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A review by freso
The magic maker by Mickey Dubrow
0.25
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher via NetGalley in return for a review. This is that review.
The idea of Jewish occultism and magic was something that really captured me and made me want to read this book. It is not a subject that I have prior familiarity with, and I was interested in seeing how it would work out and in what manner it diverts from, say, Christian/Satanist occultism/magic.
Unfortunately, the author seemed to insist on making a point about advancing the antisemitic notion of equating Jews and Judaism with the genocidal settler‐colonial apartheid state of “Israel”, and doing this at the height of their ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population of Palestine since the Nakba. This book is finished now, late 2024, and set to be released January 2025. This means that it has almost certainly been at least partially written and edited during this most aggressive onslaught of the indigenous population in the land that “Israel” currently has occupied, yet the author still feels perfectly fine with only mentioning Palestine once, as one of the characters of the story exclaims that “Palestine is now Israel. The Jews have a homeland again!”
This statement would have been fine, if the protagonist then followed up by dismantling the Zionist propaganda, and explaining how Zionists are now the ones committing a present‐day Holocaust—but no, it goes completely unchallenged. I am disgusted with the obvious erasure of the Palestinian people and genocide‐denial/erasure being put forth here. Additionally, the author uses the presence of books about “Israel” on various characters’ bookshelves to emphasise them being Jewish, again working to equate Jews and Judaism with the genocidal racist ideology of Zionism.
All in all, I will be steering way clear of this author going forward, and recommending that people check out books published by the various [Publishers for Palestine](https://publishersforpalestine.org/) or one of their affiliated groups instead. I would love to one day find a non‐Zionist (or anti‐Zionist!) novel covering the same ideas/material, but alas, not a fan of using it to manufacture consent for genocide.
The idea of Jewish occultism and magic was something that really captured me and made me want to read this book. It is not a subject that I have prior familiarity with, and I was interested in seeing how it would work out and in what manner it diverts from, say, Christian/Satanist occultism/magic.
Unfortunately, the author seemed to insist on making a point about advancing the antisemitic notion of equating Jews and Judaism with the genocidal settler‐colonial apartheid state of “Israel”, and doing this at the height of their ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population of Palestine since the Nakba. This book is finished now, late 2024, and set to be released January 2025. This means that it has almost certainly been at least partially written and edited during this most aggressive onslaught of the indigenous population in the land that “Israel” currently has occupied, yet the author still feels perfectly fine with only mentioning Palestine once, as one of the characters of the story exclaims that “Palestine is now Israel. The Jews have a homeland again!”
This statement would have been fine, if the protagonist then followed up by dismantling the Zionist propaganda, and explaining how Zionists are now the ones committing a present‐day Holocaust—but no, it goes completely unchallenged. I am disgusted with the obvious erasure of the Palestinian people and genocide‐denial/erasure being put forth here. Additionally, the author uses the presence of books about “Israel” on various characters’ bookshelves to emphasise them being Jewish, again working to equate Jews and Judaism with the genocidal racist ideology of Zionism.
All in all, I will be steering way clear of this author going forward, and recommending that people check out books published by the various [Publishers for Palestine](https://publishersforpalestine.org/) or one of their affiliated groups instead. I would love to one day find a non‐Zionist (or anti‐Zionist!) novel covering the same ideas/material, but alas, not a fan of using it to manufacture consent for genocide.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism