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Self Defense: A Jewish Manifesto
“The Golden Age of emancipation that American Jews have enjoyed for nearly a century is over. Europe’s poison has traveled to our shores, this time decked out in progressive garb. Benjamin Kerstein's manifesto is a wake-up call for our community, compelling us to see the truths we might otherwise avoid, and confronting us with a stark to roll over quiescently or to stand up and fight back.” —Ben Cohen, senior analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and author of Some of My Best A Journey Through 21st Century Antisemitism
“Benjamin Kerstein writes with a clarity of voice desperately needed for our times, reminding us that Jewish self-defense, both physical and spiritual, is not only a right, but a necessity. His work is a call for Jewish pride and courage, rooted in history but urgent for our future.” —Ben M. Freeman, author of The An Indigenous People
“Benjamin Kerstein’s Self Defense is a passionate cri de coeur for 21st century Jews to adopt the Maccabean warrior ethos of our forebears. Kerstein is correct that the Children of Israel now need to train not merely in Torah and mitzvot, but also with glocks and Krav Maga.” —Josh Hammer, author of Israel and Civilization
“With Self Defense, Benjamin Kerstein issues a fearless call to abandon the illusions that have left American Jews vulnerable and to reclaim the spiritual and physical strength that has always been key to our survival. Timely and urgent, Self Defense is a must-read for anyone trying to navigate the new reality after October 7.” —Ashley Rindsberg, author of The Gray Lady Winked
"Benjamin Kerstein has penned a provocative manifesto on how Jews should respond to rising antisemitism—not by waiting for society to change, but by taking matters into our own hands. Like Herzl, who saw the nation-state as the answer to Jewish vulnerability, Kerstein emphasizes that Jews have the power to respond to hatred—not by leaving the Diaspora, necessarily, but rather by standing and fighting where we are. The psychological effect of this doctrine could be as profound, if not more so, than the physical result.” —Joel B. Pollak, senior editor at Breitbart News, and author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You
American Jews must embrace physical self-defense to safeguard their spiritual and communal survival and success.
The most urgent question facing the Jewish community today is stark and How do the Jews ensure their physical security in an increasingly hostile world?
In Self A Jewish Manifesto, Benjamin Kerstein delivers a powerful call to action for American Jews confronting the rising tide of antisemitism. With clarity and urgency, Kerstein challenges Jews to break free from long-standing patterns of passivity and embrace the Jewish legacy of physical self-defense. This, Kerstein argues, is not only necessary in a time of antisemitic violence, but fundamental to living a vibrant, complete Jewish life in body, mind, and spirit.
Far more than a commentary, this manifesto is a strategic plan for resilience and revival. Kerstein lays out practical, actionable steps for building a future anchored in strength, self-respect, and communal unity. He reframes self-defense as a moral and spiritual imperative that can revitalize Jewish life and identity, ensuring Jewish survival in the face of an increasingly hostile world.
“Benjamin Kerstein writes with a clarity of voice desperately needed for our times, reminding us that Jewish self-defense, both physical and spiritual, is not only a right, but a necessity. His work is a call for Jewish pride and courage, rooted in history but urgent for our future.” —Ben M. Freeman, author of The An Indigenous People
“Benjamin Kerstein’s Self Defense is a passionate cri de coeur for 21st century Jews to adopt the Maccabean warrior ethos of our forebears. Kerstein is correct that the Children of Israel now need to train not merely in Torah and mitzvot, but also with glocks and Krav Maga.” —Josh Hammer, author of Israel and Civilization
“With Self Defense, Benjamin Kerstein issues a fearless call to abandon the illusions that have left American Jews vulnerable and to reclaim the spiritual and physical strength that has always been key to our survival. Timely and urgent, Self Defense is a must-read for anyone trying to navigate the new reality after October 7.” —Ashley Rindsberg, author of The Gray Lady Winked
"Benjamin Kerstein has penned a provocative manifesto on how Jews should respond to rising antisemitism—not by waiting for society to change, but by taking matters into our own hands. Like Herzl, who saw the nation-state as the answer to Jewish vulnerability, Kerstein emphasizes that Jews have the power to respond to hatred—not by leaving the Diaspora, necessarily, but rather by standing and fighting where we are. The psychological effect of this doctrine could be as profound, if not more so, than the physical result.” —Joel B. Pollak, senior editor at Breitbart News, and author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You
American Jews must embrace physical self-defense to safeguard their spiritual and communal survival and success.
