Argues that the reason for antisemitism is not the popular need for a scapegoat, nor the economic successes of Jews, but a reaction to the fact that Jews are different from other peoples. Illustrates this thesis with examples from biblical times (including two attempts to annihilate the Jews), the Christian and Islamic Middle Ages, and the modern period. Argues that Nazi antisemitism was an expression of anti-Judaism coated with racist phraseology. In the modern period, anti-Jewish sentiments have been shared by the Left no less than by the Right, sometimes disguised as anti-Zionism. Believes that the only effective way for Jews to defeat antisemitism is to spread ethical monotheism worldwide.

Examines the Jewish concepts of God, law, and peoplehood, and reveals how these distinctive Jewish values have precipitated anti-Semitism.