Prophets Outcast: A Century of Dissident Jewish Writing about Zionism and Israel

by Adam Shatz

Contrary to the claims of the American Jewish establishment and the Israel lobby, Jews do not speak with one voice about the Middle East. Since the early twentieth century some of the fiercest and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560255099
• ISBN13: 9781560255093
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Nation Books
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Very good collection

I have noticed this product has gotten a low review score among many people, this book is often cited as being some sort of Anti-Israel diatribe, a conspiracy between "self-hating Jews" and the ant-semitic gentiles that take advantage of there pathological hatred. I must admit this book does not strike me as such. What i find useful about this book is the fact that it does not only contain the writings of clearly "anti-Zionist" writers but also Jews of the past (and some in the present) who at one point were clearly Zionist but rather the requirements for being a Zionist became more limited and kept them out of the loop. It might suprise some people to know (and i know this from sources outside of this book) that Martin Buber and Noam Chomsky (gasp) would have probably agreed on a massive amount of issues regarding Zionism (before the state had been created). The Cultural Zionists (such as Buber and Chomsky) now cannot fit into the Zionist category but certainly are not "Self-hating Jews." The other writer's perspectives in this book are interesting. Leon Trotsky adds a Marxist-Leninist viewpoint to Israel/Palestine issue that i have not had a chance to examine. I would say if anything that people should take a moment and look at it. You don't have to agree but don't shy away from perspectives you haven't seen before. The only issue i had personall with the book is that Israel Shahak (a well know critic of Zionism) is absent, which is suprising considering his stature among his allies and the deep dislike his critics had for him, certainly a "Big Name" who has material to put in here. Overally the selection is very good.

Essential reading for anyone who cares about Israel

"Prophets Outcast" is a gripping, eye-opening collection of some of the smartest and most knowledgeable writers of the 20th century -- including Freud and Einstein, as well as historians and analyists of the present situation -- all concerned about the anti-democratic forces within Israel and Zionism that deny Palestinian rights to statehood. Several of the contributors are Israelis, and their arguments are particulary powerful. It's a deeply moral book, and an antidote to the despair that seems so pervasive today. The introduction, by Adam Shatz, effectively combines passion and reason: the issue, he argues, is not whether Jews will remain in Israel-Palestine, but where -- within the 1967 borders, or in a Greater Israel; and on what terms -- in an increasingly theocratic state, or in a democracy based on Arab-Jewish equality.