History and topicality of the Middle East conflict. Desperate about Israeli human rights violations and amazed by the indifference of German politicians, the author searches for the causes of the present situation and traces lost alternatives. He explores the Judaism of the Tsarist Empire, where religiousness, socialism, and nationalism took root, and examines the meeting of these currents with the British Empire, Europe's fear of "Jewish Bolshevism," and Nazi crimes. To overcome its current national-religious fanaticism, Judaism needs a renewed model of liberation, redemption, and charity.