What do you think?
Rate this book
Our Palestine Question: Israel and American Jewish Dissent, 1948-1978
A new history of the American Jewish relationship with Israel focused on its most urgent and sensitive the question of Palestinian rights
American Jews began debating Palestinian rights issues even before Israel’s founding in 1948. Geoffrey Levin recovers the voices of American Jews who, in the early decades of Israel’s existence, called for an honest reckoning with the moral and political plight of Palestinians. These now‑forgotten voices, which include an aid‑worker‑turned‑academic with Palestinian Sephardic roots, a former Yiddish journalist, anti‑Zionist Reform rabbis, and young left‑wing Zionist activists, felt drawn to support Palestinian rights by their understanding of Jewish history, identity, and ethics. They sometimes worked with mainstream American Jewish leaders who feared that ignoring Palestinian rights could foster antisemitism, leading them to press Israeli officials for reform. But Israeli diplomats viewed any American Jewish interest in Palestinian affairs with deep suspicion, provoking a series of quiet confrontations that ultimately kept Palestinian rights off the American Jewish agenda up to the present era.
In reconstructing this hidden history, Levin lays the groundwork for more forthright debates over Palestinian rights issues, American Jewish identity, and the U.S.‑Israel relationship more broadly.
American Jews began debating Palestinian rights issues even before Israel’s founding in 1948. Geoffrey Levin recovers the voices of American Jews who, in the early decades of Israel’s existence, called for an honest reckoning with the moral and political plight of Palestinians. These now‑forgotten voices, which include an aid‑worker‑turned‑academic with Palestinian Sephardic roots, a former Yiddish journalist, anti‑Zionist Reform rabbis, and young left‑wing Zionist activists, felt drawn to support Palestinian rights by their understanding of Jewish history, identity, and ethics. They sometimes worked with mainstream American Jewish leaders who feared that ignoring Palestinian rights could foster antisemitism, leading them to press Israeli officials for reform. But Israeli diplomats viewed any American Jewish interest in Palestinian affairs with deep suspicion, provoking a series of quiet confrontations that ultimately kept Palestinian rights off the American Jewish agenda up to the present era.
In reconstructing this hidden history, Levin lays the groundwork for more forthright debates over Palestinian rights issues, American Jewish identity, and the U.S.‑Israel relationship more broadly.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published March 5, 2024
23 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 25, 2024
This profoundly challenged my view of Israel. I’m Jewish and a lifelong supporter of Israel but this made me rethink the relationship of the American Jewish community to Israel. I never knew that there was a vigorous and robust debate in the American Jewish community throughout the 1940s and 1950s and many argued that we should not tie ourselves to Israel. Israel prevailed and for its own benefit won American Jewish support and willingness to act as a permanent lobby. I’m very disillusioned. The book was a real eye-opening experience.
April 13, 2024
I’ve long said that the most “complex” part of the Israel/Palestine issue is the zionist propaganda that inundates every American institution. To dismantle the apartheid state, you must dismantle the propaganda.
This book is really important to understanding the long history of Jewish dissent when it comes to zionism- starting long before the state of Israel was created. It explains exactly why the propaganda endures and how it took hold in the first place, which I think is key to undoing it. The conflation of Judaism and Israel by zionist forces is so insidious and deliberate and it’s not too late to do something about it.
Neither is it up to any other communities to reckon with the zionist institutions. Israel has always relied on the ideological and financial support of American Jews, to the detriment of the diaspora and with the result of continued ethnic cleansing. If Israel lost the support of Christian zionists, they would be fine. If they retained the support of Christian zionists but not American Jews, the state would fail.
This book is really important to understanding the long history of Jewish dissent when it comes to zionism- starting long before the state of Israel was created. It explains exactly why the propaganda endures and how it took hold in the first place, which I think is key to undoing it. The conflation of Judaism and Israel by zionist forces is so insidious and deliberate and it’s not too late to do something about it.
