Allegro documents a vivid example of the manner in which a project to define oneself in opposition to the Other inevitably generates antagonism. But a thorough understanding of the genesis of anti-Semitism requires more than mapping the tensions that arise between co-existing communities. It must also explain the fear we find associated with anti-Semitism, and how these emotional presumptions are communicated to populations that have little direct contact with members of the Jewish faith. Allegro does not take us as far as this, and thus the account is unfinished. He has perhaps brought us as far as documentary texts will permit, but further analyses from additional disciplines will be required to bridge the gap from the pagan to the modern consciousness.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/james_donovan/76/