I have to re-read this book, but I remember my thoughts at the time were tied up to the seemingly endless process of converting to Judaism which I was going through. I loved the fact that we had magical rabbis performing exorcisms and it seemed like a nice answer to my annoyance at the fact that Willow from Buffy was Jewish and yet all of her magical powers came from witchcraft instead of kabalistic workings (I know that's a silly complaint - well now I do).

I didn't object to the paragraph either because there's a lot of religious Jewish writing about being Chosen and how this provokes hatred among the goyim. I agree that it's not an accurate reason for anti-Semitism (neither is that one about Jews being bankers in the Middle Ages because they could charge interest) but it would be a fairly accurate depiction of how very religious Jews (especially ones who have magic powers) would think - especially in regards to converts who have overcome a great deal of cultural programming (some very hostile) to agree with them. I guess it's like the ideal convert who is told that converting to Judaism is a terrible idea because Jews are hated throughout the world and if he responds "I can only hope to be worthy" he is converted (or accepted as a conversion candidate in a rather horrible process without much oversight).