Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew

From two New York Times bestselling authors, a timely, disarmingly honest, and thought-provoking investigation into antisemitism that connects the dots between the tropes and hatred of the past to our current complicated moment.

For Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby no question about Jews is off-limits. They go there. They cover Jews and money. Jews and power. Jews and privilege. Jews and white privilege. The Black and Jewish struggle. Emmanuel asks, Did Jews kill Jesus? To which Noa responds, "Why are Jewish people history's favorite scapegoat?" They unpack Judaism itself: Is it a religion, culture, a peoplehood, or a race? And: Are you antisemitic if you're anti-Zionist?

The questions--and answers--might make you squirm, but together, they explain the tropes, stereotypes, and catalysts of antisemitism in America today.

The topics are complicated and Acho and Tishby bring vastly different perspectives. Tishby is an outspoken Israeli American. Acho is a mild-mannered son of a Nigerian American pastor. But they share a superpower: an uncanny ability to make complicated ideas easy to understand so anyone can follow the straight line from the past to our immediate moment--and then see around corners. Acho and Tishby are united by the core belief that hatred toward one group is never isolated: if you see the smoke of bigotry in one place, expect that we will all be in the fire.

Informative and accessible, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew has a unique structure: Acho asks questions and Tishby answers them with deeply personal, historical, and political responses. This book will enable anyone to explain--and identify--what Jewish hatred looks like. It is a much-needed lexicon for this fraught moment in Jewish history. As Acho says, "Proximity breeds care and distance breeds fear."

Author: Emmanuel Acho, Noa Tishby
Publisher: S&s/Simon Element
Published: 04/30/2024
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.9lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.80w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781668057858


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2024

About the Author
Emmanuel Acho is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy and the New York Times bestseller Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. He is the host/producer of the Emmy Award-winning YouTube series of the same name, and whose mission is to promote dialogue around racial insensitivity and ignorance. A former NFL linebacker, Acho is a Fox Sports Analyst and television personality. Raised in Dallas, he holds a master's degree in sports psychology from the University of Texas, Austin. He lives in Los Angeles.

Noa Tishby is the New York Times bestselling author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth and Israel's former Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism and Delegitimization. A native of Tel Aviv, she served in the Israeli army before moving to Los Angeles and launching a career in the entertainment industry. An award-winning producer, Tishby made history with the sale of In Treatment to HBO, the first Israeli television show to become an American series. One of the most visible activists on social media, Tishby is the founder of several nonprofit organizations, including Act for Israel and Eighteen, which combats antisemitism and inspires Jewish pride. She lives in Los Angeles and is a proud Jewish mother to her son, Ari.