Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew

By: Emmanuel Acho, Noa Tishby

Narrated by: Emmanuel Acho, Noa Tishby

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

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.”

©2024 Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

It’s uncomfortable, but we have to talk

I like the history of it. I wish Emmanuel would talk a little bit more in the beginning. But I love the fact that they can agree to disagree and come to a conclusion and understanding. This is the book of our time. This is one that will bring us together People need to read and learn about history and come to their conclusions. I think it’s perfect.

Such an important read today, and always.

A wonderfully articulate, honest, and important conversation between two caring, smart, and just - very good people.

For those who want to truly understand…

In a world where we are becoming ever more prone to simplistic, single-sided views, this book refreshingly opens up to the depths and nuances of the Jewish experience (over millennia all the way up to the current day events).

As the series title proclaims, the book tackles uncomfortable conversations. I applaud this book on several levels. Tishby is a remarkable, well-spoken, well-researched, modern day voice of the Jewish experiences. Though perhaps even more so, as Jews are finding themselves ever-increasingly the target of antisemitism in recent times, Acho proves he is a rare leader to explore dialogues that help show how this deserves a seat at the table like so many other well-deserving perspectives for minority experiences.

And then there’s the very practical matter of this book factually deconstructing and debunking so many of the overt and covert falsehoods about Jews, Zionism, Israel, that are rampant right now (as well as their lesser known origin stories that go back for centuries).

Ultimately the message is one of coming together in constructive dialogue, a willingness to truly listen, even when it’s uncomfortable or disagreeable. Regardless of where any one is us may stand on an issue, this is a stand we should all support. Well done, and thank you.

Great all around

Much needed and in this time. Noa is always my favorite voice on Israel and I hope some of the people who need to hear this conversation listen.

Timely, Relevant and Engaging

I can’t think of a more timely listen. This was so well done, thought provoking and important. Emmanuel asked a lot of the questions people secretly have and Noah brought some much nuance to the conversation. This is beyond Israel versus Palestine.

The dialogue we need during this crazy time

I love this book. It is informative and essential for this day and age. Based on the ADL stats 1 in 4 adults have antisemitic beliefs, Jews are the target of over 50% of hate crimes in the United States and antisemitic incidences have risen to over 1,000% from the year before throughout the world. We need this and we are so grateful this has come into fruition. Thank you for this book. I really appreciated the chemistry between Noa and Emmanuel. It’s a great listen. 5/5