5 Feet of Fury

‘Philosemite! It sounds like a combination of pastry and Jewishness — what’s not to like?’

Julie Burchill reveals the subject of her next book:

My fear and loathing of stupidity, and the catastrophic effect it can have on human dignity and progress, is a definite cause. The fact that Jews have won 22 per cent of all Nobel Prizes – despite being only 0.2 per cent of the world’s population and two per cent of the US population – always makes me grin like a fool, like someone whose team is on a roll.

Occasionally, some Israel-hating half-wit will bleat: “Oh, but philosemitism is just the flipside of antisemitism.” Really? All the many white people who admire and/or copy black culture, from African music to hip-hop moves – do they secretly hate blacks? All those people of non-Irish descent who will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day this weekend, do they really, deep down, hate the Irish? Islam-lickers, from Prince Charles to Ken Livingstone – if you scratch them, will you find Islamophobes?

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I hear ya, Julie, but remember:

There’s a reason Yiddish has a hundred words for “moron.”