Contextualizing Jew-Hate

Without a doubt, the most brilliant, informative and insightful book I read this year was Anti-Judaism, by David Nirenberg. In his survey of Western and Islamic thinking vis-à-vis the Jews, Naylor's insight into the durability of Judenhass/Zionhass and its centrality to Western and Islamic civilization essentially boils down to this: throughout history, scholars, philosophers and religious and political leaders who have wanted to assert the veracity of their own belief systems have often done so by proclaiming, "I believe this. The Jew(s), on the other hand, believes something entirely different. Something inherently wicked."
 
This "us versus them" way of looking at the world is so appealing--and so compelling--that it continues to this very day:

To recap the Arab Spring Secret Jew Front, everyone from Assad to Mubarak to Gaddafi to Ahmadinejad were accused of really being Jews. Because that is how politics in the Muslim world works.

Now it’s General Al-Sisi’s turn to be accused of being a secret Jew.

In the context of Nirenberg's ingenious thesis, it all makes perfect sense, no?