Trudy Gold
Visionaries of Differing Dreams: Marx, Disraeli, and Jewish Identity
Summary
A close examination of the similarities and differences in the lives of Karl Marx (1818–1833) and former UK Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), two key political figures who shaped the 19th century and beyond.
Trudy Gold
Trudy Gold was the CEO of the London Jewish Cultural Centre and a founding member of the British delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Throughout her career she taught modern Jewish history at schools, universities, and to adult groups and ran seminars on Holocaust education in the UK, Eastern Europe, and China. She also led Jewish educational tours all over the world. Trudy was the educational director of the student resources “Understanding the Holocaust” and “Holocaust Explained” and the author of The Timechart History of Jewish Civilization.
Today, I don’t think he’s considered a great, but nevertheless, I think he’s worth reading because of the interest. He had a huge social conscience in his novels, if you read “Sybil”. That’s where he says England is two nations, the rich and the poor. I think the point about Disraeli and Marx, they were both outsiders, whatever way you look at it, and outsiders are always the greatest voyeurs.
Yes, of course anti-Semites considered Disraeli Jewish. They think he’s one of the elders of Zion. But look, don’t look for logic in race theory. You see, this is one of the problems. Belief systems are not rational always, are they? Are they ever rational?
The Francis Wheen is pretty good. It’s so difficult. Isaiah Berlin wrote a book on Marx. That’s an interesting story. He was the third author to be approached. His book on Marx is good. And he told Louise Namia, Louise Namia was a Polish Jew who never wrote about Jewish history. He said, “There’s no such thing as Jewish history. There’s Jewish martyrology.” He actually wrote about the 18th century English aristocracy. And he said to Berlin, “Why are you doing this?” And Isaiah Berlin, he said, you know, “I’m doing it because I want to.”