This Far, No Further: On the Need for Jewish Rebels

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Naya speaks with Israeli-American writer and award-winning journalist Benjamin Kerstein about his new book, Self Defense: A Jewish Manifesto. The thesis of the book can be summed up in a single declaration: “This far, no further.” It is a call for Jews to stop accepting abuse, to draw firm boundaries, and to look evil directly in the eye, without shame in naming it.

This message is especially urgent because, for decades, Jews have been forced into the position of explaining themselves. And it’s no surprise because we are not merely a religious community, nor simply an ethnicity. The world struggles to categorize us. But those who wish to vilify Jews? They are not confused at all. Abusers always know exactly what they are doing.

Meanwhile, Jews continue to assume good intentions and show up to the accusation armed with facts and reason. Alfred Dreyfus arrived at his trial with proof of his innocence; yet the verdict was predetermined. The trial was never about truth.

Kerstein’s book confronts this dynamic head-on. By diagnosing the American Jewish community’s historically lackadaisical response to Jew-hatred, he gives voice to a shift already unfolding: a refusal to remain passive, a rejection of the old instinct to explain, apologize, or justify.

Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.