The author, a Hungarian Jew who survived the holocaust, provides a well written and well documented account of Christian anti-Semitism in Hungary, focusing on the years from 1880 to 1944. He traces the roots of modern Hungarian anti-Semitism to a widely believed accusation of Jewish ritual murder made in 1882. The anti-Semitic sentiment which crystallized around this incident soon became a powerful force in politics and an explicit organizing theme for Hungarian Christians. The book goes on to show how religious arguments played a crucial role in the passing of increasingly harsh anti-Semitic legislation in the years leading up to the war. Herczl builds his case using extensive quotes from church members from all of the major Christian denominations involved in this debate and provides evidence showing that their actions were sanctioned by those at the highest levels of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. These quotes amply support the author's contention that for the Hungarian churches, anti-Semitism remained "a matter of principle, not opportunism." The most extreme result of this racist-Christian milieu before the German takeover was the formation of the clero-fascist Arrow Cross party. The final chapter of the book is devoted to the year 1944 and deals with the Nazi's takeover of the government and the final deportation of the Jewish population, events for which Christianity had paved the way.

This is, not only a fascinating telling of the true story of the origin of hava nagila, but also a beautifully written book. The author creates such fun by putting the activities of the settlers in Israel to the rhythm of this joyous tune. And the biographical story at the back describing the true history of the song is amazing to read. It will make a great read for children and adults alike, and add to any celebration.

This book shows the soviet system in relation to human rights with innocent people. This shows how innocent people suffered in Siberia without food, shelter, shows, clothes, all in freezing wheather, when you thought that no one else you loved for or cared about would return to you once again.

Walter Jacob and Moshe Zemer collaborate to assemble anoutstanding series of essays and responses by esteemed andknowledgeable contributors in Crime And Punishment In Jewish Law. The subject matter covered include the concept of crime, assessing guilt, capital punishment, religious violence, criminal insanity, rabbinical malpractice, electronic eavesdropping, and a great deal more. Crime And Punishment In Jewish Law is an impressive and unique contribution to Judaic studies.

Eva Heyman was like Anne in many ways: A budding teenager, spirited and observant of the world around her. Anne and Eva both began diaries when they were thirteen. Tragically, both did not survive the war. Like Anne, only one of Eva's parents survived the Holocaust, her mother Agnes, but out of guilt for not attempting to save her daughter's life she committed suicide in 1949. Read this book.

This is a wonderful introduction to the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. Prof. Joseph Dan is one of the leading Kabbalah scholars alive today. In this book, he presents selections from the "early Kabbalists", those of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, before the publication of the *Zohar*. This anthology contains brief and heavily annotated selections from the 'Iyyun Circle, the Book Bahir (*Sefer ha-Bahir*), Rabbi Isaac the Blind of Provence, Rabbi Azriel of Gerona, Rabbi Jacob ben Sheshet of Gerona, and the Kohen brothers, Jacob and Isaac. These are the men who pave the way for the glories of the *Zohar*. These selections are rich in the symbols that later became prevalent in Kabbalah. This book is a particularly good beginning for someone who wants to study Kabbalah in its historical unfolding.

If you are interested in the effects of climate change, and can afford the not insignificant entry cost, you should buy this book. It is particularly recommended for all American scientists who continue to deny that climate change exists. I found the book so gripping that I read it from cover to cover in one evening. However, you should petition the publishers to put a marginally less obscene pricetag on the book.

I wish I'd been raised by parents who had absorbed the knowledge in this book. I wish I'd found this book when my children were little. This work systematically analizes and explains in simple language, the details on how to observe the Fifth Commandment of the Bible. All school educators, principals, should read this and have it taught to all students in high-school. The world would change! The meaning and joy of raising a family would become a established fact. Children and their parents would live in love and harmony throughout their lives. This book also explains ancillary aspects of dealing with step-parents,adoptive parents,uncles, brothers, grandparents, etc. The authorities cited are the Jewish sages and their commentaries throughout the centuries.

...have we seen a proposal for such an "earth-freindly" environment!

Middle East scholars have lauded "A History of Palestine, 634-1099" as the most comprehensive historiography of Palestine from the initial Arab Muslim conquests, until the arrival of the Crusaders in 1099. Remarkably, despite the constraints of academic annotation, and the uncertainties of translation (i.e., from Hebrew to English), Professor Gil's narrative is eminently readable for the non-professional student of history. Through the clear, dispassionate presentation of a rich profusion of data, he captures the stark, unromantic reality of Muslim ruled Palestine during this 465-year period.

Professor Gil begins with a survey of events before the Arab Muslim invasion. He also notes the singular centrality that Palestine occupied in the mind of its pre-Islamic Jewish inhabitants, who referred to the land as "al-Sham". Indeed, as Gil observes, the sizable Jewish population in Palestine (who formed a majority of its inhabitants, when grouped with the Samaritans) at the dawn of the Arab Muslim conquest were "..the direct descendants of the generations of Jews who had lived there since the days of Joshua bin Nun, in other words for some 2000 years..". The 465-year period carefully surveyed by Gil comprises the following stages: the Arab Muslim conquest and establishment, from 634 to 661; the Umayyad-Damascene rule, from 661 until 750; the Abbasid-Baghdadian rule, from 750 through 878; Turco-Egyptian rule- Tulunids and Ikshidids- from 878 until 970- "interrupted" by Abbasid-Baghdadian rule again, between 905 and 930; nearly two generations of war including numerous participants, the dominant party being the Fatimids, from 970 through 1030; just over 40-years of Fatimid-Egyptian rule, between 1030 and 1071; and a generation of Turkish rule encompassing most of Palestine, from 1071 until 1099.

Gil offers a particularly revealing assessment of dhimmitude (i.e., the regulations imposed on the non-Muslims vanquished by jihad), and its adverse impact on these conquered, indigenous peoples, in chapter 3 pages, pages 139 to 161. For example, excessive, arbitrarily imposed taxation in the first quarter of the 11th century lead to the destitution, imprisonment, torture, and death of many Jews living in Jerusalem. However, the clearest outward manifestations of this imposed inferiority and humiliation were the prohibitions regarding dhimmi dress "codes", and the demands that distinguishing signs be placed on the entrances of dhimmi houses. During the Abbasid caliphates of Harun al-Rashid (786-809) and al-Mutawwakil (847-861), Jews and Christians were required to wear yellow ( as patches attached to their garments, or hats). Later, to differentiate further between Christians and Jews, the Christians were required to wear blue. Finally, in 850, consistent with Koranic verses and hadith (sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad) associating them with Satan and Hell, al-Mutawwakil decreed that Jews and Christians attach wooden images of devils to the doors of their homes to distinguish them from the homes of Muslims.

Near the end of his extensive, scrupulously documented presentation, Gil offers this sobering assessment: "..These facts do not call for much interpretation; together they simply form a picture of almost unceasing insecurity, of endless rebellions and wars, of upheavals and instability..".