The most urgent question facing the Jewish community today is stark and How do the Jews ensure their physical security in an increasingly hostile world?
In Self A Jewish Manifesto, Benjamin Kerstein delivers a powerful call to action for American Jews confronting the rising tide of antisemitism. With clarity and urgency, Kerstein challenges Jews to break free from long-standing patterns of passivity and embrace the Jewish legacy of physical self-defense. This, Kerstein argues, is not only necessary in a time of antisemitic violence, but fundamental to living a vibrant, complete Jewish life in body, mind, and spirit.
Far more than a commentary, this manifesto is a strategic plan for resilience and revival. Kerstein lays out practical, actionable steps for building a future anchored in strength, self-respect, and communal unity. He reframes self-defense as a moral and spiritual imperative that can revitalize Jewish life and identity, ensuring Jewish survival in the face of an increasingly hostile world.
183 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 27, 2025
6 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Kerstein
14 books10 followersBenjamin Kerstein is an Israeli-American writer, editor, and novelist. Born in Boston, he has lived in and written about Israel and the Middle East for over a decade.
Michael J. Totten, the prize-winning author of The Road to Fatima Gate, has called him "one of the finest American-Israeli authors of his generation."
His work has appeared in Azure: Ideas for the Jewish People, The Jerusalem Post, Senses of Cinema, Cbs.com, The New Ledger, Jewish Ideas Daily, The Times of Israel, Haaretz, PJ Media, and others. Jay Nordlinger of the National Review has referred to his work as "some of the most intelligent, clearest, most honest writing I have read in a long time."
His fiction is deeply influenced by French depressionism of Michel Houellebecq, the fantasias of Jorge Luis Borges, and the dystopian landscapes of J.G. Ballard.
He lives in Tel Aviv.
Michael J. Totten, the prize-winning author of The Road to Fatima Gate, has called him "one of the finest American-Israeli authors of his generation."
His work has appeared in Azure: Ideas for the Jewish People, The Jerusalem Post, Senses of Cinema, Cbs.com, The New Ledger, Jewish Ideas Daily, The Times of Israel, Haaretz, PJ Media, and others. Jay Nordlinger of the National Review has referred to his work as "some of the most intelligent, clearest, most honest writing I have read in a long time."
His fiction is deeply influenced by French depressionism of Michel Houellebecq, the fantasias of Jorge Luis Borges, and the dystopian landscapes of J.G. Ballard.
He lives in Tel Aviv.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 16, 2025
The defense of the Jewish people requires a scientific understanding of antisemitism, or more accurately, Jew-hate. Kerstein claims that Jew-hatred is a psychological disorder — a manifestation of the unconscious aspects of the self, the Jungian shadow. This is not an explanation, since:
1. Individuals are not prior to the societies in which they are born and develop, but products of those societies. Thus, the individual cannot be the source of Jew-hatred. That source is found in broader society.
2. It lacks the explanatory virtues of depth and scope. It does not answer the question: why are some people Jew-haters and others not?
In order to effectively combat Jew-hatred, we need to know its source and the form it takes in contemporary society, so that we can identify our enemy and destroy its source.
Having failed to provide an adequate explanation of the source of Jew-hatred, Kerstein attempts to define its form as manifest in a “Red-Green Alliance,” a term he uses to describe a unified formation of leftist “progressives” and radical Islamists against the Jewish people. Kerstein says that despite fundamental differences on social issues, what aligns leftist progressives and Islamists is that they both “hate the West” and America. But this, again, does not explain their hatred of Jews, since Jew-hatred predates the political establishment of the United States and any social formation that could pass as “Western” in the sense reactionaries like Kerstein employ the term.
Kerstein only appears to come close to some kind of explanation when he discusses the dynamics of economic class as they relate to the Jewish people. He says, “The Jews can never be truly middle class, like so many other immigrant communities in America are, because the middle class can always decide that they are Jews.” What is true in this statement is what Jews like Jean Améry understood, and Jew-haters like Karl Lueger affirmed: the Jew-hater decides who is Jewish. Or, put another way, Jews are defined in part by Jew-hatred — which is why assimilation has not served the Jewish people, and why a thorough, scientific study of Jew-hatred is an existential question. This is why Kerstein’s work is not just unhelpful, but dangerous. His confusion and obfuscation of history function to disorient the Jewish people and mislead any real attempt at meaningful self-defense.