Neither is it up to any other communities to reckon with the zionist institutions. Israel has always relied on the ideological and financial support of American Jews, to the detriment of the diaspora and with the result of continued ethnic cleansing. If Israel lost the support of Christian zionists, they would be fine. If they retained the support of Christian zionists but not American Jews, the state would fail.
May 14, 2024
This is an interesting window into a facet of American Jewry that has not previously been thoroughly explored. Tons of literature exists post-1967 about American Jews and their relationship to Palestinian rights, but not much is known or documented about the period preceding that, ~1947-1967.
If you are reading this book, it’s important to note that this is specifically about AMERICAN Jews’ relationship with the state of Israel in the context of Arab displacement as a result of the creation of the state. The book does not cover the events leading to the creation of the state, nor does it pass judgement on whether certain acts or events were justified or not: in this way, it presents just the facts from an oft-overlooked period and point of view.
This book was completed prior to October 7th, 2023, the first day of the extremely deadly Israel-Hamas war, but it was released very shortly after this event, which made for interesting reading given the current context. Antizionists and American Jewish Palestinian rights activists will appreciate the stories of their American predecessors who continued to speak up for what they believed was right regardless of attempts to dampen or silence them. Zionists and Israel supporters will appreciate that there are no real bombshells here, no grand, dramatic conspiracy to brush the Palestinian question under the rug, but rather statesmen doing what statesmen are supposed to do: garner international support and build a positive public image for their state to the degree they can.
My favorite takeaway from this book was that, very early on in Israel’s existence, a few American Jews were already concerned that statehood for the Jewish people could eventually be problematic for Jews in the diaspora. An early Arab Christian critic of the state who is highlighted in this book made this connection as well. The idea is that misdeeds committed by the state of Israel would reflect poorly on global Jewry because antisemitism is so deeply ingrained across the entire world that the two would no doubt be conflated. We are seeing this ring true in real time, so these sentiments were quite prescient.
A question that is raised indirectly, but not explicitly answered, in the book is how do American Jews participate in being Jewish in a secular way without Israel? Some examples in the book are turning to Yiddish culture and Palestinian activism as a way to be secularly Jewish. There may be other answers too, and Jewish Americans continue to wrestle with this question.
I was surprised that many of the critiques from American Jews regarding the displaced Palestinians were rooted in a deep love for the land of Israel and a desire for it to thrive. Many who spoke in favor of Palestinian rights early on had spent lots of time in Israel, and formed these opinions after seeing their plight firsthand. Most American Jewish “doves” wanted better outcomes for everyone, and a place for Palestinians in Israeli society (the push for statehood was actually a relatively recent development and was not much of a topic of discussion until the post-1967 era). This is contrasted with a Palestinian American doctor (!!), who engaged in militant violence against Israelis in Germany and was still executed by Palestinian assassins for not being extreme enough in his activism and perceived as “too moderate”.
There is not much information in this book about the Arab-American response to the displacement of Palestinian Arabs in the creation of the state of Israel as the content is focused on the American Jewish perspective, but there is mention of several Arab American lobby groups who were working to foment ill will toward the Jewish state, using the Palestinian refugees as bad PR leverage. Similarly, some of the large Jewish lobbies in America were reticent to acknowledge the suffering of displaced Palestinians resulting from Israel’s creation and attempted to ice out Jewish voices that raised concerns about this topic.
The key takeaway is that American Jews are both Americans and Jews. The creation, against all odds, of the world’s only Jewish nation-state stirred debate and concern among American Jews, particularly those who were solidly established as Americans. Most of the early citizens of the state of Israel were not American—in fact, most were refugees from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Because of this, the state of Israel is not particularly American in character, though it is more recognizable culturally to Americans than most middle eastern nations. The moral questions that arose from the manner in which the state was established are answered differently depending on one’s background and personal biases. There are some uniquely American problems with the state of Israel since America does not believe in a state religion, language, or ethnicity. America also has clearly delineated borders and a constitution—Israel has neither. It’s natural that American Jews would wrestle with these aspects, and this book provides a great background for some of these early voices and criticisms that have led us up to our present moment.
