Zion in the Desert: American Jews in Israel's Reform Kibbutzim (S U N Y Series in Israeli Studies) [Hardcover]

William F. S. Miles (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The first book about the only two Reform Movement kibbutzim in Israel.

From the Back Cover

Zion in the Desert speaks to the millions of Jewish American baby boomers who at one time in their youth flirted with moving to Israel and may still wonder: "What would have happened to me? Who would I have become?" These questions are particularly poignant at a time when many American Jews are reassessing the role of Israel as a model state for the Jewish people. This book helps them encounter, beyond the numbing headlines of Middle East conflict, their middle-aged alter egos.
William F. S. Miles explores these core questions of identity by following a group of young American Jews--including one of his own Long Island high school classmates--who in the 1970s and 1980s established the only two Reform Movement kibbutzim in Jewish history. Miles provides a firsthand account of these young pioneers, who were not only drawn to Israel out of post-Holocaust Zionism, but were also inspired by the progressive spirituality of Reform Judaism and the enticements of communal living to settle utopian kibbutzim in the remote Israeli desert. Zion in the Desert illustrates who these people have become a quarter of a century later and what their lives say to their fellow non-Orthodox brethren who once toyed with the idea but never made the Zionist and kibbutz leap.
"At once loving and objective, Miles is the ideal chronicler of this brave and idiosyncratic group of pioneers. His account offers hope for the renewal of Israeli Judaism and for the enduring power of the dream of social justice, and makes clear that the eulogies for the kibbutz ideal are premature." -- Yossi Klein Halevi, author of At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for Hope with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land
"The author provides a good anthropological sense of intellectual curiosity, a sharp eye, and an ability to make sense of that which he observes. He raises some important questions about the nature and substance of Reform Judaism, as well as its connections with Israel." -- Chaim I. Waxman, author of Jewish Baby Boomers: A Communal Perspective

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (July 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791471039
• ISBN-13: 978-0791471036
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,951,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Movements > Reform

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Struggling To Survive In Utopia, March 3, 2010

By	Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Zion in the Desert (Suny Series in Israel Studies) (Paperback)

What motivates people to leave a comfortable life in America (or other advanced countries) to join a communal experiment in living in the remote Israeli desert? And, having done so, what motivates them to stay? Or to leave? These are the questions addressed in Zion In The Desert. The answers are less than clearcut, and often changing. From youthful enthusiasm to middle-aged weariness, the author examines the lives of these settlers in a series of interviews, and colorful vignettes.

Author William F.S. Miles does a wonderful job of bringing these people to life with all their range of experiences, highs, lows, and conflicts. Not all is happiness in Utopia. There is constant conflict, angst, worries about the future of the experiment, people dropping out, and the grinding adjustment of utopian dreams to economic reality. Their struggles are believable, even if the experiment they've embarked on is far from the lives of most of us.

Author Miles writes an engaging memoir and quickly draws the reader in to his subject. Sometimes the sentences are long and rambling, but the material never grows tiresome. If you have any interest in the kibbutz movement or emigration to Israel, or if you've ever wondered about joining a utopian community, this book will be most interesting. I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.