If I Am Not For Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew

by Mike Marqusee

If I Am Not For Myself is a passionate, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to beJewish in the twenty-first century. It traces the author’s upbringingin 1960s Jewish-American surburbia, his anti-war and pro-Palestinianactivism on the British left, and life as a Jew among Muslims inPakistan, Morocco, and Britain. Interwoven with this are theexperiences of his grandfather’s life in Jewish New York of the 1930sand 40s, his struggles with anti-Semitism and the twists and turns thatled him from anti-fascism to militant Zionism. In the course of thisdeeply personal story, Marqusee refutes the claims of Israel andZionism on Jewish loyalty and laments their impact on the Jewishdiaspora. Rather, he argues for a richer, more multi-dimensionalunderstanding of Jewish history and identity, and reclaims vitalpolitical and personal space for those castigated as “self-haters” bythe Jewish establishment.

Genres: Jewish, Nonfiction, Politics, Israel, Middle East, Biography, History

307 pages, Hardcover

First published January 20, 2007

About the author

Mike Marqusee was an American-born writer, journalist and political activist who has lived in Britain since 1971. He was the author of numerous books including If I Am Not for Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew, Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the Sixties, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, Anyone but England: An Outsider Looks at English Cricket, a novel, Slow Turn, and a collection of poetry, Street Music. He was a regular correspondent for a range of publications including The Guardian, Red Pepper and The Hindu.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puts into words what so many of us Jews are unable to express in the face of the Israeli hijacking of Jewishness. Contains Larry David's great comeback to the accusation of being a self-hating Jew: "Sure I hate myself, but not because I'm Jewish."

The thing is, I'm not even an anti-Zionist. I refuse to allow the Jews of Israel to make me either a Zionist or the opposite. I just don't give a shit about Israel, except when their normal everyday abuses of logic and human rights spikes egregiously. It's just too much to constantly watchdog those assholes. I think it's great that there's a peace movement and an anti-rascist movement in Israel -- it's their responsibility to keep their government in line and they're not doing such a great job, but I'm sorry I just don't feel it's my job to take up the slack.

As far as I'm concerned, being a Jew means having no state. It means being heir to a complex history that has landed one right where one finds oneself, at which point allegiance is only owed to those one has become joined with by bonds of affinity, and to the dignity of humanity at large.

Sometimes it does get to be too much, though, as with the destruction of Jenin, the building of the barrier, and the bombing of Lebanon two years ago. But when I speak out against that evil, it's not as either a Zionist or an anti-Zionist, but as someone disgusted with the self-destructive, murderous arrogance of the Israeli government and its military. And I admit I do get tired of their arrogating to speak for all Jews. They don't speak or act on my behalf, they do not have my permission, and at times I have no choice but to reassert that position.

I don't believe the establishment of the Israeli state has had the effect of either decreasing or increasing the net amount of anti-semitism in the world. Israel is a nation with its own mission, a theocratic mission, that has nothing to do with me, my Jewishness, my spiritual beliefs or my social values.

Marqusee makes a great case for not being a Zionist. His case for being an anti-Zionist per se is much weaker, but that is actually fine with me. It's a thoughtfully written work of self-examination and personal/political development.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is always a fine line to walk for us Jews between supporting the idea of a Jewish homeland in Israel, and confronting the inhumanity of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, just as there is a fine line between critiquing Israel and taking part in antisemitism. Marqusee explores and challenges these lines. His thesis is that Zionism (as he defines it) has corrupted the social justice values of Judaism, and that more Jews should challenge it (although he's vague about what that means...challenge Israeli military policy? Challenge Israel's entire right to exist?)

The book's strengths include a dead-on critique of the huge role that Zionism has taken on in Jewish education and how somehow being a good Jew has now been equated with supporting Israel, right or wrong. I agree that many Jews (and many non-Jews) hold a moral double-standard that exempts Israel's actions, and that this in the end weakens, not strengthens, Jews around the world, who feel the wrath of those who criticize the Israeli state. There is also a great treatment of the Haskala (the Jewish enlightenment thinkers and their critiques of the Jewish power establishment of f their day), and an interesting albeit poorly organized and poorly glossed history of the role of Jews in the great American labor movement politics in NYC in the early 20th century.