If you are reading this book, it’s important to note that this is specifically about AMERICAN Jews’ relationship with the state of Israel in the context of Arab displacement as a result of the creation of the state. The book does not cover the events leading to the creation of the state, nor does it pass judgement on whether certain acts or events were justified or not: in this way, it presents just the facts from an oft-overlooked period and point of view.
This book was completed prior to October 7th, 2023, the first day of the extremely deadly Israel-Hamas war, but it was released very shortly after this event, which made for interesting reading given the current context. Antizionists and American Jewish Palestinian rights activists will appreciate the stories of their American predecessors who continued to speak up for what they believed was right regardless of attempts to dampen or silence them. Zionists and Israel supporters will appreciate that there are no real bombshells here, no grand, dramatic conspiracy to brush the Palestinian question under the rug, but rather statesmen doing what statesmen are supposed to do: garner international support and build a positive public image for their state to the degree they can.
My favorite takeaway from this book was that, very early on in Israel’s existence, a few American Jews were already concerned that statehood for the Jewish people could eventually be problematic for Jews in the diaspora. An early Arab Christian critic of the state who is highlighted in this book made this connection as well. The idea is that misdeeds committed by the state of Israel would reflect poorly on global Jewry because antisemitism is so deeply ingrained across the entire world that the two would no doubt be conflated. We are seeing this ring true in real time, so these sentiments were quite prescient.
A question that is raised indirectly, but not explicitly answered, in the book is how do American Jews participate in being Jewish in a secular way without Israel? Some examples in the book are turning to Yiddish culture and Palestinian activism as a way to be secularly Jewish. There may be other answers too, and Jewish Americans continue to wrestle with this question.
I was surprised that many of the critiques from American Jews regarding the displaced Palestinians were rooted in a deep love for the land of Israel and a desire for it to thrive. Many who spoke in favor of Palestinian rights early on had spent lots of time in Israel, and formed these opinions after seeing their plight firsthand. Most American Jewish “doves” wanted better outcomes for everyone, and a place for Palestinians in Israeli society (the push for statehood was actually a relatively recent development and was not much of a topic of discussion until the post-1967 era). This is contrasted with a Palestinian American doctor (!!), who engaged in militant violence against Israelis in Germany and was still executed by Palestinian assassins for not being extreme enough in his activism and perceived as “too moderate”.
There is not much information in this book about the Arab-American response to the displacement of Palestinian Arabs in the creation of the state of Israel as the content is focused on the American Jewish perspective, but there is mention of several Arab American lobby groups who were working to foment ill will toward the Jewish state, using the Palestinian refugees as bad PR leverage. Similarly, some of the large Jewish lobbies in America were reticent to acknowledge the suffering of displaced Palestinians resulting from Israel’s creation and attempted to ice out Jewish voices that raised concerns about this topic.
The key takeaway is that American Jews are both Americans and Jews. The creation, against all odds, of the world’s only Jewish nation-state stirred debate and concern among American Jews, particularly those who were solidly established as Americans. Most of the early citizens of the state of Israel were not American—in fact, most were refugees from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Because of this, the state of Israel is not particularly American in character, though it is more recognizable culturally to Americans than most middle eastern nations. The moral questions that arose from the manner in which the state was established are answered differently depending on one’s background and personal biases. There are some uniquely American problems with the state of Israel since America does not believe in a state religion, language, or ethnicity. America also has clearly delineated borders and a constitution—Israel has neither. It’s natural that American Jews would wrestle with these aspects, and this book provides a great background for some of these early voices and criticisms that have led us up to our present moment.
December 9, 2024
After reading this book I will no longer engage in conversations pertaining to the Palestinian plight unless my adversary can answer for me the following questions:
1 - What is a Jew?
2 - What is an Israeli?
3 - What is a Zionist?
4 - Are all Jews Zionists?
5 - Are all Jews loyal to Israel?
6 - What is a Palestinian?
7 - What does "River to The Sea" mean?
