Defending Truth

The quest for truth has long been central to Western civilization and the academic enterprise, a prerequisite for honest discourse about ethics, law, and social order. So too have the problems and paradoxes of antisemitism persisted through the ages – as has the notion that they are endemic to the human condition and have been around for so long it is fruitless to fight them. But the countervailing urge to understand and explain the scourge of racial hatred and anti-Zionism, as well as the conviction that they can be substantially eradicated by sowing truth and honesty, likewise remains strong among freedom-loving people everywhere. DEFENDING TRUTH focuses on three areas that reflect the demonization of Jews and Israel over the past century: the continuing phenomenon of Holocaust denial, entrenched media bias in Mideast reporting, and the current worldwide effort to impose boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israeli academic, business, and state enterprises. By describing in detail the use of Big Lies and purposeful distortions to accomplish those ends, this book engages the difficult but necessary pursuit of an answer to the eternal query, how best can Truth be defended?