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The Jewish Question Revisited: Trade, Class and Identity reinterprets the historical trajectory of Jewish identity through the lens of economic function, class dynamics, and the rise of Zionism - offering a provocative reassessment of one of history's most enduring social questions.
Engaging with the foundational Marxist analysis of Abram Leon, this book traces the evolution of the Jews not merely as a religious or ethnic group, but as a "people-class" defined by commercial roles and socio-economic positioning across centuries. From the trade corridors of ancient Palestine to the rise of Court Jews in early modern Europe, from the upheavals of emancipation and antisemitism to the ideological battles surrounding Zionism and settler colonialism, the chapters explore how class, trade, and survival strategies shaped Jewish continuity and transformation. The book draws on Marxist theory, psychoanalytic insights, and historical critique to challenge both nationalist myths and mainstream narratives of Jewish identity, culminating in a powerful critique of Zionism's departure from Jewish internationalist traditions.
This book will appeal to students and scholars of Jewish history, Middle East politics, Marxist theory, and postcolonial studies, as well as to readers interested in the intersections of identity, class, and nationalism. It offers a timely contribution to ongoing debates around antisemitism, the legacy of European colonialism, and the political consequences of historical memory.
List of contents
Table of ContentsChapter. 1: JEWS: PEOPLE OR CLASS?
Chapter. 2: JEWISH TRADERS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Chapter. 3: FROM COMMERCE TO MONEY-LENDING
Chapter. 4: FROM MASSACRES AND EXPULSIONS TO ROYAL FAVOUR
Chapter. 5: EMANCIPATION
Chapter. 6: FROM EMANCIPATION TO ANTISEMITISM
Chapter. 7: JEWS AND ARABS - PART 1
Chapter. 8: JEWS AND ARABS - PART 2
Chapter. 9: ZIONISM - FALSE MESSIAH
Chapter. 10: HISTORY, SOCIAL CHARACTER AND IDENTITY
Chapter. 11: THE RADICAL JEWISH TRADITION
Index
About the author
Sabby Sagall was born in 1937 in London to Russian Jewish parents, refugees from Nazi Europe. He received a BA in Philosophy at King's College London and an MSc in Political Sociology at the London School of Economics. He was the editor of
Views Quarterly Magazine and has been a regular contributor to
Socialist Review and
Socialist Worker. He is a former Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of East London. He is the author of
Final Solutions: Human Nature, Capitalism and Genocide (Pluto Press, London, 2013) and
Music and Capitalism: Melody, Harmony and Rhythm in the Modern World (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2021).