If they cannot answer these 3 simple questions, there is no point to talking with them at all.
1 - What is a Jew?
2 - What is an Israeli?
3 - What is a Zionist?
4 - Are all Jews Zionists?
5 - Are all Jews loyal to Israel?
6 - What is a Palestinian?
7 - What does "River to The Sea" mean?
If they cannot answer these 3 simple questions, there is no point to talking with them at all.
February 18, 2024
Author coming to Middlebury thursday. a very empowering newly uncovered history, that confirms the long legacy of thoughts i hold today and have been told are "only of a new age removed from the holocaust."
May 14, 2025
great book, little notes, very informative on just how much the USA helped in shaping a jewish state.
Read
January 15, 2024very good, very useful, very readable. Especially intrigued by stuff about the cia funded AFME, phenomenon of Protestant pro Arabism, the particular non zionism of the Ajc. Also helpful stuff about early adl suppression of anti zionism in here that’s rare to find anywhere else
May 30, 2025
In a weird way--or maybe this is just the predicament of the historian trying to recover a mostly-lost tradition--this reminds me of those books where someone discovers that in fact we did have socialism in America, contra that famous Werner Sombart argument from 1906, for a brief moment when some 1840s labor union most historians know maybe two things about articulated its demands in a certain way during a strike. Here we have the makings of maybe three strong chapters, with a lot of anecdotes that we revisit multiple times, to explain and identify what it might be hard to call a "tradition" (maybe, like, "a small tendency" would be more accurate) that persisted around and after the founding of Israel. Some of them were American liberal integrationists, after the model of the Reform rabbis, who in 1885 released a statement treating Jews as just another American identity rather than a nation; as such, to these people, Israel felt like an anachronism, an atavistic reversion to 19th-century nationalism. Others went there and saw how the Palestinians were being treated, including Don Peretz a Sephardic Jew who wrote the first dissertation on the refugee issue and saw top Israeli officials collude with leaders of American Judaism to destroy his career. Same for the journalist William Zukerman, who wrote a scathing denunciation of Jabotinsky in 1934 (found an attack on it from a Colorado paper) for The Nation and whose collected writings will set you back $40 on Abebooks. He too got pushed to the margins and ended up as a kind of poor man's I.F. Stone.
Groups like Breira, which Eric Alterman dispenses with quickly in his book, get much fuller treatments here, with some major academic figures having cut their teeth there early on; Levin notes that this group, though small, was transnational in membership and focus, often working hand-in-hand with the Israeli left and small factions of the PLO open to negotiating a two-state solution in the 70s (meetings that, when leaked, essentially destroyed the group). His villains are the Israeli right (though he makes clear that, a decade before Begin's stunning victory in 1977, the first time Likud won a national election, American Jewish organizations had already pretty much closed off any ability to criticize Israeli policies without also being tarred as anti-Semitic); the American left (he notes that a SNCC pamphlet criticizing Israel after 1967 took a fair-minded initial report by the analyst Fayiz Sayeghi and larded it with classically anti-Semitic tropes; and the Arab leadership that persecuted its moderates, staffed their consulates with mediocre, unqualified patronage candidates, and in general showed as little interest in working toward any accommodation as, well, pretty much the entire Israeli government. (Curious what the role of Jordan is here, as Avi Shlaim talks about King Hussein as a particularly moderate possibility in this exact period, though I suppose the general Israeli government policy that refugees just could not be talked about doesn't suggest a lot of optimism.)
A very pragmatic, even Pragmatic, book, in the sense that, as the conclusion notes, he's trying to find a more recent usable past for those who want to look directly at what's happened there and find some sort of justice. It's just, as I say, also hard not to see how small this tendency was.
