Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict [Paperback]

Tony Kushner (Editor), Alisa Solomon (Editor)

Book Description

Series: An Evergreen book | Publication Date: October 13, 2003

As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalates, a dangerous illusion persists that the American Jewish community speaks with a single voice, expressing universal, uncritical support for the policies of the Sharon government. This appearance of unanimity does grave disservice to the heterogeneity of Jewish thought, and to the centuries-old Jewish traditions of lively dispute and rigorous, unapologetic skeptical inquiry. Wrestling with Zion brings together prominent poets, essayists, journalists, activists, academics, novelists, and playwrights, representing the diversity of opinion in the progressive Jewish-American community regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All the participants share three things: a Jewish identity, an American identity, and a sense of urgency, refusing to ignore the catastrophic injustice that has been visited upon the Palestinian people, while at the same time being passionately committed to Jewish survival and American legacies of compassion and moral courage. The contributors — including Nathan Englander, Susan Sontag, Robert Pinsky, Daniel Wolfe, and many others — have considered certain essential questions: What is at the heart of the connection between Israel and American Jews? What is Israel's role in shaping Jewish-American identities? How has this role changed historically? And what is the history, both familiar and forgotten, of Zionism's political, cultural, and spiritual meaning?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With violence between Israeli Jews and Palestinians continuing and the death toll rising, playwright Kushner and journalist Solomon have compiled a book of thoughts by a progressive and diverse group of notable Jewish writers on the current situation in the Middle East and the prospects for peace. According to the contributors, the media presents an apparent unanimity of Jewish opinion on the conflict, which distorts the real diversity of the community's convictions. To give some historical perspective to the debate, the book begins with the writings of such figures as Ahad Ha'am, Martin Buber and Hannah Arendt; contemporary contributors include Arthur Waskow, Ellen Willis, Susan Sontag, and lesser-known writers. The essays address such issues as how and why American Jews are connected to the land of their ancestors, and how Zionism has influenced Jewish identity. Rather than distancing themselves from controversy, the editors have encouraged contributors to examine the covenant that links the Jewish people and Israel and to let it be "loosened and strengthened, de-mythified, de-fetishized, considered as a dynamic problematic, as is only appropriate to the consideration of a living bond."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

For left-wing "or progressive" American Jews, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to present a wrenching predicament. Many are almost genetically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, viewing Palestinians as oppressed, even colonized, victims. Yet their sustaining identity as Jews will not allow them to abandon Israel, or even Zionism, entirely. Kushner and Solomon have assembled a wide variety of journalists, scholars, and activists who consider the dilemmas and even suggest possible solutions. Some of these articles are thoughtful, provocative, and certainly worthy of further consideration. Some are filled with pointless guilt-mongering and lead nowhere. If there is a common theme here, it is that, given compassionate and reasonable Israeli policies, a comparable Palestinian response will be forthcoming. This is an interesting, useful compilation that offers an alternative to the seemingly unanimous support the Sharon government receives from many "mainstream" Jewish writers. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; 1 edition (October 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802140157
• ISBN-13: 978-0802140159
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch out for bogus reviews, April 28, 2007

By 

The Truth Shall Set You Free (Valley Village, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Paperback)

Watch out for reviews from people like Shalom Freedman. It's ironic that this reviewer summons the line "Have you no shame?" while at the same time dismissing all Jews he doesn't agree with as self-hating. Rather than counter their arguments with his own, this type of lazy reviewer seeks to circumvent intellectual discussion altogether with ugly ad hominem attacks. His hateful screeds aren't just directed at books, but at their authors as well. He leaves the same bankrupt reviews for any and every book that dares criticize Israel or Zionism. Mr. Freedman clearly has nothing better to do with his time than bash books and authors whom he has clearly not even bothered to read. Where is YOUR shame, Mr. Freedman?

32 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Important, October 28, 2003

By 

John Parelli (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Paperback)

Finally, an account--or rather, many voices adding up to an welcome and complicated account--of American Jewish identity and Jews' relationship with Israel. There are pieces here that touch the political questions that any Jew of conscience is grappling with while considering recent events in Israel, including many--even from less famous people than Susan Sontag or Arthur Miller--whose writing is powerful and beautiful. Some are short, some longer--making this book perfect for the person who wants to dip in or take a brief selection for a syngagogue reading group, or to immerse him or herself in the issues. I am enjoying it immensely, and I wouldn't identify myself as progressive.

33 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Additions to a Critical Debate, December 9, 2003

By 

Benjamin L. Alpers (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Paperback)

This important collection of essays presents a wide variety of views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (in fact, at least one of the folks collected here is Jewish-Canadian, not Jewish-American, but that if anything adds to the richness of the collection). The Jewish community does not speak with a single voice on these issues. For an active member of this community such as myself who often feels out of step with national organizations that pretend to speak for me, a book like this is a particular breath of fresh air. I certainly don't agree with everything in it (indeed, as the introduction points out, the essays often disagree with each other). But its mere existence puts the lie to the notion that all American Jews are Likudniks, that the only way to support Israel is to endorse every action taken by its government.