Reviews

By Robert Philpot (Israel/London)

"In Aschheim’s fascinating and scrupulously balanced telling, traces of the future chancellor’s outlook can be seen in his liberal upbringing in fin-de-siecle Vienna." 

"There was, Aschheim’s book deftly exposes, an irony underlying Kreisky’s complex and strained relationship with his own Jewish identity and the Jewish state.”

By Colin Shindler (London)

"Many have written previously about the mass of contradictions that was Bruno Kreisky. The Israeli diplomat Daniel Aschheim has now drawn on all past research, interviewed former ambassadors and examined the archived correspondence between the Israeli embassy in Vienna and the foreign ministry in Jerusalem.

This is a forensic attempt to uncover the real Kreisky — even so, it is akin to walking into a hall of mirrors."

By Bradley Martin (Chicago)

"Israeli diplomat found his way from Jerusalem to Chicago … via Senegal. Daniel Aschheim, author of a book on a controversial world leader with a mixed record on Israel, promotes Israel’s interests in the Midwest."

By Maron L. Waxman (New York)

"More than a biog­ra­phy, Kreisky, Israel, and Jew­ish Iden­ti­ty exam­ines spe­cif­ic episodes in Kreisky’s career that illus­trate how his Jew­ish­ness fac­tored into his poli­cies. Israeli diplo­mat Daniel Aschheim has care­ful­ly con­duct­ed oral-his­to­ry inter­views with twen­ty-three of Kreisky’s con­tem­po­raries — aca­d­e­mics, jour­nal­ists, asso­ciates — and he draws on inter­views con­duct­ed by Bar­bara Tau­far, a diplo­mat and jour­nal­ist. Tak­en togeth­er, Aschheim's his­tor­i­cal method, exten­sive archival research, and wide range of sources show­case the many com­pli­cat­ed sides of Kreisky and his career."

By Karl Pfeifer (Vienna)

"Das persönliche und berufliche Leben von Bruno Kreisky (1911–1990), Österreichs sozialistischem Bundeskanzler von August 1970 bis Mai 1983, ist Gegenstand vieler Bücher und Artikel. Sein komplexes Verhältnis zu seinem Judentum, dem Staat Israel und dem Zionismus ist jedoch nur teilweise erforscht. Das Buch „Kreisky, Israel and Jewish Identity“ des israelischen Diplomaten Daniel Aschheim versucht, diese Situation durch systematische Forschung und nachhaltige Originalinterviews zu verbessern."

By Noga Sagi (Jerusalem)

"With this book, Aschheim aims to address a lacuna by introducing a new and relevant perspective to the puzzle surrounding Kreisky, focusing on the question of whether and in what way his Jewish heritage affected Austrian politics, Austrian-Israeli relations, or his approach to Middle Eastern affairs"

By Claudia Moscovici (Detroit)

"Although Bruno Kreisky and Simon Wiesenthal were political rivals, I deliberately chose the title “Kreisky and Wiesenthal” for this article to highlight two very different ways of being Jewish in Austria right before and after WWII." 

"Daniel Aschheim’s new book Kreisky, Israel and Jewish Identity (University of New Orleans Press, 2022) draws upon a wealth of primary documents as well as his own interviews with those who knew or worked with these famous men to shed new light upon their infamous feuds as well as upon Bruno Kreisky’s politics in general."

By Tom Segev (Jerusalem)

"Aschheim, deputy consul general at the Consulate General of Israel in Chicago, has written a well-written and informative book. It does not aspire to a comprehensive biography of Kreisky, but a study of the impact his presumed "Jewish complex" had on his Middle East policy."

By Jay Tcath (Chicago)

"Aschheim's new book Kreisky, Israel and Jewish Identity provides a clear navigation through the actions and statements reflecting Kreisky’s muddled psyche".

"This thoroughly researched and readable story provides uniquely Jewish and Zionist insights into a singular historic figure.  The book’s themes – personal and political – remain relevant to today’s global affairs and world Jewry."

By Liam Hoare (London)

"With Kreisky, however, nothing is ever straight-forward, and Aschheim is ever cognisant of his ambivalences and contradictions. It is this, along with his estimable research, that makes Kreisky, Israel, and Jewish Identity commendable..."

By Thomas Riegler (Munich)

"Daniel Aschheim hat keine weitere Biografie von Bruno Kreisky vorgelegt, sondern eine interessante und gut lesbare Studie zu ausgewählten Aspekten, die das komplexe und widersprüchliche Verhältnis Kreiskys zu seiner jüdischen Identität, zum Staat Israel und zum Zionismus ausdrücken. Aschheim hat dafür mit zahlreichen Zeitzeuginnen und Zeitzeugen Interviews geführt. Darüber hinaus schöpft er aus bislang unveröffentlichten israelischen Primärquellen. Das bringt insgesamt wichtigen und neuen Erkenntnisgewinn."

