Book of the Month - July 2025
Uncomfortable Conversations
with a Jew
Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby - ISBN: 978-1-6680-5785-8 - 2024
Author:
Emmanuel Acho is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy and the New York Times bestseller Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. He is the host/producer of the Emmy Award–winning YouTube series of the same name, and whose mission is to promote dialogue around racial insensitivity and ignorance. A former NFL linebacker, Acho is a Fox Sports Analyst and television personality. Raised in Dallas, he holds a master’s degree in sports psychology from the University of Texas, Austin. He lives in Los Angeles.
Noa Tishby is the New York Times bestselling author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth and Israel’s former Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism and Delegitimization. A native of Tel Aviv, she served in the Israeli army before moving to Los Angeles and launching a career in the entertainment industry. An award-winning producer, Tishby made history with the sale of In Treatment to HBO, the first Israeli television show to become an American series. One of the most visible activists on social media, Tishby is the founder of several nonprofit organizations, including Act for Israel and Eighteen, which combats antisemitism and inspires Jewish pride. She lives in Los Angeles and is a proud Jewish mother to her son, Ari.
Brief Synopsis:
From two New York Times bestselling authors, a timely, disarmingly honest, and thought-provoking investigation into antisemitism that connects the dots between the tropes and hatred of the past to our current complicated moment.
For Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby no question about Jews is off-limits. They go there. They cover Jews and money. Jews and power. Jews and privilege. Jews and white privilege. The Black and Jewish struggle. Emmanuel asks, Did Jews kill Jesus? To which Noa responds, “Why are Jewish people history’s favorite scapegoat?” They unpack Judaism itself: Is it a religion, culture, a peoplehood, or a race? And: Are you antisemitic if you’re anti-Zionist?
The questions—and answers—might make you squirm, but together, they explain the tropes, stereotypes, and catalysts of antisemitism in America today.
The topics are complicated and Acho and Tishby bring vastly different perspectives. Tishby is an outspoken Israeli American. Acho is a mild-mannered son of a Nigerian American pastor. But they share a superpower: an uncanny ability to make complicated ideas easy to understand so anyone can follow the straight line from the past to our immediate moment—and then see around corners. Acho and Tishby are united by the core belief that hatred toward one group is never isolated: if you see the smoke of bigotry in one place, expect that we will all be in the fire.
Informative and accessible, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew has a unique structure: Acho asks questions and Tishby answers them with deeply personal, historical, and political responses. This book will enable anyone to explain—and identify—what Jewish hatred looks like. It is a much-needed lexicon for this fraught moment in Jewish history. As Acho says, “Proximity breeds care and distance breeds fear.”
Insights:
Noa: “Because every single Jewish person is a descendant of someone who was sitting in a kitchen somewhere in the world, looked around at the family, and said, “We have to get the f**k out of here; sh*t’s about to hit the fan.”
Noa: “Many Jews are both white-passing and our experience can only fully be understood through the prism of ongoing persecution, expulsion, and execution; plus, the collective trauma of what’s been done—plus, the never-disappearing anxiety of what could come next. We have benefited from that perceived whiteness and we continue to be the subject of some of the most vicious violence and hate.”
EMMANUEL: “I felt oppressed groups too often speak in silos. Black people fight for Black people, women fight for women, and Jewish people fight for Jewish people, but why don’t we ever fight together? Imagine how powerful we would be if Black and Jewish people—two of the most historically oppressed groups—fought together.”
EMMANUEL: “We spent about an hour talking through the events of the 7th, with Noa giving me all kinds of context—or at least everything she was able to know at that point. We knew that Hamas had started a war. We knew that hundreds of people had been slaughtered and/or kidnapped. We knew everything was in chaos… Then came my final question: What can I do to help? Which elicited the most raw and authentic answer: Stop what you’re doing and check on your Jewish friends.”
Should I read it or skip it?
A few years ago, I was introduced to Emmanuel Acho. He is a Texas Ex and in our house, that gets you instant credibility. Being Burnt Orange matters more than being black or white. Then you add that he tries to pattern his life after Jesus (Yeshua). He speaks my family’s language on many levels. I recognize many in the church world cannot see beyond liberal and conservative. However, I appreciate a view different from my own. A view honed by different experiences caused by different backgrounds, different interactions and even different skin color.
In Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew, Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby deliver a bold, necessary, and refreshingly honest dialogue on antisemitism, race, identity, and shared humanity. As co-authors from different backgrounds—Acho, a Black follower of Jesus, and Tishby, an Israeli Secular Jew—they model what it means to have tough conversations with humility and candor.
This book is not a lecture—it’s a conversation. The format mirrors Acho’s previous Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, but expands the lens to confront antisemitism and its intersections with racism. Through personal stories, cultural observations, and historical insights, the authors tackle myths, stereotypes, and uncomfortable truths head-on. From misunderstandings about Zionism to the undercurrents of anti-Jewish sentiment in political and cultural discourse, they press into tension without assigning blame.
What makes this book stand out is its balance. It doesn’t sugarcoat the pain or complexity of the issues, but neither does it vilify. Instead, Acho and Tishby model mutual respect and a deep desire to educate and connect. Readers from all backgrounds will walk away not only more informed, but also more equipped to engage in meaningful conversations—especially in today’s climate where silence often fuels division. There is a deep discussion about Acho’s need to discuss both sides of the Gaza/Hamas conflict. They reference the video that started and almost ended this book. You can see these videos here.
For Christian readers, the book also offers an implicit challenge: to better understand our Jewish neighbors, to recognize the deep historical ties between our faiths, and to speak against antisemitism with clarity and conviction.
Why it matters:
It bridges cultural and religious divides with empathy.
It educates on antisemitism without condescension.
It models civil discourse in an age of outrage.
It invites readers to listen, reflect, and respond with moral courage.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew is timely, bold, and ultimately hopeful. It proves that when we lean into discomfort with humility, healing and understanding can begin. It also reminds us of how history has shaped our relationships with other religions and people. This book is a poignant reminder of how interpersonal relationships are uncomfortable. Jesus (Yeshua) didn’t shy away from them. We shouldn’t either.
