Michael Gutter’s book, “Never Again Means Never Again,” began as a raw, unfiltered response to antisemitism — full of frustration, anger and explicit language. It was a no-holds-barred examination of where hatred stems from and a passionate call for awareness and action.
However, a few months after its publication, Gutter decided to take a step back. He republished the book with a more restrained tone, removing coarse language to reach a broader audience. This new edition is titled “Never Again Still Means Never Again.”
“I’m frustrated. Jews are being blamed for the same bulls—, over and over again, things that are so easy to fact-check, yet people still don’t know the truth,” Gutter said in a phone interview with The Journal.
Gutter began writing the book in December 2021, well before the events of Oct. 7. He said that if he had written it after that, his tone would have likely been even angrier. But even then, he was already questioning what had happened to the idea of Never Again.
“We vowed that history would not repeat itself, that we would not tolerate antisemitism and those who seek to destroy us. So what happened?” he asked.
“We vowed that history would not repeat itself, that we would not tolerate antisemitism and those who seek to destroy us. So what happened?“
In his view, younger generations are failing to uphold that vow. “My generation isn’t honoring those words. We are losing our Jewish identity in the U.S. quickly and people don’t seem to care or realize it.”
Gutter also questioned the effectiveness of major Jewish organizations. He noted that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has In 2023, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported a total of 8,873 antisemitic incidents across the United States, marking a 140% increase from the 3,698 incidents recorded in 2022, raising concerns about whether their efforts are truly making an impact.
Although he has never personally experienced antisemitism, Gutter’s frustration grew as he saw it in the news and on social media. Rather than improving, the situation seemed to be getting worse.
“I remember one night I was watching a documentary about Nazi Germany and I got so angry. The next day, I heard about that a—hole who murdered 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue and my blood was boiling. I said, ‘That’s it, I need to write a book.’ So I grabbed a pen and paper and started writing. I finished it in 10 months.”
Instead of seeking a publisher, Gutter self-published the book, taking on the responsibility of promoting it himself. His goal is to set the record straight, break misconceptions about Jews and highlight their contributions to the world. The book covers topics such as the rise of Hitler, “Mein Kampf,” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the significant number of Jewish Nobel Prize winners worldwide. “Forty percent of Nobel Prize winners are Jews,” he said. ”I wrote about how, in every place Jews have settled, in every country they’ve lived in, they have only made it better.”
Gutter was particularly shaken by the reaction on college campuses following the Oct. 7 attacks. He watched videos of Jewish students locking themselves in a library out of fear and was appalled by how university presidents and institutions responded. On a global scale, he was equally stunned. Instead of condemning the attacks, many people showed support for the aggressors.
“I couldn’t believe how the world had turned its back on Israel. If the same number of people had been killed in the U.S., it would translate to 49,240 murdered, raped, burned alive, including babies. What has Israel done to deserve this?”
Through his book, Gutter wants readers to understand that Jews are not the enemy, not the oppressors or colonizers they are often portrayed as. He believes that education is the key to changing perspectives. In his introduction, he writes that he wrote the book ”for those who need it most, the individuals involved in any type of hate group.”
While he acknowledges that the chances of a neo-Nazi or KKK member reading it are slim to none, he hopes that maybe one of their family members will pick it up and share it with them. ”Maybe, some way, somehow, it gets in front of an antisemite looking for facts to support why they hate Jews and other minorities. I believe once they start reading, they’ll easily spot their own ignorance.”
He also urges Jewish readers to take the situation seriously. “My fellow Jews need to read this book. I don’t think they truly understand how fast we are losing our religion and culture in the United States. We are not that far away from having only one synagogue in a lot of states.”
“Never Again Still Means Never Again” is available for purchase on Amazon.
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