Groups like Breira, which Eric Alterman dispenses with quickly in his book, get much fuller treatments here, with some major academic figures having cut their teeth there early on; Levin notes that this group, though small, was transnational in membership and focus, often working hand-in-hand with the Israeli left and small factions of the PLO open to negotiating a two-state solution in the 70s (meetings that, when leaked, essentially destroyed the group). His villains are the Israeli right (though he makes clear that, a decade before Begin's stunning victory in 1977, the first time Likud won a national election, American Jewish organizations had already pretty much closed off any ability to criticize Israeli policies without also being tarred as anti-Semitic); the American left (he notes that a SNCC pamphlet criticizing Israel after 1967 took a fair-minded initial report by the analyst Fayiz Sayeghi and larded it with classically anti-Semitic tropes; and the Arab leadership that persecuted its moderates, staffed their consulates with mediocre, unqualified patronage candidates, and in general showed as little interest in working toward any accommodation as, well, pretty much the entire Israeli government. (Curious what the role of Jordan is here, as Avi Shlaim talks about King Hussein as a particularly moderate possibility in this exact period, though I suppose the general Israeli government policy that refugees just could not be talked about doesn't suggest a lot of optimism.)
A very pragmatic, even Pragmatic, book, in the sense that, as the conclusion notes, he's trying to find a more recent usable past for those who want to look directly at what's happened there and find some sort of justice. It's just, as I say, also hard not to see how small this tendency was.
June 10, 2024
When you read this book, you will be stunned at the sheer number of anti-Zionist Jews that existed in the 40s and 50s, who advocated for Palestinian rights and the Right of Return. People who openly, and wholeheartedly, condemned the Zionist project and supported the right of return for Palestinians. Because of the propaganda of the Israeli government over decades, this history has been buried. Thankfully, Levin has brought it to light. This deep, rich, layered history of Jewish anti-Zionism, in my opinion, has never been taught. At least not to me. I had never heard the names of Don Peretz, Fayez Sayegh, Rabbi Elmer Berger, William Zukerman, and so many more journalists, religious leaders, every day people who encountered obstacle after obstacle of the Israeli government trying to shut down their dissent. This isn't shocking *today*, obviously, but to learn that even at the very start of the Zionist colonial settler project, there were so many American Jews in particular that were against the creation of the Israeli state because of what it would mean for the displacement and treatment of Palestinians, that even *then* the Israeli government went beyond backward to get these anti-Zionist activists fired from their positions within prominent Jewish organizations. The narrative we hear today from Israelis is that, there was near universal Jewish support for the creation of Israel. And it's just not true. Many Jews of the diaspora, already living in the U.S., were not only deeply uncomfortable with the creation of the state, but against it. It was really interesting to learn the history of so many of our foundational institutions--American Jewish Committee--for example, defined themselves at its inception as a "non-Zionist organization."
The best quote:
"Whether Israelis wish to admit it or not, the Palestinian question has always been their country’s most central, if not definitional dilemma. At the same time, Israel's role in Jewish communities elsewhere in the world has only continued to expand--a development that that has meant that, as the Palestinian Question marches forward unaddressed, the circle of American Jews critiquing Israeli policies has grown larger and larger. Just as previous generations of Jews found a renewed sense of communal purpose in their support for Israel, some American Jews today see their support for Palestinian rights as a meaningful extension of their Jewish identity. Rather than being a countercurrent in American Jewish politics, Palestinian rights advocacy has become a realm of Jewish politics in and of itself. And despite enduring uproars over it, it will define the transnational relationship between Jews even more as time goes on.”
The best quote:
"Whether Israelis wish to admit it or not, the Palestinian question has always been their country’s most central, if not definitional dilemma. At the same time, Israel's role in Jewish communities elsewhere in the world has only continued to expand--a development that that has meant that, as the Palestinian Question marches forward unaddressed, the circle of American Jews critiquing Israeli policies has grown larger and larger. Just as previous generations of Jews found a renewed sense of communal purpose in their support for Israel, some American Jews today see their support for Palestinian rights as a meaningful extension of their Jewish identity. Rather than being a countercurrent in American Jewish politics, Palestinian rights advocacy has become a realm of Jewish politics in and of itself. And despite enduring uproars over it, it will define the transnational relationship between Jews even more as time goes on.”
