Customer Reviews

Chutzpah

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Overall, I am a huge fan of Dershowitz's books. I thoroughly enjoyed the Best Defense, From Genesis to Justice, and even his novel, A Just Revenge. I felt, though, that Dershowitz went a little overboard with his views of Jews in America. In many ways, I am almost embarassed to be viewed in the same light as him (As a Jew) because of his extreme views. He made it seem as if the world was out to get Jews, even in America. He does make many good points about Jewish identity in America, but to me he comes across as whining more than discussing.

He does use some great arguments and has a pretty clear account of Jewish history in America. His description of his family and neighborhood is nice to read to understand where he grew up and what his background is. I especially liked his description of his own family as I was reminded in many ways of my own.

I gave the book 2 stars but that is compared with his other books. It is not a bad book or a bad read. In many ways, I found it very informative but I would choose one of his other books rather than this one.

Dershowitz's succinct analysis and flowing prose make for a powerful read. The author recounts his Brooklyn youth, law school, and his career at Harvard University. He also examines anti-Semitism, separation of church-and-state, assimilation, and other facets pertaining to Jewish and non-Jewish life in America. Dershowitz emphasizes that American Jews must stop maintaining low profiles or feeling anxious about our success (and non-success), as doing so is the essence of second-class citizenship. His point is well taken, but perhaps newly arrived immigrants from Russia and other anti-Semitic lands will doubt his premise. I didn't always agree with the man's pro-Israeli views, but on balance this is a very thoughtful and informative book.

The well-known liberal attorney and Israel advocate Alan Dershowitz maintains in this book that Jews should be more self-assertive. They shouldn't feel "shenda fur de goyim" (Yiddish for "shame before the Gentiles") as they did in the past. They should be proud of their achievements, instead of begging to be forgiven for them. They should abandon their "sha'a shtil" ("remain quiet") attitude and loudly denounce the faintest hint of anti-Semitism they might detect either in their personal experience or in society at large. And, most important of all, they should have no mixed feelings about supporting the state of Israel, regardless of this country's human rights record.

Dershowitz' writing is powerful, expressive - and flawed...

When it comes to discussing Israel's policies, Dershowitz adopts a maximalist stance. Israel is almost always right-and when it isn't, it doesn't matter. This civil rights advocate fails to find much wrong in a country where atheists do not enjoy the right to get married. He fails to clearly denounce the administrative detention (i.e., imprisonment without a charge) of Palestinians, on the grounds that all detainees are known to be terrorists or terrorist contacts; in other words, since they are anyway guilty, it doesn't matter so much whether they enjoy legal guarantees or not. He believes torture may in some cases be necessary to extract critical information, as of terrorist attacks, and therefore condones some instances of the government-approved use of torture in Israel, against international law which forbids any kind of torture...

The bottom line of [this] book is that because Jews were formerly persecuted, they should be allowed to practise some bigotry without being criticized. Fortunately, Jews around the world do not share this view...

This book will be enjoyed by... [those] who see Israel's legal and practical discrimination of Arabs as a first step towards ethnic cleansing, and who will be delighted to learn that a liberal Jew finds such discrimination tolerable. It will be far less welcome, however, by those Jews who, like the author of this review, don't like to be told what they should think about Israel in order to be good Jews.

Plenty of Jews exhibit chutzpah (nerve). But there is a flip side to this, the fear of "shanda fur de goyim" (embarrassment in front of the gentiles).

Dershowitz analyzes the discrimination he's seen against Jews. In some places, it is non-existent. In others, it is significant. In yet others, it is striking. He begins with his experiences in trying to find employment as a summer hire in various law firms. Of course, discrimination against people on the basis of race, religion, gender, and (if known) sexual preference is now much less than it used to be. But we see some of the history of it among law firms and at Harvard.

One issue that I found intriguing was that of the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz. Now, I do not see any reason for Jews or anyone else to consider Auschwitz, of all places, holy ground. But I am well aware that many people do consider it as such, and I respect their views on the matter. And it was up to the Catholic authorities whether or not to make a deal with the Jews to not have a Carmelite convent at Auschwitz. But once the Catholics made that deal and a bunch of nuns broke it, a rabbi and six other Jews were totally within their rights to ask the nuns to explain what they were doing there, and even "trespass" on convent grounds to pray. And it was certainly out of line for Polish Cardinal Glemp to make a totally wild and preposterous accusation, namely that these Jews were trying to murder the nuns and destroy the convent. I think Dershowitz was right to take the case against Glemp for defamation here.

There is an good chapter about Zionism. That includes a discussion of Jewish antizionism. Dershowitz explains the pressure on Jews to be antizionist and to oppose Israel as Jews. He thinks they are wrong to do so. I agree. I think everyone ought to support Israel's (or any other nation's) right to exist as a human being, or oppose it as a human being! Or be neutral as a human being.

I recommend this book.

Norman Finkelstein conclusively demonstrates that Dershowitz is a plagiarizer and that his claims about Israel's "superb" human rights record are complete bunk. All reputable human rights organizations support Finkelstein's arguments and not Dershowitz's. Dershowitz's book merits a minus 10, but the lowest grade one can give it is one star. The fact that one can find copies of this book for sale for 1 cent indicate its scholarly and moral usefulness. Dershowitz is now involved in a concerted campaign to have Finkelstein shut down, pressuring Harvard Bookstore and the Barnes and Noble bookstore at DePaul University in Chicago to cancel speaking engagements by Finkelstein. Harvard cancelled its invitation for fear of "economic retaliation," Barnes and Noble said the book was "too controversial," and invited Dershowitz to speak about his "book" instead.

I love this book. Not only is it the story of Dershowitz, it is very insightful to Judaism in America. Even if you're not Jewish, you should read this, because it can be enjoyable, witty, frustrating, and a real wakeup call.

Good reading, but one thing bothered me. Alan is wrong by stating American institutions of higher learning follow Yale and Harvard's lead. Yale & Harvard are still crusty with traditional ideas and time-honored perspective. Schools like Virginia, Stanford, Texas, Michigan, UCLA, George Washington and Northwestern are the pioneers of the future. Check Harvard's spending on research as a percentage of total spending; it does not compare.

One of the most beautiful and well written books, I have ever read. The book gives a comprehensive idea about how to deal with the dilemma of being a jewish living in a society that thinks that every jewish has to go to live to Israel. It also, points out in a very clear way that the fact that one is Jewish has nothing to do with the fact that that same person is perfectly able to live in any conutry of the world and because of that he/she is not going to be treated as a second class citizen.