Everyday Hate: How antisemitism is built into our world – and how you can change it

by Dave Rich

Fully updated to address the events of 7 October and all that followed

On 7 October 2023, Hamas killed over a thousand Israelis, sparking a devastating new phase in the long-running conflict in Israel and Palestine. In the days and weeks that followed, a wave of anti-Jewish hatred swept across the world. Synagogues were burned, Jews attacked and protests raged, with calls for Israel to be erased from the map. Despite our abhorrence of racism, this most ancient of prejudices continues to seduce even the most educated, empathetic and well-meaning members of society. This, Dave Rich argues, is the particular quality of it hides in plain sight. Our task is to understand where it came from in order that it might be rooted out.

This book is a tour de force of the history and present reality of antisemitism; from Shakespeare to South Park, Israel to Covid-19, Rich shows us where each of the enduring stereotypes about Jews came from, what they look like in modern society and how they can be challenged. Fully updated to address the events of 7 October and all that followed, this book shines a light on the almost-unnoticed prejudices that perpetuate anti-Jewish hatred, explaining how antisemitism continues to thrive in the interactions, assumptions and views of decent people around the world – and how we can change this for the better.

Genres: Nonfiction, Judaism, Politics, Jewish, Antisemitism, History, Religion

413 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 16, 2023

About the author

Dave Rich was head of policy at the Community Security Trust (CST).

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh this is an interesting read. I felt like I learnt so much. It's a deep dive and it's horrific the extent of violence against Jews over the last 2,000 years, and how really in so many ways the same things just keep happening over and over, and the same ideas persist.
I also really like how he explores the issue of Isreal and the Left's obsession with it, to the exclusion of conflicts that have killed many thousands more people, that carry on and get ignored whilst people march against Israel and take up this cause. It would be baffling... if there wasn't the long standing norm of viewing Jewish people in ways feeds into the narrative.
Highly recommended.

[Adam Hummel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone must read this

[Benjamin Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely phenomenal read.

Dave Rich adresses the direct causes and consequences of antisemitism. He both articulately and captivatingly explains humanity’s foul desire to embrace antisemitic beliefs throughout history, and in a Post-Modern world.

Everyday hate includes some horrific antisemitic crimes and actions that cannot be tolerated. This book uniquely addresses blatant antisemitism on both the left and right of global political ideology.

However, it also confronts the subtle and subconscious antisemitic ideas - that people who would not describe themselves as remotely antisemitic - believe to be true. Despite the lack of evidence there is for their conspiratorial antisemitic theories. This is where Dave Rich brilliantly investigates the grip of antisemitism and its prevalence in everyday life.

Whether it is far left anti racism groups, who refuse to acknowledge antisemitism as blatant racism, or decades old antisemitic literature. This book includes a variety of examples pertaining to a wide range of demographics who cannot help but indulge in centuries of blood libels and antisemitic propaganda.

I would strongly recommend this book, and to be completely honest, I believe the world would be a much better place if everyone were to read this book and reflect on their own attitudes towards antisemitism.

[Daniel Sevitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little unclear as to who the target audience for this is. It's too chatty to be an academic work and too niche to function as work of popular social science. There is no doubt the author knows his stuff, but there was not enough here that was new to me, and the British understatement running through the writing felt at odds with the seriousness of the subject.

[Matthew Batten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading.

[Cary B · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye-opener

I was prompted to read this book by the weekly hate marches against Israel which have been allowed to happen in London. My horror at the antisemitism encouraged by these marches has grown as the weeks and months passed since the murders and atrocities of October 7th 2023 in Israel.

I knew something of the ill-treatment of Jews throughout human history, but I wasn't prepared for the story of relentless persecution which Jewish people have endured. I was ignorant of the many Jews murdered routinely in pogroms in Russia, numbering in many thousands during a few centuries. I was also shocked to learn of the Jews murdered in Europe by those other than Hitler's Nazis even during WWII. Only about 200 Jews survived in Latvia after the war out of a population in 1941 of 70,000. Jan and Johana Lipke thankfully managed to save and move about 20% of those to other countries. Equally shocking and shameful was the far too widespread refusal to help Jews even after the Holocaust, that applies also to many politicians and the ruling government in Britain, including Clement Attlee and his Labour government.The Jews faced persecution by Communist regimes after war also. In the 1950s in the then Czechoslovakia 11 men including Rudolf Slansky, were hanged on trumped up charges for in effect being Jewish

As well as covering history Dave Rich covers the many blood libels which have been spread and the truth behind so much of what perpetuates the unfounded hatred which impels people to hate Jews.

Dave Rich's attempt to draw attention to Abba Kovner as a true hero of the resistance to the Nazis is very laudable. Kovner is rarely acknowledged and virtually unknown, but he stands out as a true Jewish hero who tried to alert and assist Jews who were in danger.

This history of prejudice is truly eye-opening and it becomes clear why in many ways hatred of Jews needs to be regarded as a separate and particularly heinous phenomenon. This consciousness which I thought we all had, seems to have been diluted recently, as propaganda against Israel has changed into hatred against Jews, again. It's utterly shocking.

There are a lot of people who need to read this book , and inform themselves of more of the truth about what is happening around Israel and the pernicious propaganda which stirs and renews old hatreds.

As I read, I couldn't help identifying with the pain which many Jews must feel about this history so well described here, and how much more acute that pain must be after October 7th. We all need to work to get rid of this prejudice and Dave Rich discusses some solutions.

However, it isn't all negative, throughout the book the positives of Jewish history, cohesiveness and sheer resilience shine through.

[Mannie Liscum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Rich’s ‘Everyday Hate’ is a truly exceptional book, one of the best in the subject of modern antisemitism I’ve read. Though Rich pitches his narrative around Britain and British antisemitism, his illuminating insights encompass antisemitic reality world wide. His articulation of antisemitism as inextricably linked to conspiracy theory is indeed eye-opening. And his description of the establishment of Israel, not as a colonialist racist venture, but an expression of a desire for national sovereignty in the historic homeland of the Jewish people (I.e, Zionism), while recognizing that another people (the Palestinian Arabs) also claim historic linkage to the land and desire sovereignty, is refreshingly done. I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Ian Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting topical read. Allows for a better understanding of why antisemitism exists, why it has persisted for centuries and perhaps, a way forward to lessen this “Everyday Hate” in the future. In light of recent events in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, this book is essential reading.

[Helen Maltby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thought provoking and especially relevant given the current situation. Sadly I don’t think it will be read by those who need to read it.

[Eric Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good and important book, and it deserves a wide audience. I read a lot about this subject and I still managed to learn things I didn’t know before. (I didn’t know, for example, that there’s a correlation between German towns that experienced anti-Jewish pogroms in the Middle Ages and voter support for the Nazis in the 1920s. Wow.) I’m also persuaded by Dave Rich’s explanation why we should write “antisemitism” and not “anti-semitism”.

David Baddiel is the author of another recent book on antisemitism in Britain. He praises this book in a cover blurb and I have to say that Rich’s is the better book. Unlike Baddiel, Rich doesn’t play up the idea that “we British Jews are not responsible for Israel’s crimes” — instead, he explains the close relationship between British Jews, and Jews everywhere, and Israel, the Jewish state. He also compares stuff Israel has done with other countries and wonders why Israel gets so much more attention than, say, Saudi Arabia or Syria.

Well researched and clearly written, this book makes a powerful case that antisemitism is on the rise, especially among young people, and something needs to be done about that. The only problem with the book is that the final chapter — which is sort of the “how you can change it” part of the title — is the weakest part of the whole book.

[Emilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyday Hate is an extremely important read. It is poignant and funny. Dave Rich is able to break down antisemitism, but also its history. While it mainly focuses on antisemitism in Britain, it is still a useful read for combatting antisemitism no matter where you live. Rich explains the ancient blood libel, assumptions that Jews are greedy and antisemitic conspiracy theories such as "Jews controlling the banks and the media." He also describes how antisemitism manifests from the political right AND the political left. And while this is not a book about the Israel/Palestine conflict, Rich does address how anti-Israel hate so often becomes antisemitism and why anti-zionism is indeed antisemitism. This book is able to address and simplify the complex topic that is antisemitism. An urgent read.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

essential reading. anti Semitism is still rife and Dave Rich informs about the issues and suggests the way ahead. i don't agree with all points but the author highlights the current problems that need addressing.

[5greenway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing. Clarity and urgency, given the grim cultural moment we're living in.

[Samuel A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This describes how antisemitism is built into our perspectives through countless examples that let you really understand the theory behind how antisemitism works. Cringe title though

[Ralph Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Rich's book is essential and vital in this day and age. I love Dave Rich. I seldom disagree except when on Twitter he announced the University Challenge octopus wasn't Antisemitic -- that octopus was 100% Antisemitic. Come on, you're telling me Oxbridge is pro-Israel? Otherwise, I agree with everything Dave Rich says.

[Andrew Corsini · Rating 5 out of 5]

More important than ever.