Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

After Horn won accolades for People Love Dead Jews (2021), she was repeatedly asked for her solutions to the growing (and continuous) problem of antisemitism. After the massacre of October 7, the demand for answers became nonstop, coming from places like Harvard University as well as from her sons after they were bullied for being Jewish. Overwhelmed, Horn nevertheless took on a project with virtually no beginning and possibly no ending, rooting out the causes and seeking a resolution to antisemitism. In doing so, she grapples with such well-intentioned endeavors as Holocaust education, which, she notes, is so focused on dead Jews that students sometimes ask if Jewish people still exist. She delves into conveniently forgotten facts about Judaism and Zionism (which she is often asked not to mention in speeches), such as Islamic reasons for wanting to erase Israel related to tenets regarding who should occupy land Muslims once controlled. She also brings up potential inconvenient contradictions, such as how few considered it a genocide when the U.S. killed hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is painstakingly written and painful to read, especially for Jews. Fortunately, Horn does offer some solutions, if not the final ones. Written with clarity and understanding, this is an important book that will engender much-needed discussion.