Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation
Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Andrea Dworkin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Free Press |
Publication date | 2000 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 436 |
| ISBN | 0-684-83612-2 |
| OCLC | 42733805 |
Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation is the ninth nonfiction book by Jewish-American radical feminist writer and activist Andrea Dworkin. It was first published in 2000 by Free Press.
Thesis
In Scapegoat, Dworkin compared the oppression of women to the persecution of Jews,[1] discussed the sexual politics of Jewish identity and antisemitism, and called for the establishment of a women's homeland as a response to the oppression of women, just as the Zionist movement had established a state for Jews.[2][3][4]
Reception
Kirkus Reviews dismissed Scapegoat as a "deplorable piece of man-hating propaganda", stating that Dworkin "exhibits an ignorance of many of the subjects most relevant to her argument" and that she "ends up committing the very sin she seeks to expose, 'scapegoating' all men for all injustice in every period of history."[5]
Nicci Gerrard of The Guardian described Scapegoat as presenting Dworkin’s "dark and dismaying view of the world", arguing that the book links nationalism and misogyny through comparisons between the persecution of Jews and the oppression of women. While calling its force "undeniable, robust, fierce and steamrolling", the reviewer argued that its coherence also results in "simplification."[6]
Writing in Spectre, Sophie Lewis argued that Scapegoat represents the “despairing culmination” of Dworkin’s thought, contending that the book advocates the creation of an “Israel” for women and links women’s liberation to nationalist violence. Lewis criticized the work as relying on sweeping historical analogies and described its argument as “dazzlingly erudite and stunningly stupid,” ultimately characterizing its political vision as “fascistic.”[7]
References
- ^ Craft, Nikki. "The Andrea Dworkin Lie Detector". Andrea Dworkin Online Library. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Dworkin, Andrea (2000). Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and the Women's Liberation. New York: Free Press. pp. 245–246, 248, 336. ISBN 0-684-83612-2.
- ^ "Take no prisoners". The Guardian. May 13, 2000. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ Ouma, Veronica A. (2005). "Dworkin's Scapegoating". Palestine Solidarity Review. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ "Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation by Andrea Dworkin (book review)". Kirkus Reviews. May 1, 2000. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ Gerrard, Nicci (June 18, 2000). "All men are Nazis - even Jewish ones". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
- ^ Lewis, Sophie (May 27, 2025). "Are Women Weak Jews?": On Andrea Dworkin's Zionism (Report). Spectre. doi:10.63478/VRETINRM.
Further reading
- Bernstein, Richard (July 13, 2000). "BOOKS OF THE TIMES; Confronting the Barbarity of Hatred". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- Gerrard, Nicci (June 17, 2000). "All men are Nazis - even Jewish ones". The Guardian. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- Markson, Elaine (May 25, 2000). "Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation by Andrea Dworkin (book review)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- Mazali, Rela (2002). "Andrea Dworkin, Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation (book review)". Journal of Israeli History. 21 (1–2): 207–211. doi:10.1080/13531042.2020.12098979. S2CID 226216658. Retrieved July 27, 2022 – via Taylor & Francis.