star reviews, which to me feels more like bias than an honest reflection of the writing. In fact, I think it says more about the reviewer than it does about the book itself. This is his lived experience, and I appreciated the opportunity to learn from it.
May 2, 2025
Not the most scholarly work or best work on the subject, but purposefully written to be accessible to readers, and the importance of the source and the position they are taking is what is significant, if you have an open mind. I suspect this work is being read mostly by persons who are already like-minded on the subject with the Senator and are just reaffirming that base, but it would be nice if those on the right and farther on the left read it, if they were looking for more diversity of thought on the subject.
July 1, 2025
This is one of those timely and important books that, unfortunately, the people who need to read most will not. Instead, they will skip it, write one-star reviews as though they read it, while completely missing the point and instead contributing to antisemitism.
Chuck Schumer has always been an establishment Democrat, and his approach to modern antisemitism in America shows that. Is that a bad thing? No - it's a measured and nuanced approach. Is it popular? Also no.
Chuck Schumer has always been an establishment Democrat, and his approach to modern antisemitism in America shows that. Is that a bad thing? No - it's a measured and nuanced approach. Is it popular? Also no.
April 29, 2025
I heard about this relatively new release from my mother-in-law, who for many years I considered to be a capital-P Paranoid Jew. However, with each passing year, as I've watched the state of our country devolve, I have come around to her way of thinking, her way of worrying. Last year I read Dara Horn's "People Love Dead Jews," which was really a series of vignettes and histories of antisemitism around the world. In some ways, Schumer's book feels like the sequel, or the next logical stop. Where Horn's 2021 book left off, Schumer's book really picks up, grappling with explosion in antisemitic sentiment in this country in the past few years. There's almost nothing in this book the typical American Jew (or Jewish American) doesn't already know or experience, but truly this book isn't for us — it's for our fellow Americans who don't spend as much time thinking about this stuff as we do. And I really hope they read it.
In addition to giving the reader perhaps much needed context about why Jews are so sensitive to the shifting temperature of public opinion, he gives the obligatory 101 course on who Jews are and what antisemitism is, but quickly focuses in on antisemitism in American history from both the right and the left. He covers the steep decline in antisemitism after the Holocaust, when the toll of Jew hatred was clearer than ever before, and asks: when did things start the change for the worse? If you had asked me before reading this book, I might have said 2016, but after hearing his answer, I felt how true it is that things really began to change after 9/11/2001.
He claims to represent the views of most American Jews in this book — which, knowing the adage about 2 Jews, 3 opinions, is pretty audacious. However, he certainly represents a swath of American Jews who lean to the left and had the rug pulled out from under us after October 7, 2023. He devotes a chapter each to antisemitism on the right, antisemitism on the left, college protests when he was a student at Harvard during Vietnam and how that compares to the protests of today, and maybe 2 chapters on explaining which criticisms of Israel are fair and which are either antisemitic or can lead to antisemitism (and why many of them are flat-out lies). I will say I think he goes a little too easy on both Senate Democrats and protesters — but at the end of the day he's a leader in the Democratic party and his ultimate goal isn't to piss people off but to build coalitions. He also talks about his encounters with people who hold staunch and sanctimonious views and are unwilling to listen and learn. We all know the type and have encountered them in our own lives, too. I worry that there aren't enough people out there who need to read this book that actually will.
I wish there was something more prescriptive he could recommend to stop antisemitism in this country from increasing but really it comes down to raising awareness and educating our communities. Building relationships with our neighbors. Advocating for social media as an industry to get its regulatory shit together. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope you read or listen to it, grapple with it and think twice before participating in antisemitism or looking the other way when it occurs.
In addition to giving the reader perhaps much needed context about why Jews are so sensitive to the shifting temperature of public opinion, he gives the obligatory 101 course on who Jews are and what antisemitism is, but quickly focuses in on antisemitism in American history from both the right and the left. He covers the steep decline in antisemitism after the Holocaust, when the toll of Jew hatred was clearer than ever before, and asks: when did things start the change for the worse? If you had asked me before reading this book, I might have said 2016, but after hearing his answer, I felt how true it is that things really began to change after 9/11/2001.
