History is always relevant, says acclaimed author

JORDAN MOSHE

“History is always important partly because it is about the present,” he says. “There are definitely lessons that can be applied to us. History is like reading intelligence reports. It’s about finding information which is reliable, and out of that, what’s right and what’s relevant to you now.”

Montefiore, the author of several books, was in South Africa last week to promote his most recent book, Written in History: Letters that Changed the World.

His visit, arranged by Jonathan Ball Publishers, included a launch at Bookdealers of Blubird last Thursday evening, where the author discussed his book with local historian David Saks.

The SA Jewish Report caught up with Montefiore before the event, gleaning insight into his work and life. This London-born Jewish historian claims both Sephardi and Ashkenazi ancestry, and describes himself as a “Jewish mongrel”. The husband and father of two explains, “the Montefiores are from Spain, Italy, and Mexico, and the Sebags are from Morocco”.

“My mother’s family were from Lithuania. They bought tickets for New York in 1904, and when they were dropped off only two days later, they found that they were in fact in New Cork. They had been tricked.” They would move on to New Castle and then London, the residence of the Montefiores by that point as well.

As for Montefiore himself, his dream was to make a great fortune, write many books, and become foreign secretary in a few years. After completing his degree, he worked as a banker, foreign-affairs journalist, and war correspondent covering the conflicts that unfolded in the last days of the Soviet Union.

“I started writing books in about 1995, so I’ve been living on writing for almost 25 years,” he says. “It is erratic but independent, and I like not working for somebody. My dream never came to pass, except the part about writing.”

Montefiore explains that it is actually very difficult be a writer. “Very few people can write a first book that is an international hit,” he says. “I wrote and published two novels while I was at university, and the first didn’t do very well. After those, I moved on with history books, which proved successful, and so went ahead with that.”

After the success of his first historical work, Catherine the Great and Potemkin, Montefiore forged ahead and wrote about other Russian subjects close to his heart, including Stalin.

In 2011, he published Jerusalem: The Biography, having wanted to pen a book on the topic for years. This subject should come as no surprise, considering that his great-great-uncle, Sir Moses Montefiore, built the first Jewish residential settlement and alms house outside the old walled city of Jerusalem. This area is now known as Mishkenot Sha’ananim, and features the famous Montefiore windmill.

“My family had played a part in the establishment of the new Jerusalem, and I had visited there often as a boy, so I really wanted to write something special about it,” he says. “I wanted to write a history of the Middle East through Jerusalem and its history. It was a great project, and it wasn’t a proper history, but I did it.”

Because he has based all his major works on historical correspondence, Montefiore’s publisher suggested that he undertake a collection of letters, bringing him to publish his latest book.

He says, “I have a library at home with an amazing collection of things. My daughter and I spent two weeks collecting letters, finding more than 300, and we narrowed it down to 100.”

He explains that his aim was to present as much diversity as possible. “Chronology is boring and predictable, so I chose themes. I wanted to find delightful things, a delicatessen of letters to give everyone something they can dip into and enjoy. The book has letters from everywhere – Asia, South America, Africa. It’s all in the mix – that’s what history is.”

Montefiore is concerned about the current status of British politics. Although he believes the limbo over Brexit is dangerous, he believes it may prove to be a good thing.

“Though I wanted to stay in the European Union, I think Britain will be fine in the end,” he says. “There was no real reason to leave, but the decision was made based on emotion over rational thought. In a couple of years though, I think Britain will be fine, and the decision may prove to be a good one.”

He acknowledges that although Britain has been good to Jews in recent history, the political situation for Jews in the United Kingdom has declined. “At the moment all is fine, but Corbyn may be prime minister by end of the year, and I’d feel uneasy.” He points out that the British Labour Party is ruled by a hard-left, Leninist league that’s anti-Semitic, making it a dangerous time to be Jewish in England.

“History is relevant again,” he says. “All history of the past is really history of the present as well. We have to pay special attention to history. We need to re-educate everybody about the Holocaust, yet everyone is bored with the subject.”

“It’s very difficult, but I think that the spirit of resistance present in civil society will challenge anything which appears dangerous.”

Montefiore concludes with the belief that in spite of all of its challenges, it’s wonderful to be Jewish. “It’s a blessing, but it isn’t always easy,” he says. “While I’m more of a cultural Jew, my Judaism has given me a great cosmopolitanism in my work and an angle of understanding. Because of their roles in history, Jews are almost always in my books, either onstage or offstage.”