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Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict by [Judis, John B.]
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Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict Kindle Edition

4.2 out of 5 stars 59 customer reviews

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Length: 448 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A morally serious and thoughtful work.” ―Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“[Judis] is a careful historian.” ―Joseph Dorman, The New York Times Book Review

“Judis digs deeply into history, politics and diplomacy to explain the backstory of today's headlines . . . [A] provocative book.” ―Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal

“A standout book that will both teach and productively provoke . . . [An] excellent book.” ―Jesse Singal, The Boston Globe

“John Judis has long been one of America's best political historians. Now he's proved himself one of the best historians of American foreign policy towards Israel. You don't have to agree with all of John's conclusions to be powerfully impressed by the extent of his research, the quality of his insight, and his deep empathy for both Jews and Palestinians in the tortured land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. One of the best books about the U.S.-Israel relationship I have ever read.” ―Peter Beinart, author of The Crisis of Zionism

“John Judis fairly and carefully explores Harry Truman's conflicted attitudes toward the establishment of the state of Israel--and he does far more. A conscientious attempt to deal with the ethical paradoxes involved in the establishment of the state of Israel, this book makes us aware of the implacable moral ambiguities with which we all must live as we make choices in a deeply flawed world.” ―Alonzo L. Hamby, Distinguished Professor of History, Ohio University; author of Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman

“This is the best kind of history--taking a historical episode we think we know about (Truman recognizing the new state of Israel) and probing what really happened and what it meant for the future. John Judis is one of America's best journalists. In Genesis he brings together both lucid writing and passionate insight in a way that sheds light on current American policy in the Middle East.” ―James Mann, author of Rise of the Vulcans and The Obamians

Genesis, John Judis's history of the Truman administration's relationship to Israel and its neighbors, is a smart, unsentimental, and independent-minded rendering of a complicated tale. His arguments and evidence challenge the comforting myths that sustain all sides of this tragic conflict and, in doing so, have the potential to point all its actors in a more hopeful direction in the future.” ―Eric Alterman, author of The Cause: The Fight for American Liberalism from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama

About the Author

John B. Judis is a senior editor at The New Republic and has also written for GQ, Foreign Affairs, Mother Jones, The New York Times Magazine, and The Washington Post. He is the author of The Folly of Empire and The Emerging Democratic Majority, among other books.

Product Details

  • File Size: 1949 KB
  • Print Length: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (February 4, 2014)
  • Publication Date: February 4, 2014
  • Sold by: Macmillan
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00EGJ7L8U
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Word Wise: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,515 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Format: Hardcover
The book is barely out, and already the hasbara (propaganda) brigades are out, creating one- and two-star reviews based on ideology, not on what's actually in the book. (I'd bet good money most of them haven't even cracked it open.) Just unsubstantiated insults and accusations. It's seen on virtually every book that challenges elements of the Zionist narrative, and it's quite tiresome.

Here's some unsolicited advice to low-star reviewers who haven't read it yet: Try actually reading the book. You don't have to agree with everything, but try to keep an open enough mind to just consider that some of what you've been led to believe may have a few holes in it.
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I just spent the weekend holding my Kindle Paperwhite and reading this entire 400-plus page book. What could possibly make a book about the history of Zionism, its entanglements in U.S. politics, and the agonized emergence of the State of Israel a page turner? Well, it is an experience almost like that of a person raised in a dogmatically religious household, hearing for years nothing but repetitions of the Bible, knowing no one except bible-school classmates, who suddenly picks up a careful scientific, reasoned,fact-based discussion of religion and reality. And sits muttering to himself: No one ever told me this! Why didn't anyone tell me this? How could I swallow all of that? Even knowing that when he begins to try to discuss his new ideas, his new insights, his mother will start crying--or cursing--and his dad may punch him in the mouth and kick him out of the house.

I am not and never was even FAINTLY as naive as the young man of my parable. I studied history, philosophy, and literature at Brown University. Was a newspaper reporter. Discovered the great novelist and philosopher, Ayn Rand, when I was 17, and dedicated myself to reason, independent thinking, and openness to the facts. But...
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Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
An unusual thing happened to me as I got toward the end of this book- I became a supporter of the creation of the state of Israel. I even read it through twice to get it right. When I was younger back in the 70’s and 80’s, I was a supporter of Israel. It wasn't until the 90’s and beyond that I became skeptical of Israel’s recognition. That was when I became aware of the Jewish American Lobby and their influence on the USA’s support for Israel. I also eventually became an avid reader of history and non-fiction. I never really understood what the circumstances were that made the creation of Israel possible except for the obvious- the Holocaust. I was looking for a book that told the story but I wanted it written by a non-Jew, written by someone with a more objective narrative on the history of Israel’s creation. The author, John B. Judis, is Jewish, but based on the title and its description I thought this book would tell me about the aspects I was interested in and then justify my skepticism.

What I began to realize, as I got deeper into the book was that the Jews took advantage of a brief moment in history when they could actually pull this off. It may not have been totally ethical but most of history is not ethical. You have to give them credit: through the determination, passion, guile, and chutzpah if you will- of Jews in America and around the world-- they pulled this off. They did the unbelievable and got the United Nations to make a declaration recognizing their country. Not only did the USA and its allies sign onto this agreement but Russia, China and the majority of others did also. You cannot change that.

What did the Arabs do throughout this process- not much. The book details their failure.
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Format: Hardcover
Hysterics are resorting to the tiresome “anti-semitic” smear to demonize this book and intimidate potential readers. Author John B. Judis dares to demonstrate concern for facts that support the case of the dispossessed Palestinians, ergo he is “anti-semitic.” Is this the best his critics can do? In his book Genesis, Judis shows that Zionism was a colonial project and demonstrates the influence of the Israeli lobby in the United States. He offers prima facie evidence of how a U.S. President — Harry Truman — was relentlessly pressured into recognizing the theft of Palestinian land and the establishment of an Israeli Judaic nationalist state. In this regard, Judis indicts American liberals who were progressives in matters of civil rights and labor unions, yet callously indifferent to the fate of the Palestinians under Israeli subjugation. These liberals convinced Truman to bow to the Israeli demand for a supremacist, racial-chauvinist state in the Middle East. This book offers a fresh and long overdue perspective on hidden facts heretofore withheld from the American people.
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