Jews do not find refuge from Jew-hatred in the middle classes precisely because Jew-hatred is a class question. Seventy percent of Nazi leadership came from the middle classes — an enormously disproportionate amount. Jew-hatred is used by the middle and upper classes to scapegoat Jews for economic crises. This is why it has appeared during periods of economic crisis in human history, from ancient times through feudalism to today — a well-known and basic fact absent from Kerstein’s analysis.
The full, scientific case for the causes and forms of Jew-hatred throughout human history is found in Abram Leon’s The Jewish Question, printed by Pathfinder Press. Leon sticks to the historical facts in his materialist analysis, which was researched and compiled at the same time he was fighting Nazis as part of the resistance in Belgium. Leon was murdered in Auschwitz, but not before leaving the Jewish people — and the world — with a clear way forward. Jew-hatred is not just a threat to the Jewish people, but to all of humanity. Such a question deserves the most sincere treatment and attention. Kerstein fails at that — fails hard.
Because Kerstein fails to explain Jew-hatred, his prescription for its abolition fails by extension. The book is useless for the very purpose for which it was written. There are so many distortions, so much confusion, and so many irresolvable contradictions in the text that it cannot even serve as leisure or curious reading. Liel Leibovitz is either as ignorant as Kerstein for putting his name to such a work, or he wrote a foreword for a book he did not read. In neither case does Leibovitz serve his reputation.
1. Individuals are not prior to the societies in which they are born and develop, but products of those societies. Thus, the individual cannot be the source of Jew-hatred. That source is found in broader society.
2. It lacks the explanatory virtues of depth and scope. It does not answer the question: why are some people Jew-haters and others not?
In order to effectively combat Jew-hatred, we need to know its source and the form it takes in contemporary society, so that we can identify our enemy and destroy its source.
Having failed to provide an adequate explanation of the source of Jew-hatred, Kerstein attempts to define its form as manifest in a “Red-Green Alliance,” a term he uses to describe a unified formation of leftist “progressives” and radical Islamists against the Jewish people. Kerstein says that despite fundamental differences on social issues, what aligns leftist progressives and Islamists is that they both “hate the West” and America. But this, again, does not explain their hatred of Jews, since Jew-hatred predates the political establishment of the United States and any social formation that could pass as “Western” in the sense reactionaries like Kerstein employ the term.
Kerstein only appears to come close to some kind of explanation when he discusses the dynamics of economic class as they relate to the Jewish people. He says, “The Jews can never be truly middle class, like so many other immigrant communities in America are, because the middle class can always decide that they are Jews.” What is true in this statement is what Jews like Jean Améry understood, and Jew-haters like Karl Lueger affirmed: the Jew-hater decides who is Jewish. Or, put another way, Jews are defined in part by Jew-hatred — which is why assimilation has not served the Jewish people, and why a thorough, scientific study of Jew-hatred is an existential question. This is why Kerstein’s work is not just unhelpful, but dangerous. His confusion and obfuscation of history function to disorient the Jewish people and mislead any real attempt at meaningful self-defense.
Jews do not find refuge from Jew-hatred in the middle classes precisely because Jew-hatred is a class question. Seventy percent of Nazi leadership came from the middle classes — an enormously disproportionate amount. Jew-hatred is used by the middle and upper classes to scapegoat Jews for economic crises. This is why it has appeared during periods of economic crisis in human history, from ancient times through feudalism to today — a well-known and basic fact absent from Kerstein’s analysis.
The full, scientific case for the causes and forms of Jew-hatred throughout human history is found in Abram Leon’s The Jewish Question, printed by Pathfinder Press. Leon sticks to the historical facts in his materialist analysis, which was researched and compiled at the same time he was fighting Nazis as part of the resistance in Belgium. Leon was murdered in Auschwitz, but not before leaving the Jewish people — and the world — with a clear way forward. Jew-hatred is not just a threat to the Jewish people, but to all of humanity. Such a question deserves the most sincere treatment and attention. Kerstein fails at that — fails hard.
Because Kerstein fails to explain Jew-hatred, his prescription for its abolition fails by extension. The book is useless for the very purpose for which it was written. There are so many distortions, so much confusion, and so many irresolvable contradictions in the text that it cannot even serve as leisure or curious reading. Liel Leibovitz is either as ignorant as Kerstein for putting his name to such a work, or he wrote a foreword for a book he did not read. In neither case does Leibovitz serve his reputation.
November 24, 2025
Phenomenal book. American Jews need to wake up and start responding to the increasing levels of antisemitism in this country. continuing to hope it goes away is not a successful long-term (or even short-term) strategy. We must fight back.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews