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In today’s America, a disturbing surge in anti-Semitism is making alarming inroads into the national mainstream. This book explores the many factors fueling this hostility while also questioning why the American Jewish community has been largely reticent in its response. The author offers a fresh perspective by linking this reticence to the psychological challenges faced by minority groups under constant attack, showing how these pressures have led to historically ineffective responses.
Drawing on historical research and psychological analysis, the work highlights a recurring pattern of vulnerability within the Jewish Diaspora and suggests new ways to build a more proactive and resilient community. Whether you’re an academic, a community leader, or simply someone who cares about social justice, this book provides an essential look at how anti-Semitism takes root and points the way forward for a stronger collective response.
“Kenneth Levin draws on his formidable training as historian and psychiatrist to delve into the mysterious but common Jewish failure 'to recognize the extent of the threats posed by the poisons to which they are exposed,' particularly those from Leftists, Islamists, Palestinians, and American Blacks. Drawing on the study of other victimized populations, such as chronically abused children, the author points to their 'almost invariable ' tendency to blame themselves for their own ill-treatment. He then applies this theory, with devastating effect, to the leadership of major American Jewish organizations, especially the Anti-Defamation League, and convincingly concludes that strong communal institutions offer the best defense.”
— Daniel Pipes, Founder, Middle East Forum
“In this, the most indispensably significant book of our American moment, Kenneth Levin, psychiatrist and historian, addresses the most pressing malady of American Jews: the dangers and delusions of non-reciprocal alliances. Passionate Jewish identification with social causes — from civil and sexual rights to marxist-linked idealism to wishful embraces of spiritual brotherhood — have failed to propitiate the ferocious union of Jews-threatening Hamas-sympathizers, Black radicals, and far-Left progressives. If courageous and clear-eyed analysis can heal, The Canary on the Couch shows the way.”
— Cynthia Ozick, author of In a Yellow Wood: Selected Stories and Essays Everyman’s Library Contemporary Classics
“Much has been written recently about the inadequate Jewish response to the dramatic rise in antisemitism, but this book is exceptional in offering important insights into the historical and psychological roots of the problem. Reading it will open your eyes to the nature of the threats we face.”
— Alvin H. Rosenfeld, Professor of English and Jewish Studies. Director, Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, Indiana University
—Dr. Alex Grobman, Israel International news
Chapter One: The Problem
Chapter Two: The Present Antisemitic Onslaught in America
Chapter Three: American Jewish Communal Failure
Chapter Four: Self-Delusions and the Modern Diaspora
Chapter Five: Jews in America: The Psychological Scars of Besiegement Transplanted
Chapter Six: American Jews and Israel
Epilogue: Steps Towards Addressing the Failures
Bibliography