In the mid-1960s, a skinny teenager in a yarmulka, black suit and tzitzit accepted a dare from a group of Black students: try a karate class at their tough Brownsville dojo. Alex Sternberg, a Hungarian-born yeshiva student and the son of Holocaust survivors, kept coming back. Under the demanding eye of karate pioneer George Cofield, he earned his black belt and went on to become a national and international champion.
Then, in 1968, he met Rabbi Meir Kahane. Recruited to teach karate to the young Jewish Defense League, Sternberg became one of the leaders of a movement whose slogan, "Never Again," spoke directly to the children of survivors. The Toughest Jew in Brooklyn is his firsthand account of those turbulent years, from 1968 to 1972, told without apology by someone who was in the inner circle of this controversial group.
The memoir follows Sternberg through:
- His family's journey from Communist Hungary through Vienna to New York, and life as a student at Mesivta Torah Vodaath
- The bare-knuckle early days of American karate, and his life as the only Orthodox Jew in an all-Black dojo
- The Six-Day War, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the tumult of 1968
- JDL street patrols, Camp Jedel, and confrontations with American Nazis
- The campaign to free Soviet Jewry, his arrests, and the federal case of the "JDL Thirteen"
Moving between the dojo and the streets, Sternberg offers a rare personal view of the complex relationship between the Jewish and African American communities, and of the emergence of Jewish militancy in America. It is a story of discipline, identity and conviction, for martial artists, students of Jewish history, and anyone curious about a volatile chapter in American life.
Alex Sternberg was born in Hungary to Holocaust survivor parents. He emigrated to the USA in 1961 with his family and graduated from Mesivta Torah Vodaath. He is a ninth-degree black belt in Shotokan karate and has won many national and international championship medals. Following his years as a pioneering member of Rabbi Meir Kahane's Jewish Defense League, he graduated from the SUNY College of Medicine. He was Director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Function, Sleep, and Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. His previous book was Recipes from Auschwitz: The Survival Stories of Two Hungarian Jews with Historical Insight.
“As one of the central figures in the JDL in its heyday, Dr. Sternberg has the insight to analyze the events and personas in one of the important Jewish organizations of its time.… Enjoyable and rewarding reading.”
— Rebbetzin Libby Kahane
“As part of the JDL inner circle, few are better positioned to tell that story than Sternberg. For anyone who wants to understand the emergence of Jewish militancy, this book is indispensable.”
— Yossi Klein Halevi, author of the New York Times bestseller Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor
“An unforgettable memoir that expertly blends martial arts, cultural challenges, and personal resilience. Alex Sternberg’s journey from an Orthodox Jewish teenager in Brooklyn to one of America’s top karate champions is both inspiring and poignant. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement and a time of increased racial tensions, Sternberg’s narrative explores the rich and complex relationships between the Jewish and African American communities.… The Toughest Jew in Brooklyn is a book you’ll find impossible to put down.”
— Sensei Cedrick Barksdale
“Finally! An inside look at one of the most important Jewish self-defense groups from someone who was actually there and knows.… An absolute page-turner.”
— David “Samson” Levine, second-degree black belt; former JDL member and leader; author of Revolutions: In Their Own Words
