Anti-Semitism has featured in the history of Western civilization since the Greeks. What the twentieth century has seen through the lens of the holocaust has been happening for over 3000 years. Dan Cohn-Sherbok traces the origins of anti-Semitism and its manifestations, from political opposition to racial persecution and religious and philosophical justification for some of history's most outrageous acts. Against this background of intolerance and persecution, Cohn-Sherbok describes Jewish emancipation from the late eighteenth century and its gradual transformation into the parallel political and nationalistic ideal of Zionism.

This book offers a clear and readable account of why anti-Semitism has featured so strongly in world history and provides extensive discussion of the issues. Unlike most studies of the subject, it does not focus exclusively on Christian anti-Semitism, but explores the origins of Arab and organized communist anti-Semitism and Nazi racism. It is essential reading not only for history students and theologians, but anyone interested in finding out why the Jews have been hated and murdered.