October 20, 2025
***.5
As the title suggests, this is a very specific book, focusing on the American Jews' attitudes towards Israel from the time of its founding in 1948 until 1978. I was worried that it would read like a PhD thesis, but Levin does a good job of making the content both accessible and interesting.
The first half focuses almost entirely on the AJC, which remained ambivalent about Israel for quite some time. It's no surprise that most American Jews weren't ardent Zionists at the time, judging by how few of them made Aliyah during this period, but it's interesting to see how they grappled with accusations of dual loyalty, and attempted to balance a sense of camaraderie and responsibility to support the new state with the needs and priorities of their diasporic and extremely American community.
So much of the good is spent on 1956-1958 that the later periods are almost glossed over. Levin lists various Jewish American organizations that were formed against the backdrop of the civil rights struggle during the 60's and the anti-Vietnam protests, and also the 1967 and 1973 wars in Israel, but I didn't come away with a great understanding of the different groups. And of course by cutting off the story in the late 1970's, all of the organizations (many of which didn't even exist yet) in their current forms are completely left out of the picture. Not to mention the impact of the Oslo Accords, the two Lebanon wars, the two Intifadas, etc. While that would require at least a whole other book and wasn't the intended subject of this one, without the comparisons it's hard to process the differences between the period covered and the present and how things evolved since then.
The biggest takeaway is that the relationship between American Jewish organizations and the modern state of Israel has always been rather fraught, with both sides occasionally speaking on behalf of the other without their agreement.
The second and arguably more relevant point is that it's invalid to treat either group as holding a monolithic or static ideology. There has always been dissent, different interpretation of what it means to be Jewish or a Zionist, and how best to express them. Also there has never been consensus on what to about the Palestinians, which remains a painfully unresolved issue to this day. All of these issues (and many more) are contentious today, and always have been. Anyone who generalizes any of these topics is ignorant at best, and more than likely malicious and deceitful.
As the title suggests, this is a very specific book, focusing on the American Jews' attitudes towards Israel from the time of its founding in 1948 until 1978. I was worried that it would read like a PhD thesis, but Levin does a good job of making the content both accessible and interesting.
The first half focuses almost entirely on the AJC, which remained ambivalent about Israel for quite some time. It's no surprise that most American Jews weren't ardent Zionists at the time, judging by how few of them made Aliyah during this period, but it's interesting to see how they grappled with accusations of dual loyalty, and attempted to balance a sense of camaraderie and responsibility to support the new state with the needs and priorities of their diasporic and extremely American community.
So much of the good is spent on 1956-1958 that the later periods are almost glossed over. Levin lists various Jewish American organizations that were formed against the backdrop of the civil rights struggle during the 60's and the anti-Vietnam protests, and also the 1967 and 1973 wars in Israel, but I didn't come away with a great understanding of the different groups. And of course by cutting off the story in the late 1970's, all of the organizations (many of which didn't even exist yet) in their current forms are completely left out of the picture. Not to mention the impact of the Oslo Accords, the two Lebanon wars, the two Intifadas, etc. While that would require at least a whole other book and wasn't the intended subject of this one, without the comparisons it's hard to process the differences between the period covered and the present and how things evolved since then.
The biggest takeaway is that the relationship between American Jewish organizations and the modern state of Israel has always been rather fraught, with both sides occasionally speaking on behalf of the other without their agreement.
The second and arguably more relevant point is that it's invalid to treat either group as holding a monolithic or static ideology. There has always been dissent, different interpretation of what it means to be Jewish or a Zionist, and how best to express them. Also there has never been consensus on what to about the Palestinians, which remains a painfully unresolved issue to this day. All of these issues (and many more) are contentious today, and always have been. Anyone who generalizes any of these topics is ignorant at best, and more than likely malicious and deceitful.
April 9, 2024
“Our Palestinian Question” delves into the covert interference of the Israeli government in American Jewish politics from the 1950s to the 1970s, aiming to suppress Jewish criticism of the Nakba and Israel's subsequent oppression of Palestinians. I am impressed by the depth of its research, but believe it has its limitations.