He claims to represent the views of most American Jews in this book — which, knowing the adage about 2 Jews, 3 opinions, is pretty audacious. However, he certainly represents a swath of American Jews who lean to the left and had the rug pulled out from under us after October 7, 2023. He devotes a chapter each to antisemitism on the right, antisemitism on the left, college protests when he was a student at Harvard during Vietnam and how that compares to the protests of today, and maybe 2 chapters on explaining which criticisms of Israel are fair and which are either antisemitic or can lead to antisemitism (and why many of them are flat-out lies). I will say I think he goes a little too easy on both Senate Democrats and protesters — but at the end of the day he's a leader in the Democratic party and his ultimate goal isn't to piss people off but to build coalitions. He also talks about his encounters with people who hold staunch and sanctimonious views and are unwilling to listen and learn. We all know the type and have encountered them in our own lives, too. I worry that there aren't enough people out there who need to read this book that actually will.
I wish there was something more prescriptive he could recommend to stop antisemitism in this country from increasing but really it comes down to raising awareness and educating our communities. Building relationships with our neighbors. Advocating for social media as an industry to get its regulatory shit together. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope you read or listen to it, grapple with it and think twice before participating in antisemitism or looking the other way when it occurs.
April 8, 2026
I followed David Baddiel's Jews Don't Count with this book, whose credited co-author I know, because I thought it would make a good contrast. And it did.
Where Baddiel is frank, Schumer is careful. Where Baddiel asks questions, Schumer warns. Schumer’s book contains almost nothing that I didn’t know, that any aware American Jew wouldn’t already know; his audience seems to be unaware Jews (who are unlikely to read this book?) and non-Jews looking for information from a non-expert. Baddiel’s book is aimed directly toward progressive Jews like me who have questions.
Where Baddiel’s book is focused on where Jews fit in with contemporary progressive attitudes toward racial and other minorities, Schumer’s has just one chapter about antisemitism on the left, and there is little about its place in other racisms, except in terms of Israel, which is where Schumer is weakest, because he doesn’t seem capable of recognizing that there were people on the land before 1948, which is what makes Israel a settler-colonial country, even if a singular one (but they’re all singular: Puritans, French, and Spaniards in America, criminals in Australia, a war with the “Boers” in South Africa, etc.).
Both authors talk far too much about themselves; the Schumer book is practically a memoir. I wish that Josh Molofsky had also co-authored the Baddiel book; he would likely have cut some of the crap, as Baddiel would say, from what is a mess of a book, but pretty enjoyable to read, and not just because Baddiel’s a comedian. He’s also very sharp and always willing to give other views and sides of arguments, recognizing the complexity of his narrow topic. A 2.5 for the Schumer.
Where Baddiel is frank, Schumer is careful. Where Baddiel asks questions, Schumer warns. Schumer’s book contains almost nothing that I didn’t know, that any aware American Jew wouldn’t already know; his audience seems to be unaware Jews (who are unlikely to read this book?) and non-Jews looking for information from a non-expert. Baddiel’s book is aimed directly toward progressive Jews like me who have questions.
Where Baddiel’s book is focused on where Jews fit in with contemporary progressive attitudes toward racial and other minorities, Schumer’s has just one chapter about antisemitism on the left, and there is little about its place in other racisms, except in terms of Israel, which is where Schumer is weakest, because he doesn’t seem capable of recognizing that there were people on the land before 1948, which is what makes Israel a settler-colonial country, even if a singular one (but they’re all singular: Puritans, French, and Spaniards in America, criminals in Australia, a war with the “Boers” in South Africa, etc.).
Both authors talk far too much about themselves; the Schumer book is practically a memoir. I wish that Josh Molofsky had also co-authored the Baddiel book; he would likely have cut some of the crap, as Baddiel would say, from what is a mess of a book, but pretty enjoyable to read, and not just because Baddiel’s a comedian. He’s also very sharp and always willing to give other views and sides of arguments, recognizing the complexity of his narrow topic. A 2.5 for the Schumer.
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June 14, 2025Eye-opening and important. Through different anecdotes and honesty, he walks readers through a very complex history as well as the intricate war with Hamas. I found it perspective altering as I had not been aware of all that the Jewish community has been facing and the double standard the world holds them to
December 8, 2025
Good summary of American antisemitism. Factual, historical, a little whinny. He does seem to ignore the destruction inflicted on the Palestinians by ‘fellow’ Jews…..
His concern is the experience of the American Jews, and his narrative is credible….
His concern is the experience of the American Jews, and his narrative is credible….
April 15, 2025
Very educational and well written. Scary thoughts
August 22, 2025
like listening to my parents. which makes sense bc they are the same as Schumer.