Sadly, Marquesee disables his whole argument by giving a complete free pass to Palestinians who use violence to advocate for their statehood. If Israel has delegitimized itself by the violent and racist practices involved in its founding and continued defense, wouldn't a Palestinian state built upon the corpses of children killed in rocket attacks also be delegitimized? Even if he in the end decided it would be LESS delegitimized (I don't agree, but at least that's an argument, not an evasion), he needed to take up the issue. So too did he whitewash the Arab governments that persecuted Jews within their borders in response to Israeli military actions. Was the suffering of Egyptian, Moroccan, and Iraqi Jews Israel's "fault"? Maybe that was the impetus...but it's not as if the Egyptian police were helpless puppets who were forced to beat the heads of the local Jews for what other Jews did in the Sinai war, any more than the US was right to incarcerate Japanese Americans post Pearl Harbor (a parallel Marquesee mentions only to say "that was worse than what the Egyptians did, so get over it")

In short, this book really COULD have been a wakeup call to socially progressive Jews...instead, it feels too often like a rant at an ANSWER rally. I love antiwar rallies, but ANSWER half the time seems to basically say violence is ok so long as it's directed at the US or Israel. It's a shame, because some of Marquesee's points really need to be said. I just wish he had said them better.

[Isidore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book, although not a clearly organized one. Marquesee shifts from autobiography, to the history of Jewish progressivism, to a biography of his activist grandfather, to consideration of dilemmas currently facing leftist Jews, in a disconcertingly non-linear way. But he is always interesting and informative, and his subtle, acute reading of the nuances of modern "anti-Semitism" gave me a lot to chew on; he strikes me as one of the more careful thinkers among the anti-Zionists. The account of his flamboyant grandfather's headlong activism is not only vivid and entertaining, it offers insight into the way highly-principled progressives found themselves finally supporting a cause hostile to their cherished ideals. Margusee sees this as a disastrous "failure of imagination".

So, a bit of a hodgepodge, but definitely worth a thoughtful examination.

[Jaden Block · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part biography of his grandfather, part apologia for the author's anti-Zionism, this book is equally insightful as it is ill-organized. Difficult but worthwhile read.

[John Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew the author, Mike Marqusee, in the 1980s when I worked for the trade union NALGO, in which Mike was a shop steward. Although I did not know him well he made a very positive impression on me. No doubt that was in part because he was American and had written a book on cricket. I am half-American and have no patience for that sport!

I did not read of his death until some years after his passing and found myself surprisingly affected by the news. That was in part, I think, because I had liked him, and also because I saw him as a contemporary of mine, although he was somewhat younger. The deaths of ones contemporaries can seem particularly significant and poignant. It was also a little distressing to see photographs of Mike in his later years when he was unwell having last seem in in the flesh when he was a young man.

I am sure that there is much in politics that I would not have agreed on with Mike. But I do share his opposition to Zionism. His book gave me a deeper understanding of that ideology and the harm it does.

I enjoyed Mike's account of his grandfather's involvement in the politics of New York City. But knowing a little of those politics myself I have to mention that I do not believe that Al Smith's was “the son of Irish immigrants, a boy from a poor family”. It was his grandparents who were the immigrants. And they were Italian, German, Anglo-Irish and Irish Catholic. His father, who owned a small trucking business, was reported to have said that he had never got into an argument about Ireland because he had no Irish ancestors. However, at that time being perceived as Irish and poor could be advantageous in the politics of New York City!

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through telling the story of his own family, particularly his grandfather, Marqusee makes a compelling argument against the subsumption of Jewish identity into Zionism. Oftentimes personal books like this can be more effective in making political points than books that are more abstract and theoretical.

[W M · Rating 4 out of 5]

At some points the books labors on details about the political life of his grandfather that I did not find interesting. The book ends strongly, but a solid background information is certainly helpful in understanding the book. At times, I was lost in in the more intricate arguments.

[JD Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I “question his authenticity as a Jew” based on the foot note of page viii: “There is a strand of Orthodox Jewry which rejects Zionism on theological and scriptural grounds: they believe Zionism has pre-empted God’s prerogative. Their critique is at root anti-secular and anti-modern, and I feel little in common with it.”

But if we do not put our God first, we cannot rightly call ourselves Jews. Being anti-secular does not mean we are ignorant of the world, just that we put God first in all things. To say that we’re anti-modern simply reveals the author’s lack of honor for God.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bumped this to 4 stars because I think the topic is important, but it has its flaws. The book is 75% about the author’s grandfather — specifically his politics and editorials in local NY publications in the first half of the 20th century. In not going to lie - it was a slog to get through. I appreciate the author’s research and piecing together of his grandfather’s life, but it was boring and I didn’t think it added much to the larger discussion of Zionism/anti-Zionism. I liked his insights into Zionism and the research he put into this too.

[Kate Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at what it means to be an anti zionist Jew, looking at his personal history in a political context. Readable and informative.

[Gabrielle H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very focused on his grandfather so a little more like "journey of a decidedly zionist jew with insightful and informed commentary and considerations from his anti zionist grandson"

3 1/2 ☆s

[Seamus · Rating 3 out of 5]

historically dense.