While the book is recognized as a work of an adept historian based on archival research and sound historical method, it does not seem to fully address the complexity of the issues. For instance, by failing to better consider the diversity of American Jewish opinions, and the extent of actual Israeli influence, the book seems to follow a one-sided leftist worldview.
The book also does its readership a disservice by limiting the timeframe in which the subject is considered. Without continuing the analysis past the 1970s, we are left wondering its relevance, especially in light of ongoing crises—including the current Israel-Hamas War—and the evolution of American Jewish views on Israel and Palestine.
While the author certainly provides doses of analysis, I feel its roadmap mostly directionless. A good history book not only provides facts and analysis, but threads the subject together into an entertaining and intriguing storyline. This books fails to do so.
While the book is recognized as a work of an adept historian based on archival research and sound historical method, it does not seem to fully address the complexity of the issues. For instance, by failing to better consider the diversity of American Jewish opinions, and the extent of actual Israeli influence, the book seems to follow a one-sided leftist worldview.
The book also does its readership a disservice by limiting the timeframe in which the subject is considered. Without continuing the analysis past the 1970s, we are left wondering its relevance, especially in light of ongoing crises—including the current Israel-Hamas War—and the evolution of American Jewish views on Israel and Palestine.
While the author certainly provides doses of analysis, I feel its roadmap mostly directionless. A good history book not only provides facts and analysis, but threads the subject together into an entertaining and intriguing storyline. This books fails to do so.
March 30, 2024
My second book on learning more about Palestine: if the first book (the Hundred Years' War on Palestine) talked about the division among Arab countries/organizations, and Palestine itself, this book described how Jewish communities were also divided on their approach to Palestine. The book focused on Jewish American societies influencing American policies which shaped the region as it currently is. It was also really insightful on why the Jewish communities around the world are still divided on the issue, and the different lobbying groups that now exist on both ends of the spectrum. The book makes a key difference among Jews (ethnicity-based), Zionists (policy-based), and Israelis (nation-based) which is a key term to note when reading up on the current stream of discourse.
January 20, 2025
an excellent read whose narrative style keeps you captivated — I blew through this in just two days. it highlights a lot of forgotten voices, going deep into primary source material to recreate its stories.
essential reading for anyone wanting to explore American Jews’ attitudes towards Israel. it’s very interesting to see themes like antizionism’s relationship to antisemitism, Israeli influence on American public opinion, and fears of student activism be traced back all the way into the 1950s, and sometimes as far back as the 1930s.
essential reading for anyone wanting to explore American Jews’ attitudes towards Israel. it’s very interesting to see themes like antizionism’s relationship to antisemitism, Israeli influence on American public opinion, and fears of student activism be traced back all the way into the 1950s, and sometimes as far back as the 1930s.
March 14, 2024
Very interesting detailed review of the history of the American perspective on the Palestinian situation in (mandated) Israel from the 1940’s to 1977.
A study of the 5 particularly most influential individuals (according to author Geoffrey Levin.
A study of the 5 particularly most influential individuals (according to author Geoffrey Levin.
November 16, 2024
I must admit that before this book I was ignorant concerning the conversation within the American Jewish community about Zionism and Israel generally. I feel much more informed now! Highly recommend.
June 29, 2024
Important book for anyone interested in Israeli-Palestinian politics
July 20, 2024
I highly recommend this book. I learned about so much history that had previously been erased.
October 4, 2024
Excellent biography of Dikembe Mutombo, focusing largely on his legacy in the NBA. I especially enjoyed the chapter about the finger wag.
February 18, 2025
Listened to as audiobook. It was choppy listening for me, and I didn't fully engage. My rating is likely skewed in that sense.
Read
August 10, 2025History of American Jewish internal debate about Israel. For those of us doing the crash course, this history was not something we learned about in our high school history classes.
August 20, 2025
Good book about antizionist Jews in the U.S. between 1948 and 1978, and their relations with Israel and Palestinians.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews