Jewish Self-Hate

A seminal text in Jewish thought accessible to English readers for the first time.

The diagnosis of Jewish self-hatred has become almost commonplace in contemporary cultural and political debates, but the concept-s origins are not widely appreciated. In its modern form, it received its earliest and fullest expression in Theodor Lessing-s 1930 book Der j-dische Selbstha-/em>.

Written on the eve of Hitler-s ascent to power, Lessing-s hotly contested work has been variously read as a defense of the Weimar Republic, a platform for anti-Weimar sentiments, an attack on psychoanalysis, an inspirational personal guide, and a Zionist broadside.

-The truthful translation by Peter Appelbaum, including Lessing-s own footnotes, manages to make this book more readable than the German original. Two essays by Sander Gilman and Paul Reitter provide context and the wisdom of hindsight.--Frank Mecklenburg, Leo Baeck Institute

From the forward by Sander