The End of Judaism: An Ethical Tradition Betrayed

by Hajo G. Meyer

In The End of Judaism, Auschwitz survivor Hajo G. Meyer expresses in impassioned terms his dismay at what he sees as the moral collapse of contemporary Israeli society and the worldwide Jewish community as a whole. Meyer is a member of "A Different Jewish Voice," a Dutch-based, secular Jewish movement that dares to openly criticize Israel's policies toward the Palestinians. In his observations, deeply colored by his personal experiences during the Holocaust, Meyer compares Israel's current policies with the early stages of the Nazis' persecution of the German Jews. He clearly explains that he is in no way seeking to draw a parallel between the current policies of Israel and the Nazis' endgame, which resulted in the mass murder of six million innocent people. He is merely trying to point out the slippery slope that eventually led to this catastrophe, and the necessity of foreseeing the possible consequences of a policy that oppresses and marginalizes the Palestinians in their own homeland. As a result of his experiences in Auschwitz, Hajo Meyer claims to have learned one fundamental that his moral duty as a human being was to never become like his oppressors. The End of Judaism is the outcry of a dissident Jew who is not afraid of standing up to entrenched ways of thinking about history and particularly about the Palestinian conflict, which is one of the most intractable social and political problems in the world today.

Genres: Israel, Judaism, Nonfiction, Religion

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Andy O'Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that this is a very important book. It is one of the clearest and most carefully researched discussions of anti-Semitism I have read. The author is a highly educated and literate man who has had the most terrible first-hand experience of racism. His learning and experience have taught him that the our first duty as human beings is to treat all other human beings with the respect and dignity that we would wish for ourselves; that the response to oppression is not to oppress others in return but to resist oppression by whoever and in whatever form. This is the only way forward. He provides a logical and ethical framework on which to understand the oppression of Jews in Nazi Germany and Palestinians in the Middle East.

Meyer specifically addresses the ethical promises of the founders of the state of Israel to respect the human rights of ALL people and the thorny issue of accusations of anti-Semitism against those who do not unquestionably support the actions of the state of Israel. He condemns and does not in any way condone terrorism whether carried out by Palestinians or Zionists. He demonstrates in a scholarly way how oppression, racist policies and individual or state terrorism will always have terrible consequences.

Meyer argues that one of the great services the Jewish people has provided for mankind is the tradition of informed and educated debate where all arguments are accepted and considered with respect for those who present them. I think that his book is an important part of that wonderful tradition.

[Stefan Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Auschwitz survivor Hajo G. Meyer takes you step-by-step through the rationale that led him to become a staunch opponent of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, beginning with his own personal narrative, continuing through the history of European Jewry, and then through the history of the Zionist project. He discusses the psychological effects of the Holocaust, which he sees as having had an even more devastating impact on the second and third generation of survivors. He postulates that this trauma has interfered with the ability of the worldwide Jewish community to see that the inhumane treatment of the Palestinians is an imitation of the very oppression that was inflicted upon them. Despite the author's scholarly approach to his subject matter, this is in essence an impassioned book, written in shame and moral outrage at what he sees as the moral collapse of the Jewish ethical tradition.

[Lucien · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that can help to understand the craziness of current historical events. Hajo Meyer is a german jew that survived the oppression of the first years of nazi germany, and later Auschwitz. I'd say it is a necessary read for those who doesn't understand the high number of fascist criminals in the israeli society; not to excuse them, but gaining a better understanding of a phenomenon is never a bad thing. And also, to avoid to fall for the israeli state propaganda which tries to conflate those fascists with the jewish people and the jewish religion. The jewish religion can be a philosophy of enlightenment, and very beneficial for society. The state of israel doesn't represent more the jewish people than the islamic state represents the muslim people, or the usa the christian people. Those are terrible entities that use religion as excuses for oppression, colonialism, massacres, and ethnic cleansing. Those don't represent the religions they shamefully use. I'm an agnostic, I'm not directly concerned, but I feel bad for all the people which faith is taken hostages and perverted by nation-states.

[Mohamed Mateen Moin Khaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest appraisal of Zionism

A humanitarian approach to religion. Which is the basis for all religion, which unfortunately has been forgotten by the leaders of those religions in favour of narrow nationalistic selfish viewpoints. The rulers of Israel are the new Nazis. And all despots and even democratically elected ones who think on narrow nationalistic, racial lines rather than treating all human beings as one are akin to Nazis and colonizers.

[Pvw · Rating 1 out of 5]

A pamflet that makes the comparison between the persecution by the nazi's and the contemporary treatment of the Palestines by the Jews. Although Meyer's book is well intended, it lacks structure and feels like a loose collection of different writings in which the author repeats the same ideas over and over. Thus it lacks the convincing power of a well built argumentation.