When you factor in one of the world’s oldest religions, the contradictions become even more acute. But sociologist and prolific author Keith Kahn-Harris believes that it’s possible.
Discussing the motivation in taking pen to paper in order to tackle such a subject, Kahn-Harris reminds us that:
Jews seem to matter. Antisemitism, in its various forms, is fundamentally an assertion of Jewish importance in understanding the world and what is wrong with it. So it’s understandable that Jews have sought to fight Jew-hatred by showing how our existence has been a positive boon for the world. Jews have proactively gone out into the world and demonstrated how extraordinary and irreplaceable we are. We are a people of Nobel Prize winners, film-makers, novelists, songwriters and much else. Yet the Jews are still tired. Of course we are. We are on a treadmill, desperately trying to prove our worth and fight our corner. Post-October 7, I have become convinced that that Jews are in danger not just from Jew-hatred, but also from our very public significance and our exertions to maintain it. My new book…pushes back against this danger.
One cannot deny that, when laid out in such terms, the initial concept seems to be less foolhardy and more an act of genuine socio-political defiance, in a twisted way.
Based in north London, sociologist, author (and metal fan) Keith Kahn-Harris has been writing for many years about Jewish culture, identity and history as well as appearing on Sam Dunn's acclaimed Metal Evolution documentary. With books like Uncivil War: The Israel Conflict in the Jewish Community and Strange Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and the Limits of Diversity he is in a position to wrestle with the differing perceptions of anti-Semitism and explain to a bemused audience how this situation has come about.
Opening with a recollection of a trip to Poland which took in baseball, the Holocaust and a Kinder Surprise egg, Kahn-Harris then tells the reader that, for others in his company, the mundanities of history and modern life were a prelude to the real story: the suffering of the Jewish people. The realisation that there is an endless focus on the bleakest moments in Jewish history made him feel like ‘a stuffed Jew’: essentially a museum artefact.
Thus begins a work that, with a tone that is both gently humorous and sternly academic, discusses crap Jewish music like the Maccabeats, mediocre Israeli celebrities like Gimmel and the unifying, if slightly ramshackle, myriad of organisations in Jewish life and an overriding argument is that, by acknowledging that Jews can be as boring as everyone else, we help remove some of the ‘otherness’ that certain types have about Jews and maybe ensure the survival of them as people.
All the while, Kahn-Harris wrestles with how this mediocrity is an integral part of life and therefore we should celebrate this as much as the likes of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen (as, by highlighting the exemplary, we risk playing into the stereotype of ‘Jews running the (insert whatever)’ while at the same time acknowledging how this determination to survive has led to the image of the Jews as a serious and legacy framed race.
Unsurprisingly there are a multitude of detours that look at legacy issues, current political troubles, inter-community discussions and culture. All of which are woven together seamlessly by Kahn-Harris’ disarming manner.
Whether one finds the overall argument convincing or not, this is a book that will make you ponder on subjects that you probably had never considered before, thus raising it out of the realms of mediocrity and into greatness.
Keith Kahn-Harris, 2025, Everyday Jews: Why The Jewish People Are Not Who You Think They Are. Icon Books ISBN-13: 978-1837732111.
⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist and is the author of A Vortex of Securocrats and “dethrone god”.
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