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Jack Ross

Rabbi Outcast: Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism Hardcover – Illustrated, June 1, 2011

by Jack Ross (Author)

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Dramatic changes have taken place in the last decade with respect to the views of the American Jewish community toward Israel and Zionism. Since the beginning of the Second Intifada in 2000, the involvement of the Israel lobby in precipitating the Iraq War and promoting war on Iran, and Israel’s widely condemned wars in Lebanon and Gaza, large swaths of the American Jewish community have been disenchanted with Israel and Zionism as at no other time since the founding of the State of Israel.

However, anti-Zionism in America has a long history. Elmer Berger was undoubtedly the best-known Jewish anti-Zionist during most of his lifetime, particularly from World War II through the 1967 Six-Day War and its aftermath. A Reform rabbi, Berger served throughout that period as the executive director of the American Council for Judaism, an anti-Zionist organization founded by leading Reform rabbis.

Author Jack Ross places liberal Jewish anti-Zionism (as opposed to that of Orthodox or revolutionary socialist Jews) in historical perspective. That brand of anti-Zionism was virtually embodied by Rabbi Berger and his predecessors in the Reform rabbinate. He advocated forcefully for his position, much to the chagrin of his Zionist detractors. The growing renaissance of liberal Jewish anti-Zionism, combined with the forgotten work of Rabbi Berger and the American Council for Judaism, makes a compelling case for revisiting his work in this full-length, definitive biography.

Print length

258 pages
Language

English
Publisher

POTOMAC BOOKS
Publication date

June 1, 2011
Dimensions

6.35 x 0.86 x 9.11 inches
ISBN-10

1597976970
ISBN-13

978-1597976978
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Shlomo Sand
195
Paperback
8 offers from $25.50

Editorial Reviews

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"This is a seminal book, nothing less than the rediscovery of American Jewry’s dissenting tradition. Ostensibly about the fascinating and controversial Rabbi Elmer Berger, it is really much more—a nuanced and readable portrait of people and ideas undeservedly erased from American Jewish history."—Murray Polner, former editor of Present Tense, author of Rabbi: The American Experience, and coeditor of Shalom: The Jewish Peace Letter

"An important book for anyone interested in understanding the complex history of how American Jews have related to the State of Israel. Jack Ross not only tells a fascinating story about the life and times of Rabbi Elmer Berger, a deeply committed anti-Zionist, but he also makes it clear that Zionism is not the religion of all American Jews and certainly was not in the decades before Israel was created."—John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago, and coauthor of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

"As Jews of conscience continue to speak out today against Israeli atrocities in Palestine, Israel’s claim to represent world Jewry has lost all credibility. As this book will show you, there is not and has never been consensus among Jews on the Zionist project."—Anna Baltzer, author of Witness in Palestine

"In his informative and engaging biography of Berger, Jack Ross resurrects the memory of an important Jewish dissident, a man with whom many may disagree, but whose important insights into the nature and consequences of Zionism may be ignored only at our own peril."—Thomas Kolsky, History News Network Book Review

About the Author

Jack Ross is a freelance editor and independent historian in Brooklyn, New York. His work has appeared in the American Conservative, Tikkun, the Mitrailleuse, Daily Caller, Mondoweiss, and Antiwar.com. He is the author of Rabbi Outcast: Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism (Potomac, 2011).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ POTOMAC BOOKS; Illustrated edition (June 1, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 258 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1597976970
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1597976978
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.35 x 0.86 x 9.11 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #308,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #127 in Jewish Social Studies
- #259 in History of Judaism
- #618 in Jewish History (Books)

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3.6 8 ratings

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Amateur critic

Excellent scholarship

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2015

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Excellent scholarship by an author who went on to write an equally excellent history of the Socialist Party of America.

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Richard A. Siegel

an important biography

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2011

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I think this biographer has done an important service in bringing attention to the work of this important rabbi and of his organization, the American Council for Judaism. The reason that Berger's name is so obscure is that the Zionist world wants it that way. Most of world Jewry today has been taken over by Zionism, and the powers that be want to equate Zionism with Judaism, and by extension Anti-Zionism with Anti-Semitism. So they don't want it known that there was a strong movement- albeit not strong enough- within a legitimate and popular branch of Judaism, which asserted that the essence of Judaism was the universalism of the prophets, not the tribalism and nationalism of Zionism. In an age in which many Jews are appalled at Israel's crimes against humanity, and are beginning to question their obligations as Jews to support Israel, it's reassuring to bring this rabbi and his organization out of obscurity, to show that Zionism and Israel have never been intrinsic to Judaism and to what it is to be Jewish, and that in fact there has always been opposition among Jews to Jewish tribalism and nationalism, and to their manifestation in Zionism and Israel. The book could have used a bit more editing. In a number of places I found myself re-reading a sentence a few times to try to make sense of it. But even so, the important story of this rabbi and what he stood for was portrayed quite well.

22 people found this helpful

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Komododragon

Interesting but flawed

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2011

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Rabbi Outcast is biography of an interesting person and an account of the anti-Zionist movement. It is not very well organized, however, and the sentences are long and torturous. It assumes more knowledge of Reform Judaism than I have. I did emerge from my reading of the book with a better understanding of the points of disagreement between the Zionists and anti-Zionists. The introduction and conclusion I found to be incomprehensible.

4 people found this helpful

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NABIL ALKHOWAITER

A brilliant and deeply researched history of American Jewish Anti-Zionism

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2012

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I had heard about American Jewish Anti-Zionism in the past and always assumed that it was a tiny fringe movement peopled by Orthodox groups like the Neteuri Karta. However, with this thoroughly researched biography of the late Rabbi Elmer Berger, Jack Ross opens our eyes to the often controversial history of the Zionist movement's relationship with the American Jewish community from the late 19th century to the present day.

It is also very well written and is hard to put down after the first page.

5 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Nicely written but superficial.

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2021

This is a nicely written but superficial book about the complex Middle East. The positions quoted are taken from found bites rather then a deep dive. Gets an a for effort.

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2012

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I loved this book! It was well written and informative. I'm glad I know about Rabbi Elmer Berger. He had great courage, and is an inspiration. A good read.

2 people found this helpful

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Sheldon Richman

A Great Man

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2011

Bravo, Jack Ross! You have introduced an unjustly forgotten sage to the world. Rabbi Elmer Berger was the last of the great Classical Reform rabbis, who stood for reason and justice. His opposition to Zionism sprang from the facts that Judaism is embodied in a highly diverse global religious community (not a biological entity) and that Palestine was not for the taking by presumptuous, terrorist politicians and military men in the name of the "Jewish people." His story deserves to be told and and heard. Well done!

36 people found this helpful

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Truth Insister

Watch Rabbi Berger

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2011

I haven't bought this book yet, but I am going to because of watching Rabbi Berger on YouTube. Is there going to be a Kindle version? Please?

Since we can't post links here, search for this title on YouTube to watch him: "Rabbi Elmer Berger - May 1989 Air date."

This is living history. Berger confirms what Miko Peled says in his new book The General's Son that his father General Peled forced a preemptive war against Egypt in 1967. Israel was under no threat whatsoever. Israel has never been under threat ever since its existence.

15 people found this helpful

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Rabbi Outcast: Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism Hardcover – Illustrated, June 1, 2011

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