July 1, 2026
As a conservative, I still enjoyed the book. The telling of various historical stories from the senator's own life and in the Jewish past were well nareated. At times, I agreed with him in his positions on the current situation. At times, I scoffed with a perception of guilt by association arguments. His conclusion was fraught with an argument typical of rhe liberal mind that all we need is more education about the history of Antisemitism is not going to solve things though it would help.I can cautiously say this is a worthwhile and somewhat balanced book in support of Israel generally speaking.
April 23, 2025
A good overview of antisemitism, but I would have liked to have seen more practical suggestions for remedying the problem.
May 1, 2025
Superb book that every American ought to read. My review has nothing to do with the author being Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader. He brings to light the pathetic state of hate against Jews in America. But then, what's new?? When the Jews were being slaughtered in Nazi Germany, America did nothing to help them and indeed shunned them. It was and is all to do with "you Jews killed Jesus" nonsense. The entire fictional story of the Jews saying "His blood be upon us" was cooked up by the Flavian Caesars. The entire fictional story was carefully concocted so the entire Christian world would hate the Jews forever and forever. I see the Jews having been stabbed in their sides, not Jesus.
The main criticism I have about the book is this: he had an opportunity to explore the entire history of antisemitism starting from the Assyrian invasion about 3000 years ago. Instead, he claims that antisemitism is 5000 years old. Ah, I get it: he is talking about the mythical "slavery in Egypt" story. It was a brilliant myth woven into Jewish lore and legend. Whereas "escape from bondage in Egypt" is a metaphor meaning for us to escape from the slavery of addiction to lives of pleasure. I guess the good Senator believes in the myth as being real/historical.
All said and done, the book is very timely. I am a Hindu Indian-American, so I have no bias whatsoever. I am strongly pro-Israel. I take this opportunity to ridicule some reviewers of this book who are raging at Schumer for supporting the "genocide" in Gaza. Whereas the fact is that Hamas, that brutal terrorist organization, hides deep within civilian centers in Gaza such as hospital and even the United Nations buildings. It is impossible for Israel to strike them without killing and wounding civilians in the process. Hamas, they are ruthless cowards who have no hesitation sacrificing tens of thousands of civilians just so the world will rise up against Israel. Israel has been in a life-or-death war against hostile Muslim Arabs ever since its independence. Muslims despise Jews but none of the neighboring Arab countries want any Palestinians because they caused so much havoc wherever they went, particularly when they tried to overthrow the monarchy in Jordan. It is so difficult for Israel to win wars against Islamic terrorists and even worse, win the war against biased media such as the BBC and the left in America. I despise the Trump administration, but I am glad it is ending the antisemitic rage among university faculty and students.
The main criticism I have about the book is this: he had an opportunity to explore the entire history of antisemitism starting from the Assyrian invasion about 3000 years ago. Instead, he claims that antisemitism is 5000 years old. Ah, I get it: he is talking about the mythical "slavery in Egypt" story. It was a brilliant myth woven into Jewish lore and legend. Whereas "escape from bondage in Egypt" is a metaphor meaning for us to escape from the slavery of addiction to lives of pleasure. I guess the good Senator believes in the myth as being real/historical.
All said and done, the book is very timely. I am a Hindu Indian-American, so I have no bias whatsoever. I am strongly pro-Israel. I take this opportunity to ridicule some reviewers of this book who are raging at Schumer for supporting the "genocide" in Gaza. Whereas the fact is that Hamas, that brutal terrorist organization, hides deep within civilian centers in Gaza such as hospital and even the United Nations buildings. It is impossible for Israel to strike them without killing and wounding civilians in the process. Hamas, they are ruthless cowards who have no hesitation sacrificing tens of thousands of civilians just so the world will rise up against Israel. Israel has been in a life-or-death war against hostile Muslim Arabs ever since its independence. Muslims despise Jews but none of the neighboring Arab countries want any Palestinians because they caused so much havoc wherever they went, particularly when they tried to overthrow the monarchy in Jordan. It is so difficult for Israel to win wars against Islamic terrorists and even worse, win the war against biased media such as the BBC and the left in America. I despise the Trump administration, but I am glad it is ending the antisemitic rage among university faculty and students.
August 14, 2025
I appreciate Senator Schumer writing this book. He provides strong arguments as to why these are scary times for Jews in America and why so much of the hatred directed at Jews or Israel is unbalanced and/or based on weak arguments.
I will say that what’s going on in Gaza right now is awful and much is indefensible and that the innocent people living there deserve the right to be safe, have easy access to food, etc. Yet it is also complicated when a terrorist organization is in charge of representing these people and that these leaders call on the destruction of Israel.