By Michael J. Reinprecht (London)

"Daniel Aschheim widmet sich in "Kreisky, Israel and Jewish Identity" einem bisland wenig erforschten Aspekt der Biografie des österreichischen Langzeitkanzlers."

"Neben reichlichem Quellenmaterial aus Archiven und Literatur stützt sich Aschheim besonders auf Oral History, führt zahlreiche Gespräche und Interviews mit Weggefährten und Zeitzeugen, vor allem aus Österreich und Israel. Diese persönliche Note macht die Lektüre kurzweilig und leuchtet Aspekte aus Bruno Kreiskys politischem Leben aus, die man bisher in der Fachliteratur nicht so leicht zu finden vermochte."

By Herschel Finman (Detroit)

"Aschheim has written a really wonderful book". 

Interview for the Jewish Hour with author Daniel Aschheim Starts at 6:20 minutes. 

By Robert Philpot (Israel/London)

"Dans le récit fascinant et scrupuleusement équilibré d’Aschheim, les traces de l’attitude du futur chancelier sont visibles dans son éducation libérale dans la Vienne de la fin du siècle dernier." 

"Le livre d’Aschheim expose habilement l’ironie qui sous-tend la relation complexe et tendue de Kreisky avec sa propre identité juive et l’État juif. Ses amis les plus proches étaient juifs, son épouse était juive, les intellectuels qu’il aimait et admirait étaient juifs.”

By Robert Philpot (Israel/London)

"הקריירה של ברונו קרייסקי, המנהיג האוסטרי שכיהן את התקופה הארוכה ביותר אחרי מלחמת העולם השנייה, הייתה מלאה בניגודים ● הוא מינה לממשלתו נאצים לשעבר; ניהל סכסוך מתוקשר עם שמעון ויזנטל – והיה המנהיג המערבי הראשון שהכיר באש"ף ● ספר חדש של הדיפלומט הישראלי דניאל אשהיים בוחן מחדש את היחס האמביוולנטי של קרייסקי עם מדינת היהודים – ועם יהדותו" 

By Yogev Carmel (Neve Ilan)

"...אלא שהישיבה הוקדשה לנושא אחר, שאינו קשור למלחמה, ולו בלבד, לאובססיה התורנית של ראשת הממשלה גולדה מאיר - קנצלר אוסטריה היהודי ברונו קרייסקי. ההיסטוריון ד"ר דניאל אשהיים מסביר: "הצבא מעדכן על התקדמות הכוחות המצריים והסוריים וגולדה אומרת, 'שמעתי, אבל קרייסקי הוא שונא עצמו, שונא יהודים', ולא מפסיקה לדבר על קרייסקי, קרייסקי, קרייסקי, שנאו, שנאו, שנאו. אחד השרים שהיה באותה ישיבה אמר 'באותם ימים ניתן היה לחשוב שלישראל יש גדה על נהר הדנובה, ולא על תעלת סואץ'. פשוט כל מה שגולדה דיברה עליו באותם ימים קריטיים היה רק על קרייסקי". 

By Sheldon Kirshner (Toronto)

"In this balanced, erudite and wide-ranging book, Aschheim focuses on some of the key moments in Kreisky’s career: his embrace of the postwar doctrine that Austria was the first victim of German aggression, his appointment of four ministers with a Nazi past to his cabinet, his public quarrel with Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, his decision to close a Jewish refugee transit camp following an Arab terrorist incident near the Slovakian border, and his chilly encounter in Vienna with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir over this explosive matter."

By Steven Beller (Washington, DC)

"A leading figure in Austrian diplomacy long before he became chancellor, Kreisky was effectively in charge of negotiating immigration with the Soviet authorities from as early as 1953, and he has been credited with enabling the successful emigration of hundreds of thousands of East European Jews through Austria. At the same time, Kreisky has been assailed as a “self-hating Jew,” as a hater of Zionism who preferred to consort with Arab tyrants rather than support Israel. How is such a stark discord between practical reality and historical notoriety possible? Daniel Aschheim has made a most creditable attempt to help us solve the riddle."

By Editors (Tel Aviv)

"הספר שלפנינו נקרא כרומן מתח פוליטי וכולל עבודת תחקיר יסודית. לא נותר אלא לקוות כי יתורגם בקרוב לעברית וכי יעמוד לרשות המתעניינים בתולדותיו של ברונו קרייסקי ופרק חשוב זה ביחסי יהדות, אוסטריה, הסכסוך המזרח תיכוני, ציונות, אנטישמיות, "אנטישמיות עצמית", לאומיות ולאומנות אוסטרית במאה העשרים". 

By Laura A. Detre (Baltimore)

"This book is based largely on interviews with Austrians and Israelis, many of whom had firsthand knowledge of Kreisky’s interactions with Israel and of his feelings about his own complicated identity. It is important to note that he did not deny that he descended from Jews and that he was for parts of his life immersed in secular, acculturated Austrian Jewish culture. Nevertheless, he did not identify as a Jew". 

By Chris Cermak (London)