If I Am Not For Myself: The Liberal Betrayal of the Jews

Scholar and critic Ruth R. Wisse warns that the failure of liberals to stand up for Jews facing resurgent antisemitism signals the collapse of liberal democratic values.

If I Am Not for Myself is a prescient and powerful work that presents with uncompromising clarity the challenges facing American Jews today. First published in 1992 and reissued with a new introduction, the book remains startlingly relevant—arguing that Western societies’ growing tolerance of antisemitic rhetoric, discrimination, and violence signal a broader unraveling of liberal values, with dangerous implications for democracy itself.

Tracing the historical relationship between Jews and progressive movements, Wisse maintains that while Jews have long been loyal to liberal values and continue to stand up for other groups and “vote their conscience,” the liberal commitment to the Jews is not nearly as strong. Instead, whenever Jews have been attacked—from the trial of Captain Dreyfus to the sustained military and propaganda war against Israel—liberals have been slow to defend Jewish rights and tend to hold the Jews themselves responsible for their enemies’ unreasoned hatred.

The strong inclination to deny antisemitism becomes the ultimate test of liberal values. While the only rational response to this irrational doctrine of hate is confrontation and rejection, such opposition goes against the grain of liberal open-mindedness and tolerance. Experience, if we learn from it, can help liberals defend their own principles, and the democratic order they support.

When Wisse first argued thirty years ago that liberalism’s failure to affirm and defend the rights and safety of the Jewish minority would ultimately bring about its own demise, her position was considered controversial. But events have proved her right, and with the passage of time, this book appears nothing short of prophetic.

Written with uncompromising moral and intellectual clarity, If I Am Not for Myself stands as both a warning and a call to act with courage and conviction in defending the liberal principles that have long safeguarded freedom—not just for Jews, but all Americans.