I fear this book will not reach people who aren’t already well educated on the subject or who haven’t made up their minds one way or the other and cannot be swayed.
I hope for peace in the Middle East and through the world. And that people won’t judge others simply based on their religion or culture.
You may say that in a dreamer but I’m not the only one….
I will say that what’s going on in Gaza right now is awful and much is indefensible and that the innocent people living there deserve the right to be safe, have easy access to food, etc. Yet it is also complicated when a terrorist organization is in charge of representing these people and that these leaders call on the destruction of Israel.
I fear this book will not reach people who aren’t already well educated on the subject or who haven’t made up their minds one way or the other and cannot be swayed.
I hope for peace in the Middle East and through the world. And that people won’t judge others simply based on their religion or culture.
You may say that in a dreamer but I’m not the only one….
August 30, 2025
I am so grateful for this book. I am a Christian who has always been both curious about Judaism and deeply confused by antisemitism. I love how Schumer organized the book by sharing what Judaism means to him and by telling the history of the Jews by incorporating his own family's story. It was so helpful for me to read how he carefully writes about the complexity of the deep wound of October 7 and the ongoing war in Gaza. He writes with authority and vulnerability on both how Jews have thrived in America historically and the real question of whether or not that has irrevocably changed.
I have read lots of books by politicians that - no matter the topic - always felt like political devices with some hint of artifice or didactic attempts at persuasion. Chuck Schumer is a consummate politician, but I sensed none of that in his book. It felt sincere, rich, and nuanced throughout. I'm grateful he wrote it and shared it with us.
I have read lots of books by politicians that - no matter the topic - always felt like political devices with some hint of artifice or didactic attempts at persuasion. Chuck Schumer is a consummate politician, but I sensed none of that in his book. It felt sincere, rich, and nuanced throughout. I'm grateful he wrote it and shared it with us.
May 31, 2025
This is an amazingly non partisan book as Schumer elucidates the growing problem of antisemitism on the right and left in America today. As a Jew I found this book to be scary and disheartening, though I do not think that's is his intent. He and I grew up in the best of times for Jews in America, but today those times are perhaps fleeting.
If America does not uphold it's belief in Isreal, what does that ported for Isreal, America and the Jews.
For a real understanding of the problems of antisemitism, which now includes conflating a hate of Zionism for a hate of all Jews, this is a very important book. Well written and heartfelt, I hope the fact that he is a Democrat will not stop Republicans from reading it.
Ironically, the first 2 reviews of this book on my page are antisemitic screeds, that I am surprised remain. Charles Lindbergh giving a 1 star review?? Really.
If America does not uphold it's belief in Isreal, what does that ported for Isreal, America and the Jews.
For a real understanding of the problems of antisemitism, which now includes conflating a hate of Zionism for a hate of all Jews, this is a very important book. Well written and heartfelt, I hope the fact that he is a Democrat will not stop Republicans from reading it.
Ironically, the first 2 reviews of this book on my page are antisemitic screeds, that I am surprised remain. Charles Lindbergh giving a 1 star review?? Really.
March 28, 2026
The best overview on antisemitism that I have read to date. I really liked listening to Senator Chuck Schumer's reading on audiobook. I appreciated that Senator Schumer's lived experience was central to the story, but in the most meaningful ways, not dominating. The book felt measured, balanced, and wise.
"Antisemitism in America: A Warning" also helped me understand some aspects about the way my parents reacted to things that I didn't fully understand or comprehend the implication of until now, namely Replacement Theory ("Jews will not replace us") and calling Jews "globalists."
Four and a half stars.
"Antisemitism in America: A Warning" also helped me understand some aspects about the way my parents reacted to things that I didn't fully understand or comprehend the implication of until now, namely Replacement Theory ("Jews will not replace us") and calling Jews "globalists."
Four and a half stars.
August 5, 2025
Not definitive but essential to seeing how some of thhr most powerful people view the issues presented. The comments sadden me since they reflect the double standard addressed here. Is it a nuanced issue, yes, does Senator Schumer recognize that and pay it with respect, yes. Always more to read and learn.
September 16, 2025
This book is, unfortunately, timely and necessary. Schumer does a good job of detailing the history of anti-semitism along with his own history and experiences. I don't agree with all of his political assertions, but this is still worth a read.
January 18, 2026
Glad I picked this one up. Enjoyed reading about Senator Schumer’s experiences In life/politics with anti-semitism as well as his analysis of anti-semitism on the both the left and right of U.S. politics.
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