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Beyond Tribal Loyalties: Personal Stories of Jewish Peace Activists - 2nd Edition
There is an expectation in Jewish communities that all Jews embrace Zionism and offer automatic, unquestioning support for Israel, “right or wrong”. Jewish identity and Zionism are commonly and deliberately blurred. Jews who criticise Israel are often vilified and excluded. By expressing sympathy for the Palestinians, they risk being branded as traitors and accused of “supporting the enemies of Israel”.
Beyond Tribal Loyalties is a unique collection of twenty-five personal stories of Jewish peace activists from Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom & the United States. The stories focus on the complex and intensely personal journey that Jewish activists go through to free themselves from the hold of Zionist ideology. Most of the contributors were once unquestioning supporters of Israel and Zionism but something happened that caused them to re-evaluate their relationship with Israel and the Palestinians people. This journey often involved a reassessment of personal values, belief system and identity. Beyond Tribal Loyalties seeks to understand what makes it possible for Jewish peace activists to go through this transformative journey & engage in activism, despite fanatical and sometimes violent opposition. This is an inspiring book for anyone who is interested in the experience of being a peace activist. It offers a fresh and unusual angle on the Israeli-Palestinian situation & is a unique contribution in a field where political analysis is common, but where the personal angle is often lacking.
As this second edition goes to print, the world feels precarious. Israel is winning the propaganda war, aided and abetted by a particularly belligerent US Administration. Led by an unscrupulous and corrupt Prime Minister, Israel has become so overconfident that it no longer hides its immense influence over US and British politics. Unconditional Jewish support for Israel persists and activists continue to be intimidated into silence with baseless accusations of antisemitism. As a result, the Palestinian voice is weakening and their cause is not getting the support it needs. Six years from the original publication of Beyond Tribal Loyalties, the voices in the book and the stories they tell have a particularly powerful message to offer that is not only about Israeli settler-colonialism in Palestine but about humanity in general.
Beyond Tribal Loyalties is a unique collection of twenty-five personal stories of Jewish peace activists from Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom & the United States. The stories focus on the complex and intensely personal journey that Jewish activists go through to free themselves from the hold of Zionist ideology. Most of the contributors were once unquestioning supporters of Israel and Zionism but something happened that caused them to re-evaluate their relationship with Israel and the Palestinians people. This journey often involved a reassessment of personal values, belief system and identity. Beyond Tribal Loyalties seeks to understand what makes it possible for Jewish peace activists to go through this transformative journey & engage in activism, despite fanatical and sometimes violent opposition. This is an inspiring book for anyone who is interested in the experience of being a peace activist. It offers a fresh and unusual angle on the Israeli-Palestinian situation & is a unique contribution in a field where political analysis is common, but where the personal angle is often lacking.
As this second edition goes to print, the world feels precarious. Israel is winning the propaganda war, aided and abetted by a particularly belligerent US Administration. Led by an unscrupulous and corrupt Prime Minister, Israel has become so overconfident that it no longer hides its immense influence over US and British politics. Unconditional Jewish support for Israel persists and activists continue to be intimidated into silence with baseless accusations of antisemitism. As a result, the Palestinian voice is weakening and their cause is not getting the support it needs. Six years from the original publication of Beyond Tribal Loyalties, the voices in the book and the stories they tell have a particularly powerful message to offer that is not only about Israeli settler-colonialism in Palestine but about humanity in general.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Avigail Abarbanel
7 books4 followersAvigail has been a psychotherapist in private practice since 1999. She started her practice in Canberra Australia, and after eleven busy years, she moved to the Scottish Highlands where she has been living and working since 2010.
Avigail’s practice is based in Cawdor. She is Snr Accredited with the BACP and is a psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer, consultant, and writer. Avigail is passionate about sharing her knowledge with everyone. Since the development of Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) by Dr Dan Siegel, she believes that too many psychotherapists work in an outdated way, and that there is no reason for psychotherapy to continue to be a mystery to people. She has written *Therapy Without A Therapist* specifically to share her way of working with everyone. Avigail offers free to all podcasts on this and other topics in her field. The podcasts are available here: https://avigail.substack.com/podcast
Avigail has a vision for a research centre, combined with a larger practice and training centre. She hopes to secure funding to realise this vision.
Her work website is at www.fullyhuman.co.uk and all her publications are available on Amazon worldwide. Avigail publishes essays on her Substack page: ‘Avigail Abarbanel's Fully Human Essays’ and other writings and articles on Academia.edu
Avigail was born in Israel in 1964. In 1991 she migrated to Australia, and ten years later she renounced her Israeli citizenship in protest. Avigail is an anti-Zionist activist for Palestinian human rights and against Zionist-Israeli settler-colonialism.
Some of her writings on Palestine-Israel can be found on Mondoweiss and the Electronic Intifada, more recently she has been publishing on her Substack page ‘Avigail Abarbanel’s Fully Human Essays’, and on Medium.
Avigail’s practice is based in Cawdor. She is Snr Accredited with the BACP and is a psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer, consultant, and writer. Avigail is passionate about sharing her knowledge with everyone. Since the development of Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) by Dr Dan Siegel, she believes that too many psychotherapists work in an outdated way, and that there is no reason for psychotherapy to continue to be a mystery to people. She has written *Therapy Without A Therapist* specifically to share her way of working with everyone. Avigail offers free to all podcasts on this and other topics in her field. The podcasts are available here: https://avigail.substack.com/podcast
Avigail has a vision for a research centre, combined with a larger practice and training centre. She hopes to secure funding to realise this vision.
Her work website is at www.fullyhuman.co.uk and all her publications are available on Amazon worldwide. Avigail publishes essays on her Substack page: ‘Avigail Abarbanel's Fully Human Essays’ and other writings and articles on Academia.edu
Avigail was born in Israel in 1964. In 1991 she migrated to Australia, and ten years later she renounced her Israeli citizenship in protest. Avigail is an anti-Zionist activist for Palestinian human rights and against Zionist-Israeli settler-colonialism.
Some of her writings on Palestine-Israel can be found on Mondoweiss and the Electronic Intifada, more recently she has been publishing on her Substack page ‘Avigail Abarbanel’s Fully Human Essays’, and on Medium.
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