The Liberal Case for Israel: Debunking Eight Crazy Lies about the Jewish State [Kindle Edition]

Jonathan Miller (Author)

Book Description

The type of progressive, enlightened government to which most American liberals desperately aspire can actually already be found in the reality of modern Israel. Indeed, there's been no civilization or government in world history that has struggled more diligently to reflect the values that American progressives cherish: from gender equality, to gay and lesbian rights, to freedoms of speech and press, to a more compassionate capitalism. And yet, over the past several decades, some of the loudest voices on the American Left have directed much of their rhetorical foreign policy outrage against the Jewish State.

In "The Liberal Case for Israel," Jonathan Miller -- the former Kentucky State Treasurer and author of "The Compassionate Community: Ten Values to Unite America" -- blames this disconnect on deep factual misunderstandings, media disinformation, and the perpetuation of "Eight Crazy Lies" by those who seek the Jewish State's total destruction.

Miller exposes each of these "Crazy Lies" -- which range from "apartheid" to "pinkwashing" to "vulgar capitalism" -- and explains with concrete, incontrovertible evidence how in each case, a kind of perverse reversal of reality has taken hold, where Israel is blamed for violating the values that it has often been at the forefront of upholding.

Miller sets the record straight on Israel's extraordinary story, and he encourages his fellow progressives to join him in promoting global human rights by embracing the one Middle Eastern nation that features a flourishing liberal democracy.

Product Details

• File Size: 264 KB
• Print Length: 93 pages
• Publisher: The Recovering Politician; First Digital Edition edition (June 2, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0088GT8TW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,213 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-researched account that challenges leftist lies about Israel June 7, 2012

By Analyzer

Format:Kindle Edition

This book takes apart some of the most egregious left wing myths about Israel. It demonstrates that far from being a right-wing regressive state, modern Israel is a progressive liberal nation.

The author shows for example how the smear of 'pinkwashing' is a desperate attempt by the left to evade the reality of Israeli tolerance as compared to Arab homophobia.

All liberals should read this book and make up own their minds, but I'm sure most will come away amazed by the difference between the real Israel and the one portrayed in the media by the Israel-haters and the Arab propaganda machine.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Articulate, Accessible and Amply Sourced June 10, 2012

By Erika Dreifus

Format:Kindle Edition

I met the author many years ago, and I have the utmost respect for his academic and professional background. Given that, I expected a lot from this e-book. And it delivered.

Articulate, accessible and amply sourced, THE LIBERAL CASE FOR ISRAEL dismantles, one at a time, perfidious claims that are made about the Jewish state in the media (and in literary and academic circles). I'm grateful to Jonathan Miller for helping those of us who want to argue a similar "case" for the Jewish State find the words to do so.

8 of 45 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing good in this book, unless you want laughs at the 'scholarship' June 5, 2012

By Christopher M. Whitman Jr.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I will be honest, I had never heard of Jonathan Miller before this book...why is that? This is because he has no background in Israel-Palestine, but felt after reading a couple Alan Dershowitz books and some Zionist blogs he was able to write a book.
The writing style is just horrendous, imagine a somewhat educated politician type trying to 'relate' to those lower class folk they claim to represent, and that is how the book is written. Awful to see, read, or any other method of taking in.
His argument is that there are these eight crazy lies, which he capitalizes through the book for some reason I guess I never learned in school. Namely, apartheid, imperialism, pinkwashing, Zionist boycott, second class citizens, etc. He goes through, supposedly discusses them in detail proving how they are crazy, cites some random websites, amazon pages, wikipedia, blogs for Israel, etc and says 'wow look how Israel is presented so negatively by the American media that people actually believe this!'
Jonathan Miller fulfilled everything I expected out of this book and more, factual inaccuracies, racism, whitewashing, etc and all for $5. Don't bother buying this book if you actually want to know anything about what is going on.

More About the Author

Jonathan Miller is the former two-term elected Kentucky State Treasurer, the author of the critically-acclaimed The Compassionate Community: Ten Values to Unite America (2006) and the brand new The Liberal Case for Israel: Debunking Eight Crazy Laws About the Jewish State (2012). Miller is also the founder of the bi-partisan political blog, The Recovering Politician, the co-founder of the national grassroots movement No Labels, and a regular contributor to The Huffington Post.

In his nearly two decades of public service, Miller also held several other senior positions in state and federal government, including serving in Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's Cabinet as Secretary of Finance and Administration, as Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Energy, as Legislative Director for Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN), and as a longtime aide to Vice President Al Gore.

Miller waded knee-deep in the political muck from an early age, founding Students for Gore for President in 1988, reviving College Democrats of America in 1989, serving as a Deputy Political Director for the Clinton/Gore 1992 presidential campaign, chairing the Kentucky Democratic Party in 2007, and running successfully twice for State Treasurer (1999, 2003), and unsuccessfully for Congress (1998) and Governor (2007).

To compensate for his political obsessions, Miller has also devoted himself to his faith. As a high school student, Miller served as President of the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), the Reform Jewish movement's youth organization that his father headed a generation before. For more than a decade, Miller has taught Sunday School to high school students at Temple Adath Israel on the subject of Tikkun Olam, the Jewish mandate to help make the world a better place.

In April 2011, Miller left the political arena to join the private sector. He serves as Senior Adviser to Wellford Energy, a firm dedicated to helping develop and finance affordable clean energy technologies across the country and in Israel, and he practices law at the Lexington office of Frost Brown Todd, a full-service law firm with offices in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Indiana.

Also in 2011, Miller founded The Recovering Politician, a bi-partisan Web site, featuring more than 20 former politicians who share their views on the issues of the day, informed by their service in the arena, but no longer inhibited by the pressures of incumbency. He also is the Co-Founder of No Labels, a national grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans and Independents who understand that, on occasion, we need to put aside our labels to do what is right for the country.

Miller and his wife of 22 years, Lisa, have two teenage daughters: Emily (18) and Abigail (16), who have begun to follow their own policy passions, without too much noodging from their beaming father.